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Credit Card Information - General Questions About Credit Cards

Last Updated: June 16, 2010

Looking for free information about credit cards? You have come to the right place. We have talked to thousands of people and we seem to get the same questions. Below are the most popular questions we get about credit cards. If you need information about good or bad credit cards, we have another articles addressing those questions.

There are many types of credit cards - secured, prepaid, low interest rate, reward based, ones for no or really bad credit, and the list goes on and on. We can help you find the perfect card to fit your needs by clicking here. For now, check out the questions below to obtain the general information regarding credit cards.

• What do the digits in my credit card number mean?
  
• I lost my credit card (or it was stolen). What should I do?
• What is the 800 (or 888) number for customer service?
• Why was I turned down for a credit card?
• Should I give out my credit card number over the phone?
• What may creditors do? Fair Debt Collection Act

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What do the digits in my credit card number mean?
ANSI Standard X4.13-1983 answers this question for most national systems. (Phone, gas, and department store cards have their own numbering schemes.) I have not read ANSI X4.13, but a correspondent was kind enough to provide excerpts, which follow.

The first digit is the system: 3=T&E cards, 4=Visa, 5=MasterCard, 6=Discover. The structure of the card number varies by system:

• American Express starts with 37; Carte Blanche and Diners Club with 38. For Amex, digits 3-4 are type and currency, digits 5-11 are account number, digits 12-14 are card number within account, and digit 15 is a check digit.
• Visa: digits 2-6 are the bank number; digits 7-12 or 7-15 are the account number, and digit 13 or 16 is a check digit.
• MasterCard: digits 2-3, 2-4, 2-5, or 2-6 are the bank number, depending on whether digit 2 is a 1, 2, 3, or something else. The digits after the bank number up through digit 15 are the account number, and digit 16 is a check digit.

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I lost my credit card (or it was stolen). What should I do?
Call the issuer right away. Somewhere in the papers that came with the card is an 800 number to call. If you can't find those papers, look on a current bill and call the "inquiries" number there. If you can't find a current bill, look up the bank's number in the phone book (or call Information) and they'll direct you to the department you need.

The important thing is to act fast. Once you have reported the card lost or stolen, you are not liable for any further charges on the account. (return to top)

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What is the 800 number for customer service?
For Discover, call (800) 347-2683, a/k/a 800-DISCOVER.

For American Express, call (800) 528-4800 for green card; or (800) 327-2177 for a gold card.

For Visa and MasterCard, each issuing bank handles service of its own customers. First check the obvious: the number may be printed somewhere in your bill, or on a page in the packet of stuff the card company sent you when you enrolled. Or, if it's a local bank, check the white pages of your phone book. If the bank is not local, try toll-free directory assistance at (800) 555-1212 (it's free) to find out if the bank maintains an 800 number; many do. Alternatively, larger public libraries have banking directories and can probably give you the information at the reference desk or by phone. (return to top)

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Why was I turned down for a credit card?
See our other information documents:

• Your Credit History in General
• Getting and Reading Your Credit Report
• Fixing Your Credit Report

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Should I give out my credit card number over the phone?
The big question is: Did you call them or did they call you? You should never give your credit card number to anyone who calls you. Such a call is almost certainly a scam. This is true even if (especially if) the caller claims to be from your card issuer. Anyone from the issuer who legitimately has your phone number also has the rest of your records, including your card number.

If you're making a call in response to a postcard from some company you've never heard of, be very wary. There have been a lot of frauds reported where the victim gave a credit card number and found lots of unauthorized charges on the next month's bill. I'm sure that some of these "you've won a free trip, just give us your card number for the $149 processing fee" offers are legitimate. But how can you tell over the phone?

Even when you place the call to a bona fide merchant (such as a mail order company), never give your card number out over a portable phone. Scanners that snoop on these conversations are available for a few hundred dollars at Radio Shack and your voice can be received by one for a far greater distance than the maximum useful range of your cordless phone. Often these lines are monitored to obtain your credit card, or your vacation plans. (How do they know which house it is? They listen so often, they probably know your voice!)

Of course, if you're calling an established mail order company, giving them your card number is as safe as anything is these days! (return to top)

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What may creditors do? Fair Debt Collection Act
Credit card debt, like any other debt, does not give your creditors license to harass you. There is a Federal law, the Fair Debt Collection Practices Act, to protect you and your state may afford additional legal protections. The U.S. Fair Debt Collection Practices Act forbids these collection actions from:

• The use (or threat of use) of violence or other criminal means to harm the physical person, reputation or property of any person.
• The use of obscene or profane language or language the natural consequence of which is to abuse the hearer or reader.
• Causing a telephone to ring or engaging any person in telephone conversation repeatedly or continuously with intent to annoy, abuse, or harass any person at the called number.
• The false representation or implication that the debt collector is vouched for, bonded by, or affiliated with the United States or any State, including the use of any badge, uniform, or facsimile thereof.
• The false representation or implication that any individual is an attorney or that any communication is from an attorney.
• The representation or implication that nonpayment of any debt will result in the arrest or imprisonment of any person or the seizure, garnishment, attachment or sale of any property or wages of any person, when such action is unlawful or the debt collector does not intend to take such action.
• The false representation or implication that the consumer committed any crime or other personal conduct, in order to disgrace the consumer.
• Communicating (or threatening to communicate) credit information to any person which is known (or should be known) to be false, including the failure to communicate that a disputed debt is disputed.
• The use or distribution of any written communication which simulates or is falsely represented to be a document authorized, issued, or approved by any court, official, or agency of the United States or any State, or which creates a false impression as to its source, authorization, or approval.
• The false representation or implication that accounts have been turned over to innocent purchasers for value.
• The false representation or implication that documents are legal process.
• The false representation or implication that documents are *not* legal process forms or do not require action by the consumer.
• Communication with debtor at unusual (or known-inconvenient) times or places.
• Communication with third parties without debtor consent.
• False or Misleading Representations including:
  • The threat to take any action that cannot legally be taken or that is not intended to be taken.
  • Communicating (or threatening to communicate) credit information to any person which is known (or which should be known) to be false, including the failure to communicate that a disputed debt is disputed.
  • The use or distribution of any written communication which simulates or is falsely represented to be a document authorized, issued, or approved by any court, official, or agency of the United States or any State, or which creates a false impression as to its source, authorization, or approval.

The FRB puts out a free pamphlet titled "The Fair Debt Collection Practices Act." For a copy, call (215) 574-6115 or write the Federal Reserve Bank of Philadelphia, Public Information/Publications, P O Box 66, Philadelphia PA 19105-0066. (return to top)