To be protected under the law, the consumer must write to the issuer within 60 days of the mailing date on the bill with the error. The issuer is then required to investigate and either correct the mistake or explain why the bill is correct within two billing cycles. The issuer also must acknowledge a customer's complaint in writing within 30 days. Each issuer is allowed to set specific payment guidelines. If any of the guidelines are not met, the issuer can take as many as five days to credit the payment.
Finance charge The charge for using a credit card, comprised of interest costs and other fees.
Foreign currency surcharge A new charge imposed by some credit card issuers that imposes a fee on purchases made in a foreign currency. If the credit card user does not carry a balance, the grace period is the interest-free period of time a lender allows between the transaction date and the billing date. The standard grace period is usually between 20-30 days. If there is no grace period, finance charges will accrue the moment a purchase is made with the credit card. People who carry a balance on their credit cards have no grace period.