Flexible billing adjustment system
First Claim
1. A system for processing a billing adjustment request related to one or more past shipping charges that were applied to a credit card used by a customer of a carrier, said system comprising:
- a database for storing information related to past shipping charges;
a display device for displaying billing related information to a user via a graphical user interface;
an input device for allowing the user to input information via the graphical user interface; and
one or more computers in communication with said input device, said display device, and said database, said one or more computers configured for;
(1) allowing the user to enter a reference number that references at least one shipment associated with the customer;
(2) retrieving from said database a list of one or more past credit card transactions that are associated with said reference number;
(3) allowing the user to select a transaction from the list of one or more past credit card transactions;
(4) submitting a billing adjustment request in association with the selected transaction, wherein the billing adjustment request comprises applying an adjustment amount to a past transaction amount of the selected transaction, the past transaction amount having been previously applied to said credit card; and
(5) transmitting the adjustment amount in association with the credit card number of said credit card to a credit card company that is responsible for handling charges applied to said credit card.
1 Assignment
0 Petitions
Accused Products
Abstract
The present invention relates to flexible billing systems that can be used within the transportation industry to facilitate credit card billing adjustments to credit cards that were previously used by customers to pay for one or more shipping charges. In particular, the present invention provides a system or tool that enables a user to easily access a detailed billing history of credit card transactions in order to apply full or partial credit card billing adjustments that specifically correspond to individual transactions included in the history of charges associated with a particular item or shipment.
21 Citations
39 Claims
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1. A system for processing a billing adjustment request related to one or more past shipping charges that were applied to a credit card used by a customer of a carrier, said system comprising:
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a database for storing information related to past shipping charges;
a display device for displaying billing related information to a user via a graphical user interface;
an input device for allowing the user to input information via the graphical user interface; and
one or more computers in communication with said input device, said display device, and said database, said one or more computers configured for;
(1) allowing the user to enter a reference number that references at least one shipment associated with the customer;
(2) retrieving from said database a list of one or more past credit card transactions that are associated with said reference number;
(3) allowing the user to select a transaction from the list of one or more past credit card transactions;
(4) submitting a billing adjustment request in association with the selected transaction, wherein the billing adjustment request comprises applying an adjustment amount to a past transaction amount of the selected transaction, the past transaction amount having been previously applied to said credit card; and
(5) transmitting the adjustment amount in association with the credit card number of said credit card to a credit card company that is responsible for handling charges applied to said credit card. - View Dependent Claims (2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8, 9, 10, 11, 12, 13, 14, 15, 16, 17, 18, 19)
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20. A method of processing a billing adjustment request related to one or more past shipping charges that were applied to a credit card used by a customer of a carrier, said method comprising the steps of:
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(1) allowing a user to enter a reference number that references at least one shipment associated with the customer;
(2) retrieving from a database a list of one or more past credit card transactions that are associated with said reference number;
(3) allowing the user to select a transaction from the list of one or more past credit card transactions;
(4) submitting a billing adjustment request in association with the selected transaction, wherein the billing adjustment request comprises applying an adjustment amount to a past transaction amount of the selected transaction, the past transaction amount having been previously applied to said credit card; and
(5) transmitting the adjustment amount in association with the credit card number of said credit card to a credit card company that is responsible for handling charges applied to said credit card. - View Dependent Claims (21, 22, 23, 24, 25, 26, 27, 28, 29, 30, 31, 32, 33, 34, 35, 36, 37, 38)
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39. A method of processing a billing adjustment request related to one or more past shipping charges that were applied to a credit card used by a customer of a carrier, said method comprising the steps of:
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(1) allowing a user to enter a tracking number that identifies a particular shipment associated with the customer;
(2) retrieving from a database a list of one or more past credit card transactions that are associated with said tracking number;
(3) allowing the user to select a transaction from the list of one or more past credit card transactions;
(4) allowing the user to enter a reason input that identifies a reason for performing a billing adjustment request to the selected transaction, wherein the billing adjustment request comprises applying an adjustment amount to a past transaction amount of the selected transaction, the past transaction amount having been previously applied to said credit card;
(5) allowing the user to enter the adjustment amount by which the transaction amount of the selected transaction is to be reduced, the transaction amount comprising one or more itemized shipping charges that are associated with the selected transaction, and the adjustment amount comprising one or more individual offset amounts that are applied, respectively, to the one or more itemized shipping charges;
(6) submitting the billing adjustment request in association with the selected transaction to an adjustment transaction database for awaiting approval by an authorized person; and
(7) subsequent to the billing adjustment request being approved, transmitting the adjustment amount in association with the credit card number of said credit card to a credit card company that is responsible for handling charges applied to said credit card.
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Specification