If a charge on a U.S. consumer credit card is unauthorized or wrong, call the card issuer promptly using the number on the back of the card. Then send a written billing-error notice to the address shown for billing inquiries on your statement. To preserve the federal Fair Credit Billing Act (FCBA) process, the issuer generally must receive that notice within 60 days after it sent the first statement containing the error.

Contacting the merchant can help with a return, cancellation, missing delivery, duplicate charge, or promised refund. It may also produce evidence for the issuer. Don't let those discussions push you past the 60-day deadline.

These rules apply to open-end consumer credit accounts, including most personal credit cards. Debit cards, prepaid cards, bank transfers, payment apps, and business accounts have different rules and deadlines.

Match the problem to the right process

Not every disappointing purchase is a billing error. Before filing, identify what actually went wrong.

People often use "chargeback" to mean any card dispute. More precisely, a chargeback is a reversal handled through card-network procedures. An FCBA dispute is a federal billing-error notice and investigation process involving the issuer. Cardholders generally begin both with the issuer, not directly with Visa, Mastercard, or another network.

Which errors the FCBA covers

The FCBA covers specified billing errors on open-end consumer credit accounts. They can include:

• A transaction that neither you nor someone authorized to use the account made
• A charge showing the wrong amount or transaction date
• The same transaction appearing more than once
• A payment or other account credit that wasn't posted correctly
• Goods or services that you didn't accept or that weren't delivered as agreed
• A computational, accounting, or similar statement error

The FTC's credit-card dispute guidance describes the federal process.

A complaint about quality is different. If you received the goods or services but believe they were defective, incomplete, or misrepresented, the ordinary billing-error rules may not apply. Merchant remedies, card-network rules, and the separate claims-and-defenses provision discussed below may matter instead.

The 60-day notice deadline

The issuer must generally receive your written notice within 60 days after it sent the first statement showing the error. The clock doesn't necessarily begin on the purchase date or when you first notice the transaction.

Use the address designated for billing inquiries or billing disputes. It may be different from the issuer's payment address, corporate address, or general customer-service address.

An address change can complicate the deadline. According to the FTC, if the statement went to an old address, the federal timing protection depends in part on whether you gave the issuer a written change of address at least 20 days before the billing period ended. If time is short, send the notice immediately and retain delivery evidence.

Some issuers or card networks may consider a late claim under their own procedures. That doesn't mean a late app submission or phone call preserves your FCBA rights.

What the issuer must do with a proper notice

Once it receives a qualifying written billing-error notice, the issuer generally must:

1. Acknowledge the complaint in writing within 30 days, unless it resolves the matter before then.
2. Investigate the disputed transaction.
3. Complete the process within two complete billing cycles, but no later than 90 days after receiving the notice.

If the issuer finds an error, it must correct the account and remove related charges as required. If it finds no error, it must provide a written explanation and state what amount remains due.

While a properly filed dispute is under investigation, you generally don't have to pay the disputed amount or finance charges connected to it. You remain responsible for the undisputed portion of the account, including any required payment attributable to that balance.

How to dispute the charge

1. Secure the account if you don't recognize the transaction

Call the issuer as soon as you spot a potentially unauthorized charge. Ask whether it needs to lock or replace the card, and check the account for other unfamiliar transactions.

If someone may have accessed your card account or the shopping account connected to the purchase, change the relevant passwords and turn on multifactor authentication. Record the date and time of the call, the representative's name if available, and the claim number.

Use the dispute reason that fits the facts. A purchase isn't fraudulent merely because the merchant provided poor service, missed a delivery date, or refused a return.

2. Save the statement and reconstruct what happened

Download or print the first statement containing the disputed transaction. Build a short timeline with:

• The merchant name and charged amount
• The transaction and posting dates
• The order, reservation, subscription, or service details
• What was promised and what happened instead
• Dates of cancellations, returns, calls, emails, and refund promises
• The name of anyone who approved a refund or correction

This gives the issuer a clean set of facts to compare with the merchant's records.

3. Ask the merchant to fix merchant-related errors

For a duplicate charge, wrong amount, missing delivery, canceled service, returned item, or unposted refund, contact the merchant through a channel that leaves a record. Email and an account messaging system are usually easier to document than a call alone.

Be specific about the requested resolution. Ask for the incorrect charge to be reversed, the agreed refund to be issued, or the canceled subscription to be corrected. Keep the response, cancellation confirmation, return tracking, delivery history, and any refund reference number.

The FTC's sample dispute-letter page also recommends contacting the seller when appropriate. Merchant discussions don't stop or extend the FCBA notice period.

4. Write to the issuer

Your notice needs enough detail to identify both the account and the alleged error. Include:

• Your name and account number, using the account information requested by the issuer
• The merchant's name
• The disputed amount and transaction date
• A direct explanation of why the statement is wrong
• A request for the issuer to investigate and correct the account
• Copies of the strongest supporting records

Don't send original receipts, return slips, or other documents you can't replace. Keep a copy of the entire submission. A trackable delivery method can establish when the issuer received it.

A simple letter can read:

[Your name]
[Your address]
[Date]

Billing Inquiries
[Issuer name]
[Billing-dispute address from your statement]

Re: Dispute of [amount] charged on [date], account ending in [last four digits]

I am disputing this charge because [give the specific reason]. The charge is [unauthorized, duplicated, for the wrong amount, for goods not delivered as agreed, or another accurate description].

Please investigate and correct the billing error. I have enclosed copies of [list the supporting records].

Sincerely,
[Your name]

Many issuers allow disputes through an app or website. Save the confirmation if you use one, but check whether that submission satisfies the issuer's written billing-error procedure. When the federal deadline is close, follow the billing-inquiry instructions on the statement rather than relying only on a call.

5. Pay the undisputed balance

Identify the exact transaction or portion of a transaction being challenged. Continue paying amounts unrelated to the dispute.

An issuer may place a temporary or provisional credit on the account during its review. Don't treat that adjustment as final. It can be reversed if the issuer later denies the claim.

6. Respond to requests for evidence

The issuer may ask for merchant correspondence, a receipt, delivery information, cancellation records, fraud details, or a clearer account of events. Reply by the stated deadline and keep proof of the response.

Retain the case number, statements, letters, screenshots, emails, and delivery confirmations until the matter is fully closed. Check later statements to see whether a credit was permanent or merely temporary.

Choose evidence that fits the claim

A large, disorganized upload can obscure the relevant facts. Start with a brief timeline, then attach the documents that directly support the dispute reason.

Label each attachment and arrange the records by date. The issuer should be able to see what happened without having to search through unrelated screenshots.

Special limits for defective goods and poor service

Receiving unsatisfactory goods isn't the same as being billed for goods that never arrived. If the problem concerns quality, first make a good-faith effort to obtain a remedy from the merchant.

A separate federal claims-and-defenses provision may allow a cardholder to assert certain merchant-related claims against the issuer. The general conditions include a purchase of more than $50 made in the same state as the cardholder's billing address or within 100 miles of that address. Other conditions and exceptions can affect whether the provision applies. The Chase explanation of credit-card disputes summarizes these geographic and dollar limits.

That rule doesn't establish that every online or distant purchase is ineligible for help. An issuer or card network may have a separate procedure. It does mean that poor service alone doesn't automatically create a federal billing-error right.

What happens after filing

The issuer will compare your account, explanation, and documents with any information it receives from the merchant. It may also use a card-network process with its own reason codes and internal deadlines.

Follow any response date in the issuer's confirmation. Network deadlines and issuer workflows don't replace the federal timetable for a timely written FCBA notice:

• Within 30 days: The issuer generally sends a written acknowledgment unless it has already resolved the matter.
• Within two complete billing cycles: It must complete its investigation and respond.
• Within 90 days: The federal resolution period ends, even if two complete billing cycles would take longer.

Straightforward fraud or duplicate-charge cases may be resolved sooner, but federal law doesn't promise an immediate decision or temporary credit.

If the issuer rejects the dispute

Read the denial closely before sending more documents. Then:

1. Request the explanation and available records. Ask what evidence led to the decision and whether the issuer can provide copies of the documents it relied on.
2. Find the precise conflict. If the merchant provided delivery confirmation, for example, determine whether it shows the correct item, address, recipient, and date.
3. Ask about reconsideration. Refer to the case number, explain the specific problem with the decision, and attach new or directly relevant evidence. Follow any deadline in the denial letter.
4. Address amounts that are now due. Continue paying undisputed charges and review the issuer's notice to determine how it is treating the rejected amount.
5. Escalate a process failure. If the issuer mishandled a timely written notice, missed the applicable FCBA timetable, or won't explain its response, file a complaint through the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau.

For a CFPB complaint, attach the statement, your dispute letter, proof that the issuer received it, the case number, and the issuer's response. A complaint can require the company to address the issue, but it doesn't replace the original 60-day notice or guarantee a refund.

Consider qualified consumer-law help when the amount is substantial or the dispute has led to collection activity or possible credit-reporting harm.

Errors that can undermine a valid claim

• Waiting to report a transaction you believe is unauthorized
• Mailing the notice to the payment address rather than billing inquiries
• Depending only on a phone call when the 60-day deadline is near
• Challenging the full account balance instead of identifying the disputed charge
• Sending original records
• Leaving out return tracking, cancellation proof, or the merchant's response
• Describing a legitimate but disappointing purchase as fraud
• Stopping payment on unrelated charges
• Assuming a card-network deadline extends the federal deadline
• Spending a temporary credit as though the issuer has issued a final decision

References

• FTC: Using Credit Cards and Disputing Charges
• FTC: Sample Letter for Disputing Credit and Debit Card Charges
• Regulation Z, 12 CFR section 1026.13: Billing error resolution
• Chase: How to Dispute a Credit Card Charge
• CFPB consumer complaint portal

Start by finding the first statement that shows the disputed charge. Note its statement date, locate the billing-inquiries address, and send a documented notice early enough for the issuer to receive it within the 60-day period.