Nancy
Huntsville,#2Consumer Comment
Sat, January 04, 2003
Failure to receive your statement in a timely manner is a violation of Truth in Lending "Regulation Z". The original account had your correct address Household failed in accurately transcribe the information and caused you not to receive your statement before fees and penalties were assessed to your account. You need to write to Household and dispute the late charges and increase in interest. This needs to be done within 2 billing cycles or 60 days. When you call customer service they only give you "lip service" and do not always properly reverse the charges or reinstate the original interest rates and terms. Their practice is to delay you past the deadline (60 days or two billing cycles) to properly report a billing error and dispute additional charges. The fine print says "Telephone calls will not ensure your rights". Household seems to use this ploy to their maximum advantage, because by the time the consumer realizes that their call to customer service did no good, the time limit has expired. This guarantees the charges will remain in effect. I recommend you report this situation to the Federal Trade Commission and the Office of the Comptroller of the Currency. For giggles and grins, do an online search for Household Retail Services or Household Finance. You will find more on-line addresses for complaint sites than "corporate sponsored sites". Best Wishes.