Fair Credit Billing Act - Other Regulations of The FCBA

Other Regulations of The FCBA

In addition to creating a mechanism for dealing with billing errors, the FCBA contains additional regulations, including the following:

• Billing statements must be sent at least fourteen days before the payment is due for credit accounts that have a grace period prior to adding finance charges.
• If banks report payments as delinquent to credit bureaus they must also report a charge is disputed.
• Credit card companies may not prohibit merchants from offering discounts to people who pay with cash or check. (per § 167)
• Banks may generally not use money in checking or savings accounts to pay a delinquent credit account with the same bank. (per § 169)
• The FCBA's § 170 gives a consumer the right to sue or assert defenses against the credit company (instead of the actual merchant) in a dispute about the quality of goods or services received, to the dollar extent of the amount of the charge(s) involved.(The dollar amount of the charge must exceed $50, and the purchase must have been made in the consumer's home state or within 100 miles of their address (unless the creditor is affiliated with the merchant, in which case these restrictions do not apply). The consumer must also make a good faith attempt to resolve the dispute prior to invoking this right.)