Quick answer
For a U.S. credit-card billing error, send the issuer a written dispute that reaches its billing-inquiries address within 60 days after the first statement showing the error was sent to you. Name the transaction, explain the problem in plain facts, attach copies of the records that support your account, and say what correction you want.
Many people call this a "chargeback." The process below is the U.S. Fair Credit Billing Act process for credit-card billing errors. It isn't a guide to debit cards, prepaid cards, ACH transfers, wires, or payment apps, which can have different rules and deadlines.
No evidence bundle guarantees that an issuer will reverse a charge. You also shouldn't hold up a timely notice while trying to obtain merchant-only information such as an IP address, device fingerprint, or card-network reason code. A useful submission is specific, readable, and limited to the transaction at issue.
Build the evidence around three questions
Keep asking:
- What did the merchant promise?
- What actually happened?
- What correction are you requesting?
Start with the statement page showing the charge. Include the merchant name, transaction date, amount, and only the last four digits of the account number. Then add the records that answer the three questions above:
- Transaction records: Receipt, invoice, order confirmation, contract, or subscription record.
- Delivery or service records: Tracking information, delivery status, appointment records, access records, or other proof that the promised goods or service were not provided.
- Refund, return, or cancellation records: Return tracking, a cancellation confirmation, a refund promise, or a message showing when you asked the merchant to fix the problem.
- Merchant communications: Relevant emails, chat messages, or letters. Include the response, or say when the merchant did not respond.
- A short timeline: Note the purchase date, promised delivery or service date, contact attempts, return or cancellation date, and the date you noticed the error.
- A specific request: Ask for the charge to be removed, the amount corrected, or a promised credit applied.
Send copies unless the issuer asks for originals. Leave out your full card number, Social Security number, and unrelated personal information unless the issuer's instructions require it.
Match the records to the billing problem
| Problem | Useful records | What to explain |
|---|---|---|
| An unauthorized or unrecognized charge | Statement, account alerts, messages, and the date you notified the issuer | State clearly whether you authorized the transaction. Before describing it as unauthorized, check whether the merchant appears under a different billing name. |
| Goods never arrived | Order confirmation, promised delivery date, tracking record, and messages with the seller | Identify what you ordered and show that it was not delivered as agreed. |
| An unordered product was billed | Statement, package details, order records, and merchant messages | Say that you didn't place the order and identify the charge. The FTC's guidance on goods you never got or did not order covers this kind of problem. |
| The amount is wrong or the charge is duplicated | Receipt, invoice, statement, and order screenshots | Show the correct amount and identify each duplicate transaction. |
| A promised refund is missing | Refund confirmation, return tracking, merchant acknowledgment, and later statements | State the refund amount, the date it was promised, and the statement where it should have appeared. |
| A service was canceled or not provided | Contract, cancellation confirmation, appointment records, access records, and communications | Describe what you purchased, what was promised, and what the merchant failed to provide. |
| A product or service differed from the agreed terms | Listing, contract, written description, photos, and merchant messages | Compare the agreed terms with what you received. "I didn't like it" is less useful than a specific difference. |
These records help organize the facts; they don't decide the claim. The issuer determines whether the circumstances fit an eligible billing-error category.
The deadline runs from the statement, not the purchase
The federal billing-error process generally gives you 60 days from when the first statement containing the error was sent to you. The written dispute must reach the issuer within that period. A purchase date by itself doesn't start this deadline.
The FTC's credit-card billing-error guidance says the issuer generally must:
- acknowledge the complaint in writing within 30 days, unless it has already resolved the problem; and
- resolve the dispute within two complete billing cycles, but no later than 90 days after receiving it.
A delayed shipment can sometimes lead an issuer to extend the 60-day period. Ask the issuer whether it will do so; don't assume that an extension applies.
If your statement went to an old address, the FTC says you generally must have sent the issuer your change of address in writing at least 20 days before the billing period ended to use this billing-error process.
A merchant's return policy or a separate card-network procedure doesn't replace the written-notice deadline for this U.S. consumer process. Contacting the merchant can be worthwhile, but it shouldn't come at the expense of sending the issuer's notice on time.
Send the dispute without making the file harder to read
- Find the statement. Confirm the merchant, amount, and date. Look for the issuer's billing-inquiries address and any submission instructions.
- Mark the deadline. Work from the date the first statement with the error was sent. If the date is close, send the issuer's notice rather than waiting for the merchant.
- Contact the merchant if useful. A written refund or cancellation request may resolve the matter or create a record. Keep the request separate from the issuer's deadline.
- Write about the specific charge. Use a short chronological account. If several transactions are connected, explain the connection instead of combining unrelated charges.
- Label the copies. For example: "Exhibit 1: Statement," "Exhibit 2: Receipt," and "Exhibit 3: Tracking record." Mark the relevant dates and amounts.
- Use a trackable submission method. Keep the letter, attachments, and proof of delivery. If you submit through an issuer portal, save the confirmation page or case number as well.
- Watch the account. Reply to requests for information and check later statements for a correction or a temporary credit. Continue paying any undisputed balance according to the issuer's instructions.
Once the issuer receives a qualifying written dispute, the FTC says you don't have to pay the disputed amount or related finance and other charges while it investigates. That protection doesn't excuse payment of the rest of the bill.
Credit-card billing-error letter template
Use the billing-inquiries address printed on your statement. Replace the brackets and attach copies, not your only originals.
[Date]
Billing Inquiries
[Issuer name]
[Address shown on your statement]
Re: Written billing-error dispute
Account ending in: [last four digits]
I am writing to dispute this credit-card charge:
Merchant: [merchant name]
Transaction date: [date]
Amount: [$ amount]
Date the first statement with the error was sent: [date]
The charge is incorrect because [brief, factual explanation].
For example, the goods were not delivered, the amount differs from the agreed price, the transaction was duplicated, or the merchant promised a refund that has not appeared.
I request that the issuer [remove the charge, correct the amount, or apply the missing credit].
Enclosed are copies of:
1. [Statement page]
2. [Receipt, order, or contract]
3. [Tracking record, refund confirmation, or other evidence]
4. [Relevant communications]
Please acknowledge receipt of this billing-error dispute and send me the result of your investigation.
Sincerely,
[Full name]
[Mailing address]
[Phone or email]A concise explanation and a labeled evidence file are easier to review than a long narrative or a folder full of unrelated screenshots.
If the issuer denies the dispute
Read the denial before sending more material. Ask the issuer, as appropriate:
- Which transaction facts or records supported the decision?
- Can it provide the documents it relied on?
- Does the denial notice offer reconsideration, an appeal, or another escalation process?
- What deadline and format apply to additional evidence?
Follow the notice rather than assuming that a 10-day appeal period applies to every issuer. If you obtain new information, send it with a short explanation of how it changes the facts. If the merchant later issues a refund, tell the issuer so the account isn't credited twice.
Keep the denial, your original letter, delivery proof, statements, responses, and case number together.
Mistakes that can weaken a dispute
- Waiting for the merchant and missing the issuer's 60-day deadline.
- Describing the problem with broad claims instead of dates, amounts, and specific facts.
- Sending only a receipt when the dispute concerns non-delivery or a missing refund.
- Uploading unreadable screenshots or unlabeled documents.
- Including sensitive information unrelated to the transaction.
- Treating a merchant's refusal to refund as proof that the issuer must reverse the charge.
- Using chargeback terminology without explaining the underlying billing error.
- Assuming that a debit-card or payment-app deadline applies to a credit card.
Find the first statement showing the error, identify when it was sent, and prepare the written notice before gathering anything that isn't necessary to explain the transaction.