Ask a Lawyer - Archive

I placed an order for an item on the internet. I never received it so I called to cancel the order. It has been over 2 months and the company will not refund my money to my credit card. The credit manager never answers his phone and I have left numerous messages and no one returns my calls. What can I do.

The advantage to using a credit card for online purchases, is that you are protected if you do not receive the item ordered. Since the seller isn't responding, dispute the charge with your credit card company. Read your statement about the address to which to send a written dispute. You may also call, but generally doing do will not protect your rights. There is usually a 60 day window from the statement date to dispute an item, so get on it! If the item was not to be delivered immediately, you might have some wiggle room. If this ever happens to you again, be sure to immediately dispute the charge on the credit card statement instead of waiting for the merchant to ante up. I generally copy the merchant on the dispute letter. That tends to get their attention. Best of luck in working this out, and I hope it wasn't a big ticket item!