How to Dispute a Credit Card Charge: Deadlines, Letters and Rights

To dispute a credit card charge, report it to your issuer and send a written billing-error notice that reaches the issuer within 60 days after the first statement showing the charge. Under the Fair Credit Billing Act, the issuer must acknowledge it within 30 days and resolve it within two billing cycles, but no later than 90 days. You can hold back the disputed amount while the issuer investigates. A separate rule covers purchases that turned out defective, explained below.

What credit card charges can you dispute?

Federal law lets you dispute seven kinds of billing errors, and in some cases you can also refuse to pay for purchases that were defective or not as promised. Regulation Z, which carries out the Fair Credit Billing Act, defines a billing error as:

• A charge you or an authorized user did not make.
• A charge that is not identified clearly enough for you to recognize it.
• A charge for goods or services you did not accept or that were not delivered as agreed.
• A payment or credit that was not properly posted to your account.
• A math or accounting error by the issuer.
• A charge you want more information or documentation about.
• A statement that was not sent to your current address, if you gave the new address at least 20 days before the billing cycle ended.

What does not qualify: a fee that is in your card's terms, such as a foreign transaction fee. If you were surprised by one of those, our guide to foreign transaction fees explains how to avoid it next time.

How long do you have to dispute a credit card charge?

Your written notice must reach the issuer within 60 days after it sent the first statement that showed the error. That is the deadline that protects your rights under federal law. The issuer then has its own deadlines, summarized here.

Many issuers will still look at a dispute after 60 days under their own policies and card network rules. Those are the issuer's and the network's procedures, though, not rights guaranteed by law, so do not count on them.

How do you dispute a credit card charge step by step?

Start by making sure the charge is really wrong, then contact the issuer and follow up in writing.

1. Check that it is really an error. Merchant names on statements often differ from store names, pending charges can change when they post, and an authorized user or a forgotten subscription may explain it.
2. Contact the merchant for non-fraud problems. For a wrong amount, an undelivered order or a refund that never posted, ask the merchant to fix it first and note the date and the name of the person you spoke with. For a quality dispute, a good-faith attempt with the merchant is required.
3. Call your issuer or use its online dispute tool. The CFPB says to contact the card company right away. For a charge you did not make, this also gets the card replaced.
4. Send a written billing-error notice. The CFPB notes that to protect your rights you must also send written notice within 60 days. Mail it to the billing-inquiries address on your statement, not the payment address, unless your issuer says it accepts billing-error notices electronically.
5. Pay the rest of the bill on time. You can withhold only the disputed amount and related charges. Everything else is still due by the due date.
6. Keep records. Save a copy of your letter, the mailing receipt, and notes on every call, including dates.
7. Watch for the acknowledgment and the decision. Expect a written acknowledgment within 30 days and a decision within two billing cycles.

What should a credit card dispute letter include?

Your letter needs enough detail for the issuer to identify you, the account and the charge, plus your reason for disputing it. The FTC recommends including:

• Your name, address and account number.
• The date, amount and merchant name of the charge, exactly as it appears on the statement.
• Why you believe it is an error, such as "not authorized" or "item never delivered."
• What you are asking for, such as removal of the charge and any related interest or fees.
• Copies, not originals, of receipts, order confirmations, emails with the merchant or tracking records.

The FTC suggests sending it by certified mail with a return receipt, which gives you proof of what the issuer received and when.

What is the difference between a billing dispute and a chargeback?

A billing dispute is your legal right against your card issuer; a chargeback is the process the issuer then uses to reverse the transaction with the merchant's bank through the card network. You deal only with your issuer. Behind the scenes, the issuer may use Visa, Mastercard, American Express or Discover dispute rules to pull the money back from the merchant, and the merchant can respond with its own evidence.

Your issuer may post a temporary credit while it investigates. If the dispute is decided against you, that credit can be reversed. Card network deadlines vary by the reason for the dispute and are set by the networks, so the 60-day federal deadline remains the one to meet.

Can you dispute a charge for a defective product or poor service?

Sometimes. A separate rule, Regulation Z section 1026.12(c), lets you assert claims against the card issuer that you have against the merchant, such as a defective product, but only if all three conditions are met:

• You made a good-faith attempt to resolve the problem with the merchant.
• The purchase was for more than $50.
• The purchase was made in the same state as your current billing address or within 100 miles of it.

The dollar and distance limits do not apply in some cases, for example when the card issuer and the merchant are the same company or closely connected, as with many store cards. This right covers the amount you still owe on the purchase when you notify the issuer. UK cardholders have a broader protection called Section 75, covered in our guide to Section 75, and our comparison of credit cards in the US, Canada, UK and Australia shows how protections differ.

What happens after the issuer investigates?

If the issuer finds an error, it must correct it and remove any related interest and fees. If it decides the charge was correct, the CFPB says it must explain in writing why it believes the bill is right and tell you how much you owe, and Regulation Z requires it to send copies of its evidence if you ask for them. At that point the disputed amount is due again, and interest that built up on it while it was in dispute can be added back.

If you still disagree, you can write back within the time you are given to pay. The issuer can then report the amount as delinquent only if it also reports that you dispute it, and it must tell you who received that report. For purchases that go wrong often, card benefits such as purchase protection can help; see our guide to premium credit cards.

Are debit card disputes handled the same way?

No. Debit and ATM card transactions fall under the Electronic Fund Transfer Act, which has different deadlines and weaker liability protection. The FTC explains that your maximum loss on a lost or stolen debit card is $50 if you report it within two business days of learning about it, up to $500 if you report it later but within 60 days after your statement is sent, and potentially all the money taken if you wait longer than that. The Fair Credit Billing Act protections in this guide, including the right to withhold payment, apply to credit cards. That difference is one reason to put online and travel purchases on a credit card. Our guide to comparing credit cards covers other features worth weighing.