I made a purchase at a major online retailer in January 2006 for $469. The charge didn't appear on my account until just last month, February 2007 (13 months late). Can the retailer or credit card issuer do this? Isn't there a limit to how long they can wait after delivering the merchandise to charge my account? There must be a law protecting me against this kind of activity. HELP!

I made a purchase at a major online retailer in January 2006 for $469. The charge didn't appear on my account until just last month, February 2007 (13 months late). Can the retailer or credit card issuer do this? Isn't there a limit to how long they can wait after delivering the merchandise to charge my account? There must be a law protecting me against this kind of activity. HELP!
I don't know the laws but since the charge was never posted to your account to begin with, I would think they have every right to charge you since you have the merchandise. I hope this helps.

There must be a law protecting me against this kind of activity. HELP!

We have people here who are more knowledgeable than I am in this area. Wait for them to chime in on the details.

But I think you need to be careful when talking like you are a victim here. You KNOW this is a valid debt. You were hoping it would float away. Is there a period after which the debt can't be pursued? That's for the experts.

But you really want the law to "protect you" from owning up to your debts? Really?

I made a major appliance purchase last summer. I can tell you if that hadn't shown up on my bill I would not have sat around for months thinking it might just go away.

I know. Not the answer you want to hear. That last line just hits me wrong.