If a U.S. credit card charge looks wrong, contact the card issuer promptly. For a qualifying billing error under the Fair Credit Billing Act (FCBA), the issuer must receive your written notice within 60 days after it sent the first statement showing the error. Include the transaction details, explain what went wrong, and attach copies of supporting documents.

For a missing delivery, return, service problem, or refund, contact the merchant as well. That may produce a faster refund, but don't wait for the merchant's answer if the 60-day deadline is close. The FTC's guidance on using credit cards and disputing charges describes the formal U.S. process.

What "chargeback" means

A chargeback is a reversal request that starts with the card issuer after a cardholder disputes a transaction. The issuer may send the dispute through the card network to the merchant's acquiring bank. The merchant can then submit records supporting the charge.

The word is often used for several different outcomes:

• Refund: The merchant agrees to return the money.
• Chargeback: The issuer reviews the dispute and may reverse the transaction under applicable law, network rules, or issuer policy.
• Temporary credit: The issuer may credit the account while investigating. That credit may later be removed.

The reason for the dispute matters. An FCBA billing error, an unauthorized transaction, a card-network dispute, and a merchant return request can have different rules and deadlines.

Match the dispute to the problem

Describe the issue accurately. Don't report a transaction as fraud only because the merchant denied a return.

A subscription charge after a valid cancellation may be disputable, but the cancellation date and your proof matter. Filing a dispute does not cancel the subscription itself. Cancel directly with the merchant and ask the issuer about controls for future recurring charges.

How to file a credit card dispute

1. Check the statement and merchant details

Note the transaction date, amount, and billing descriptor. A business may appear under a parent company or payment processor name rather than the name on its storefront. Before reporting fraud, confirm that the charge was not made by you or an authorized user.

Save the statement that first showed the charge. If the transaction is unauthorized, report it to the issuer immediately instead of spending time trying to identify the merchant.

2. Contact the merchant when the problem concerns a purchase

For a missing order, incorrect item, canceled service, or missing refund, ask the merchant for a specific remedy through an official contact channel. Keep records of:

• Your order or reservation number
• The promised delivery or service date
• Tracking, pickup, or delivery records
• Return or cancellation instructions
• Emails, chats, and notes from phone calls
• The merchant's refund confirmation, if one was issued

A merchant may resolve the problem without a formal issuer dispute. Contacting the merchant does not replace the need to notify the issuer on time.

3. Notify the card issuer

Use the issuer's app or website if it offers a dispute option, or call the number on the back of the card. Ask for the billing-error or dispute department, and save the confirmation number.

An app submission may start an investigation, but don't assume that a phone call, chat, or online report automatically satisfies the FCBA written-notice requirement. Ask where to send a billing-error letter and whether the issuer treats an online submission as written notice.

For suspected fraud, ask whether the card should be locked or replaced and whether other account activity needs to be checked.

4. Send written notice within 60 days

For the FCBA procedure, your written notice must reach the issuer within 60 days after the first periodic statement showing the error was sent to you. Send it to the billing-inquiries address on the statement. That address may differ from the address used for payments.

Include:

• Your name and mailing address
• The account number or identifying information the issuer requests
• The transaction date, merchant, and amount
• A clear explanation of why you believe the charge is wrong
• Your relevant contact with the merchant
• Copies of supporting documents, not originals
• A request for correction and a written investigation result

Use a delivery method that leaves a record, such as tracking or a confirmed online upload. Keep a copy of the letter, every enclosure, and proof of delivery. The FTC's sample letter for disputing credit and debit card charges provides a useful format.

Sample credit card billing-error letter

[Your name]
[Your address]
[Date]

Billing Inquiries
[Issuer name]
[Address shown on your statement]

Re: Dispute of $[amount] charged on [date] by [merchant]
Account ending in [last four digits]

I am writing to dispute a billing error on my credit card account. The charge is
[unauthorized / for the wrong amount / a duplicate / for goods or services not
delivered as agreed]. The relevant facts are:

[Briefly describe what happened, including dates and your contact with the merchant.]

Please investigate this dispute under the Fair Credit Billing Act and correct the
account if the charge is an error. I have enclosed copies of [list documents].
Please send me the investigation result in writing.

Sincerely,

[Your name]

Enclosures: [List copies of documents]

Keep the explanation factual and brief. A short timeline is usually easier to review than a long argument.

5. Pay the undisputed part of the bill

After you make a proper billing-error claim, you generally may withhold the amount you identified as the error while the issuer investigates. Continue paying the part of the balance you do not dispute and follow the issuer's written instructions.

Don't stop paying the entire statement just because one charge is under review. That can create a separate delinquency problem.

Credit card dispute deadlines in the U.S.

The 60-day period generally begins with the statement that first showed the error, not the purchase date. If a later recurring charge appears, report that charge as a new problem and preserve its statement date.

A statement sent to an old address can create a special issue. The FTC describes an exception involving a change of address: to use the FCBA billing-error process, you generally must have given the issuer your new address in writing at least 20 days before the relevant billing period ended.

If you missed the 60-day period, contact the issuer anyway. It may review the matter under its own policy or a card-network procedure, but don't assume the statutory FCBA protections still apply.

Why Visa, Mastercard, American Express, and Discover timelines differ

There is no universal "120-day chargeback rule" for every credit card dispute. Visa, Mastercard, American Express, and Discover have their own operating rules, dispute categories, and evidence requirements. Network deadlines usually govern the exchange between the issuer, acquirer, and merchant, while the issuer may give you a separate deadline for documents or an appeal.

Keep these layers separate:

• Federal law: Sets the written-notice and investigation framework for qualifying U.S. credit card billing errors.
• Card-network rules: Govern how the issuer, acquirer, and merchant exchange dispute information.
• Issuer policy: Determines how you submit a claim, what documents it requests, and whether it offers extra time or temporary credit.
• Merchant policy: Controls voluntary refunds, cancellations, and returns unless another law or contract rule applies.

If the issuer asks for more information, use the date in that request. A merchant's response period is not your deadline, and a network deadline does not replace the 60-day written-notice rule for a qualifying billing error.

What happens after you file?

The issuer records the dispute and may ask you for more information. It may then investigate internally or send the claim through the card network. The merchant can respond with order records, delivery information, communications, or authorization data.

After reviewing the available information, the issuer sends a decision and adjusts any temporary credit. A merchant's response can result in the charge being restored, but that means the issuer accepted the response under the applicable process; it is not necessarily a final decision about every contract or product-quality issue.

Tell the issuer if the merchant has already issued a refund. Receiving both a refund and a chargeback can create a duplicate-credit problem.

The often-quoted 10-business-day provisional-credit rule generally relates to electronic-fund-transfer disputes under Regulation E, such as many debit-card transactions. It is not a universal provisional-credit deadline for credit card billing errors.

If the issuer denies the dispute

A denial may still leave you with useful next steps:

1. Ask for the written reason. Find out which dispute category the issuer used and why it rejected the claim.
2. Request relevant records. Ask for the merchant's response or other documents the issuer relied on, when available.
3. Check the dates. Confirm the statement date, the date the issuer received your notice, and the address used for billing inquiries.
4. Appeal promptly. Follow the issuer's stated appeal or reconsideration window. Send a short timeline that answers each reason for denial.
5. Keep pursuing a merchant remedy when appropriate. A product defect, warranty issue, or contract disagreement may need to be handled with the merchant as well.
6. Escalate a process problem. If the issuer failed to acknowledge or resolve a qualifying billing-error notice within the required period, use its formal complaint channel and consider contacting the appropriate consumer regulator.

Avoid sending duplicate disputes for the same charge without explaining what new information you are adding. Multiple unconnected submissions can make the record harder to follow.

Refund or chargeback?

There isn't always an either-or choice. Use the merchant's process and protect the issuer deadline at the same time when necessary.

A merchant refund is often simpler because it avoids the issuer's dispute process. A chargeback can help when the merchant won't correct a qualifying problem, cannot be reached, or the transaction was unauthorized. Neither step should be postponed until the deadline has passed.

Reduce the chance of a missed dispute

Transaction alerts and monthly statement reviews can reveal a problem while the relevant statement is easy to find. Keep order confirmations, promised delivery dates, cancellation records, refund emails, and important merchant call notes together.

Before treating an unfamiliar name as fraud, check the billing descriptor and ask authorized users about the purchase. Cancel subscriptions directly with the merchant, retain proof of cancellation, and report a lost card or suspected account takeover immediately. If the issuer offers card-lock, spending-limit, or virtual-card features, consider using them for recurring or unfamiliar merchants.

Keep the records until the issuer gives you a final decision.

Quick answers

Can I dispute a charge after 120 days?

Possibly under an issuer or network policy, but 120 days is not a universal guarantee. For the formal U.S. FCBA billing-error process, the key deadline is generally 60 days after the first statement showing the error was sent.

Do I have to contact the merchant first?

Not always. Contacting the merchant is useful for delivery, returns, and refunds, but suspected fraud should be reported to the issuer immediately. A merchant conversation should never push you past the written-notice deadline.

Does filing a chargeback cancel a subscription?

No. Cancel the subscription with the merchant and keep the confirmation. Then report any later charge that appears to be an error.

What if the transaction was made with a debit card?

Debit-card and other electronic-fund-transfer disputes generally follow different rules from credit-card billing errors. Use the bank's debit-dispute procedure and check its deadlines instead of relying on this process.

This is general information for U.S. credit card accounts, not legal advice. If you're acting now, find the first statement showing the charge, contact the issuer, and send written notice with copies of your evidence before the 60-day deadline.