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Credit Card Refund

Thursday, December 13, 2007

This December proves to be a magic month in view of the fact that cardholders have won credit fights for justice. Unfair credit rules on credit card deals seem to be the things of the past. Lenders start changing their attitude to clients. Increasingly, they take steps for improving rules and regulations on credit cards.

Baffled were cardholders, finding mails telling that cardholders were entitled to a refund. "Sweet $25" sounds like a mere scam. Yet, it's neither a joke, nor a scam. And you can really get a refund if you happened to use your plastic overseas during the period from February 1996 to November 2006. Let's take a closer look at a new class-action lawsuit!

While travelling abroad, one may face a dilemma concerning the form of payment. Using your credit cards overseas is definitely an expensive treat in view of foreign exchange fees. And still it's not so convenient and safe to carry cash when travelling abroad.

Actually, those who use credit cards in their daily life prefer plastics to cash when it comes to overseas trips. Cardholders, who travel a lot, are generally looking for the cards with lower or no foreign exchange fees. This way, they won't spend too much on extra credit card fees associated with foreign transactions.

Recently, millions of American credit users have received a letter informing them that they can get a refund of the fees charged when they used Visa, MasterCard, or Diners Club cards abroad.

According to the class-action lawsuit, these companies overcharged their clients for foreign transactions. In other words, cardholders were not fully aware of the fees they had to pay.

Travelers, who experienced unfair credit card fees, are free to choose one of three refund options. You can receive a flat $25 refund if your overseas trip didn't last a week and you spent less than $2,500 in foreign transactions. In case you spent more than $2,500, your refund can be based on the amount of typical spending during the trip. In other words, you'll be refunded 1% of your foreign transactions.

The third option is for those cardholders who traveled a lot during the time period specified in the class-action lawsuit. These card users may get an annual refund of 1-3% of their foreign transactions. However, they need to provide detailed information like credit receipts that prove this fact.

Interestingly, most cardholders didn't believe a word in this mail and considered it like a scam. Still, this class-action lawsuit has caused heated debates in blogs and forums. While some consumers feel excited about the idea of getting free money, the others are trying to figure out the most appropriate option for them.

All in all, this refund can serve as an extra credit card gift for cardholders who are fond of travelling, or making purchases on the foreign websites. Besides, it will be a good lesson for credit card companies that set confusing credit card rules to make a profit on extra credit charges that oftentimes are hidden from credit users.