Kokua Line
Kokua Line
Question: Last November, I ordered a Visa card from a company on the mainland. After a few weeks it did not arrive. I then got a call from the company official, who inquired about unusual activity on my card, with cash advances totaling $400. I told her I did not receive the card, and immediately asked that the card be canceled. However, I was referred to their fraud unit and was told that since the card was stolen from the home address that I had given them, and since the card was activated from my home phone, that I would have to pay for the cash transactions. I suspected a family member who used to live at home as the thief, so did so, although under protest. I followed the company's instructions and notified my mail carrier, had my mail forwarded to my business, filed a police report and paid the bill in full. However, over the next few months, I kept getting statements saying I owed late fees and finance charges, even though I closed the account. Can they force me to pay for a card I did not receive? Am I obligated to pay for these late fees and finance charges even though I closed the account and paid the bill in full? Your obligation is limited
by law if credit card stolenAnswer: No and no, according to Stephen Levins, acting executive director of the state Office of Consumer Protection.
If you can establish that your credit card was stolen, even if from your house and by a family member, you have certain rights under the federal Fair Credit Billing Act, he said.
The act "essentially says if you report the loss before the cards are used, you are not responsible for any unauthorized charges," he explained.
But if a thief uses your card before you report it missing, the most you should have to pay for unauthorized charges is $50, he said.
Neither should you have to pay any finance or late charges. If the company insists on you doing so, you should file a complaint with his office, Levins said.
The credit card company obviously has the right to investigate to determine what the circumstances were, but to say that since the card was sent to your address and activated from your house you are responsible "is nonsense," Levins said.
Q: Is it legal to ride bikes on sidewalks? Yes or no?
A: Yes and no.
No in Waikiki and no within a business district.
Yes in any other area, except that "the director of transportation services is authorized to erect official signs on any sidewalk or roadway prohibiting the riding of bicycles thereon by any person, and when such signs are in place no person shall disobey the same" (Sec. 15-18.7 of the Revised Ordinances of Honolulu).
Got a question or complaint?
Call 529-4773, fax 529-4750, or write to Kokua Line,
Honolulu Star-Bulletin, 500 Ala Moana Blvd., No. 7-210,
Honolulu 96813. As many as possible will be answered.
E-mail to kokualine@starbulletin.com