Sep 21, 2006 10:37 AM
4627 Views
(Updated Oct 25, 2013 09:10 PM)
Dear Readers: Having several credit cards including Gold, Titanium, Platinum & Signature Premium cards, I faced many problems. Many know many things but it would be advisable if you can once go through the following: **Along with this one must also remember to go through the DO's & Don'ts that is given by the card issuer when you receive your card for the first time. You may also receive such safety tips again any time after you have received your card.
Whenever you get a call from any telecallers for a credit card persuasion, please listen to their facilities and benefits, and immediately confirm the same with the bank or the company directly who is issuing the card. Ask them whether any annual and joining charges are there. You can still be misdirected as many time customer care executives themselves do not know many things and often wash of the call by giving a pleasing answer. Also ensure that the Bank or the Drop box is not very far away & whether it has a netbanking payment facility. Please read the application form & rules available whenever applying for a card. Never sign without reading what is given above it, however microscopic it may be, as sales executives simply tell you to sign in number of places and you later land up paying unwanted facility's charges.
Though today after recession there are hardly any calls. Despite confirming everything, you still may not get the correct picture until the first few statements come in a satisfactory order. Always request the bank to provide you an e-statement as it comes before the physical statement and one can get some unwanted things reversed much before the due date. Today most banks are trying to go for either physical or e-statements. In many card call centres, you may have to dial your card number first to access the executive. In such cases, please dial the exact number at one shot without making mistake as erasing and retyping often wastes your call and time. Avoid providing different information to different card providers as you may forget what information you had provided and will not get your queries resolved. When making a call in the card provider's call centre, pl make sure you have your card & the latest statement in front of you as they might ask you something related to any of them such as your latest outstanding, card exp date etc. Typical confirmation questions are :- What is you Date of Birth, What is your billing address, What is your credit limit, What is your mother's maiden name, What is your telephone number/email id, What was the last bill/transaction amount,Do you hold any supplementary card, Card issue or expiry date etc. Better, one does not go for a card which keeps conditions that if one does not spend an amount of money in a year then he/she would require paying some charges. However, some providers get you a Telephone Identification Number and that sometimes relieve you from verification. Ask the tele-executive if they have this facility so that you do not need to remember so many things and also would be able to save telephone charges. After receiving any card please go through its manuals (which most never go through) and charges sheet, conditions etc and immediately again clear everything with their tele executives.Try to keep fewer cards, as people often cannot keep track on these things. If you have too many cards, keep that card/s near you which provides you minimum hassles and maximum features along with no extra charges. Keep all card details in a word document and save it in your email box as it is one of the safest place to store data.
Do not use your cards until necessary. However, do use them once in 3-6 month so as to avoid cancellation/deactivation. Use swipe transactions maximum as it has the least chances of fetching surcharges etc. It’s best if you have a chip enable card/EMV card. Also avoid doing web/online transactions until required. However, if the card company has provisions for netsafe banking/Verified by VISA etc then it's the best for net transactions as that card is a virtual card and is of one time use only. When registering please be careful of everything and don't forget it's unique user id and password. Paying through PayPal etc is also a good idea for web transactions. Try to finish off all transactions unless urgent atleast 5 days before the billing date as some cash backs if any may not get reflected, any issues which might get carried over can get resolved, plus through online portal, one can check the entries also which takes atleast 2 to 3 days to get updated after a transaction is done. Always spend below the credit limit as some card provider's cards get swiped even after the limit is crossed and subsequently you land up paying Rs 500 or more fo a marginal overlimit of say Rs 40 or so. Always redeem the points etc as they often expire for some cards if not redeemed in a stipulated time. Avoid keeping any add-on or supplementary cards unless provided free for life. Avoid placing any standing instructions to pay your utility bills etc. Avoid taking cash out of ATM, loans, balance transfers etc through credit card, until and unless you really have no other alternative. Keep record of all transaction done on a card including proper care of charge slips. As & when bills are received tally them with the charge slips & staple all the charge slip along with the statement and try to keep a separate statement file for each card. If any extra charges or something which is apart from your transaction appears on your statement, immediately on receiving the statement, confirm about it with bank or card issuer. **Communicating telephonically is good but it is best to email them with whatever complain or reversal matters one may have. On the phone an executive promises something which later on is not fulfilled and the due date expires keeping the customer in the same situation. When an executive promises for reversal etc, also call them again after few days so as to confirm that whether they really kept their promises. Better, if they provide an interaction reference number.
However, in HSBC I had to call only to get annual charges etc reversed or else request for a TP device to go into your netbanking and then emailing them to do the needfuls Please go through every fliers etc which they send as they may have schemes etc in which card members automatically get enrolled landing up paying its charges. As and when you see something like this, rush and tell them to cancel it. You have to keep a very strong watch on them as they often tell that it’s cancelled but they do not, as spoken words do not always have value. Read carefully both the sides of statements also as it often highlight some sudden changes in card’s features. It's better to pay through your personal cheque and atleast 10 days before the last date of payment. Though paying through netbanking is best as you can do that internationally also but sometimes it becomes very difficult to solve if some error arises in any point of payment. Kotak charges Rs 10+taxes for paying them online and Stan Chart now are charging Rs 50+taxes for every call after 2 calls to their executives per month.Try to keep everything in your hand rather than instructing them to auto debit from your bank etc.Keep card/s very safely.
As much as possible, try not to disclose or advertise your card/s to anyone. Utilize all cashbacks at the earliest. Inspite of everything you still may feel cheated as many cards/vendors (eg BSES) have certain ways of billing which might have surcharges/service taxes also and you may not be able to understand anything out of their bills. Hope the above is of some help to the citizens of our country.Ray
