For a U.S. credit card, a billing-error dispute generally must reach the issuer within 60 days after the first statement showing the error was sent. Send the written notice to the billing-inquiries address on the statement, which may be different from the payment address. A phone call can start an investigation, but don't rely on it alone if you want the Fair Credit Billing Act (FCBA) protections.
If fraud may be involved, call the issuer immediately. For a merchant problem such as non-delivery, a duplicate charge, or a refund that never posted, you can contact the seller too, but a merchant conversation doesn't pause the 60-day deadline.
Identify the charge and the dispute reason
Start by saving the statement page that shows the transaction. Record the merchant descriptor, transaction date, amount, statement date, and whether the charge is pending or posted. Some issuers won't open a formal dispute until a transaction posts, but suspected fraud should be reported without waiting.
An unfamiliar name on a statement isn't necessarily fraud. Check authorized-user purchases, joint account activity, subscriptions, app purchases, digital wallets, and the merchant's full billing descriptor.
The appropriate next step depends on what actually happened:
| Problem | First step | Evidence to keep |
|---|---|---|
| Unauthorized or fraudulent charge | Call the issuer's fraud department immediately | Statement, account alerts, card details, and any fraud or identity-theft report |
| Wrong amount or duplicate charge | Send a billing-error notice to the issuer and ask the merchant to correct it | Receipt, invoice, order confirmation, and transaction records |
| Goods or services never received | Contact the merchant, then dispute with the issuer if the problem isn't resolved | Promised delivery date, tracking history, and messages with the seller |
| Goods or services weren't delivered as agreed | Ask the merchant to fix the problem and preserve the original agreement | Contract, listing, service description, photographs, and refund request |
| Subscription charge after cancellation | Confirm the cancellation and challenge later charges if appropriate | Cancellation terms, confirmation, cancellation date, and later statements |
| Unordered merchandise | Don't assume you must pay; preserve the order and delivery records and notify the issuer | Statement, packaging, seller messages, and evidence that you didn't place the order |
| Authorized purchase you regret | Use the merchant's return or refund policy | Return request and the merchant's response |
A defective product or disappointing service isn't automatically an FCBA billing error. The purchase agreement, the merchant's response, and the issuer's process may affect the result. The Federal Trade Commission's guidance on using credit cards and disputing charges describes the main billing-error categories.
Protect the account when fraud is possible
Call the number on the back of the card or use the issuer's official fraud channel. Ask whether the card should be locked or replaced and whether additional unauthorized transactions are linked to the account.
Then:
- Change the card-account password and any email or shopping-account password that may have been exposed.
- Turn on multi-factor authentication and transaction alerts.
- Review recent statements, linked accounts, and digital-wallet activity.
- Consider a credit freeze if personal information, rather than only the card number, may have been exposed.
- Make an identity-theft or law-enforcement report when useful for the situation.
- Keep monitoring after the case closes. Replacing a card won't secure a compromised email or shopping account.
A credit freeze can help prevent some new-account fraud, but it doesn't reverse an existing charge.
FCBA deadlines and protections
The FCBA process described here applies to consumer credit-card billing errors. Debit cards, prepaid cards, electronic transfers, bank transfers, and peer-to-peer payments generally follow different rules.
The 60-day written-notice deadline
The issuer generally must receive your written dispute within 60 days after the first statement containing the error was sent. The clock is tied to that statement, not necessarily to the transaction date or the day you noticed the charge.
Address the letter to the issuer's billing inquiries department at the address listed on the statement. Don't automatically send it to the address used for payments. Include enough information to identify your account, the merchant, the transaction date and amount, and the specific reason you believe the charge is an error.
If the statement went to an old address, the FTC says you generally must have given the issuer your new address in writing at least 20 days before the billing period ended to use this billing-error procedure.
Some issuers may extend their own deadline when a shipment is delayed. That isn't a reason to wait; send the notice as soon as you can.
What the issuer must do
After receiving a qualifying written notice, the issuer generally must:
- Acknowledge the dispute in writing within 30 days, unless it resolves the problem sooner.
- Investigate and resolve it within two complete billing cycles, but no later than 90 days after receiving the notice.
- Explain the result in writing if it decides that no billing error occurred.
While the investigation is pending, you generally don't have to pay the disputed amount or related finance and other charges. You do have to pay the rest of the bill according to the account terms.
If you pay the undisputed portion on time and meet the other requirements, the issuer generally can't treat the disputed amount as delinquent or report it as delinquent while the dispute is being handled. A denial can make the amount due again, so read the decision for the new balance and due date.
A separate claims-and-defenses rule
A different FCBA provision may apply to some merchant disputes even after the 60-day billing-error period. It is narrow. The purchase generally must:
- Exceed $50.
- Have taken place in the cardholder's home state or within 100 miles of the billing address.
- Have been bought directly from the card issuer or creditor, rather than from an unrelated third-party seller.
- Be raised within the applicable time period. The California Attorney General's credit-card dispute guidance describes a one-year period for this type of claim.
This route often won't fit online or out-of-state purchases. A card-network rule, an issuer's voluntary policy, or state law may provide another option, but those are not automatic FCBA rights.
How to file the dispute
1. Contact the right party
For an unauthorized charge, call the issuer first. For a wrong amount, duplicate charge, missing credit, non-delivery, or similar billing problem, contact the issuer's billing-dispute department.
A merchant request can still be worthwhile. The seller may quickly correct a duplicate charge, confirm a cancellation, or issue a refund. Keep the issuer deadline in view, though. You don't have to wait for the merchant's answer before sending a timely written dispute.
2. Send a concise written notice
The letter doesn't need to be long. It should identify the account and explain exactly what is wrong. For example:
Subject: Billing error dispute for account ending in [last four digits]
I dispute the [amount] charge from [merchant] dated [transaction date], shown on the statement sent on [statement date]. The charge is [unauthorized, a duplicate, for the wrong amount, for goods not received, or another specific billing error].
Please investigate this dispute under the Fair Credit Billing Act. I have enclosed copies of [receipts, correspondence, tracking records, cancellation confirmation, or other evidence]. Please send me the investigation result in writing.
Send copies rather than irreplaceable originals. Keep the letter, attachments, and proof of delivery. A secure online dispute form may be useful, but follow the issuer's written-dispute instructions if you are relying on the FCBA deadline. Save any online confirmation and don't assume that a phone report alone satisfies the written-notice requirement.
The FTC's sample-letter guidance provides another format.
3. Match the evidence to the claim
The most useful records show what was charged, what should have happened, and what you did to resolve the problem. Depending on the dispute, keep:
- A statement, receipt, invoice, or order confirmation.
- The original listing, contract, service description, or cancellation terms.
- Tracking information and the promised delivery date.
- Messages with the merchant, including refund or cancellation requests.
- Photographs or inspection records when the product or service was not as agreed.
- Cancellation confirmations and statements showing later recurring charges.
Keep a dated timeline. Note when you noticed the charge, when you contacted the merchant, when the issuer received your dispute, and when anyone responded. Redact unrelated account numbers, passwords, and sensitive identity information unless the issuer specifically requests it.
For goods you never received or never ordered, the FTC also provides guidance on challenging charges for missing or unordered products.
4. Pay the undisputed balance
Don't stop paying the entire statement. Pay the undisputed amount by the due date and keep proof of payment. During the investigation, watch for temporary credits, finance charges, late fees, and changes to the amount the issuer says is due.
Some issuers provide a provisional credit while they investigate. That credit is temporary and may be reversed if the issuer denies the dispute. Ask for the case number, the date the issuer received your letter, how the credit will appear, and what payment is required if the credit is removed.
Calendar the 30-day acknowledgment deadline and the 90-day outside resolution deadline. Keep the issuer's letters and any delivery confirmation.
Merchant refunds, issuer disputes, and chargebacks
These are different processes:
- Merchant refund: The seller agrees to send money back or issue a credit. The seller decides whether to approve it.
- Issuer billing dispute: You tell the card issuer that the charge is an error or qualifies for its dispute process. FCBA protections may apply if the written-notice requirements are met.
- Chargeback: The issuer uses a card-network process to reverse or challenge the transaction and gives the merchant a chance to respond.
A merchant can submit evidence in response, sometimes called representment. The issuer may then reverse a provisional credit. Card-network deadlines and reason codes vary by issuer, network, and transaction type. The often-quoted 120-day period is not a universal replacement for the FCBA's 60-day written-notice deadline.
If a merchant promises a refund, verify that the credit actually appears on the statement. A promise made by phone isn't the same as a posted refund. Tell the issuer if the refund arrives, and keep the dispute record until the account is corrected.
If the issuer denies the dispute
A denial should tell you what the issuer believes happened. It may say the transaction was authorized, the goods were delivered, the evidence was insufficient, or the notice was late.
Read the decision, then:
- Ask for the written explanation and the documents or merchant evidence used in reaching the decision.
- Correct specific factual mistakes with focused evidence, such as a tracking record, cancellation confirmation, or receipt.
- Follow any review or response deadline in the issuer's notice. The California AG guidance linked above describes a 10-day written response after a determination; don't assume that timing applies to every issuer or dispute route.
- Confirm when the rejected amount becomes due and how much you must pay. Ignoring it can lead to interest, fees, collection activity, or credit reporting.
- If the issuer missed a required deadline, failed to explain the decision, or mishandled a timely written notice, consider a complaint to the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau or your state consumer-protection agency. A complaint can prompt a response, but it doesn't guarantee a refund.
- For a significant loss, consider legal aid, a consumer attorney, or small claims court. The appropriate option can depend on the amount, the merchant's location, the card agreement, and state law.
Common questions
Can I dispute a charge by phone?
You can call to report fraud or start the issuer's investigation. For an FCBA billing-error claim, send written notice to the billing-inquiries address or follow the issuer's written-dispute instructions before the 60-day deadline.
Do I have to contact the merchant first?
No. Contacting the merchant makes sense for delivery, cancellation, and refund problems, but it shouldn't delay the issuer notice. For suspected fraud, contact the issuer first.
Can I dispute a charge after 60 days?
The issuer may accept a late dispute under its own policy or a card-network rule. The separate FCBA claims-and-defenses provision may also apply if the purchase meets its amount, location, creditor, and timing conditions. Federal billing-error protection isn't automatic after the 60-day period.
Is provisional credit a permanent refund?
No. It's temporary unless the issuer confirms that the dispute is final. Continue paying the undisputed part of the bill and monitor whether the credit is reversed.
Do debit-card disputes use this checklist?
No. Debit cards, prepaid cards, electronic transfers, and peer-to-peer payments generally follow different rules and deadlines. Confirm how the payment was made before relying on FCBA guidance.
This is general U.S. consumer information, not legal advice. The practical first move is to save the statement, find the billing-inquiries address, and send the notice before the 60-day period expires. If fraud is possible, call the issuer immediately as well.