Credit Card Disputes and Chargebacks: Deadlines, Rights, and Limits

Credit card disputes and chargebacks are governed primarily by the Fair Credit Billing Act, which gives you 60 days from the statement date to notify your card issuer in writing of a billing error, lets you withhold payment on the disputed amount while the issuer investigates, and caps your liability for unauthorized charges at $50.¹ The issuer then has two complete billing cycles, and no more than 90 days, to either fix the charge or explain in writing why it stands. Miss the deadlines on your side and you lose the federal protection; miss them on the bank’s side and the bank forfeits the right to collect the disputed amount.

What You Can Dispute

The Fair Credit Billing Act, codified at 15 U.S.C. § 1666, defines several categories of billing errors that trigger dispute rights. A charge qualifies if you never authorized it, or if the amount on your statement doesn’t match what you agreed to pay.¹ You can also dispute a charge when goods or services weren’t delivered, arrived materially different from what you ordered, or you never accepted them.

Beyond obvious fraud, the statute covers less intuitive situations. If your issuer fails to properly reflect a payment or credit you made, that’s a billing error. Computation mistakes and other accounting errors on your statement count too. You can even trigger the dispute process simply by requesting additional documentation or clarification about a specific line item.¹ That last category is broader than most people realize. You don’t need to prove fraud to trigger an investigation. You just need to ask for an explanation of a charge you don’t recognize.

Complaints about the quality of a product or service that did arrive follow a different track under § 1666i, covered further down.

The Deadlines That Govern the Process

The timelines are rigid, and missing them can cost you your rights entirely.

60 days to notify your issuer. Your written notice must reach the creditor within 60 days after the first statement containing the error was sent to you. Once that window closes, the issuer has no obligation to investigate under federal law.¹
30 days for acknowledgment. After receiving your notice, the issuer must send a written acknowledgment within 30 days confirming the investigation has begun.¹
Two billing cycles, maximum 90 days, to resolve. The issuer must either correct the error or send you a written explanation of why the charge is valid within two complete billing cycles, and in no event more than 90 days, after receiving your notice.¹

If the issuer blows these deadlines, it forfeits the right to collect the disputed amount regardless of whether the original charge was valid.¹

Card networks set their own chargeback filing windows that sometimes extend beyond the federal 60-day rule. Mastercard allows up to 120 days from the transaction date for certain dispute categories. Those network timelines can help if you catch a problem after the statutory window closes, but they’re contractual rather than statutory, and what you get depends on your card agreement.

How to File the Dispute

Most banks now let you tap a “dispute transaction” button in their app or call a phone number to start the process. That’s convenient, but it doesn’t satisfy the Fair Credit Billing Act’s requirements. The statute requires a written notice sent to the address your issuer designates for billing inquiries, not the payment address or general customer service.¹ That address is typically printed in small type on your statement or in the disclosures section of your online account.

Calling or clicking through the app may start an internal investigation, and many banks resolve disputes that way without any issues. But if things go sideways, meaning the bank drags its feet, denies a valid claim, or tries to collect during the investigation, you have stronger legal footing if you sent a written notice. The FTC recommends sending the letter by certified mail with a return receipt so you have proof of when the bank received it.² That paper trail becomes your evidence if you later need to show the bank missed a statutory deadline.

What to Put in the Letter

Identify the specific transaction: the date, the merchant name as it appears on your statement, and the dollar amount. Include your name and account number, a clear statement that you believe the charge is an error, and a brief explanation of why. Stick to dates, amounts, and facts. If the charge was unauthorized, say so directly. If you received the wrong product or never received a delivery, describe what happened and when.

Attach copies, not originals, of any supporting evidence: receipts, tracking numbers showing non-delivery, emails with the merchant showing failed resolution attempts, photos of damaged goods. If you already tried to get a refund from the merchant, mention that and include documentation of those attempts. The more specific your package, the less likely the bank needs to come back with follow-up questions that slow things down.

Withholding Payment While the Dispute Is Open

Once you properly notify your card issuer of a billing error, you’re not required to pay the disputed amount while the investigation is pending. The creditor can’t try to collect on that portion of your balance either, including any finance charges or late fees tied to the disputed charge.³ Your issuer can still reduce your available credit limit by the disputed amount and show the charge on your statement, but must note that payment isn’t required while the dispute is open.

A common misconception is that your bank must issue a provisional credit, temporarily putting the money back on your statement, during a credit card dispute. Many banks do this voluntarily, but the law doesn’t require it. The FCBA’s protection for credit cards is the right to withhold payment, not to receive a temporary refund.³ A missing provisional credit isn’t a violation. But if the bank tries to collect the disputed amount or reports you as delinquent over it, that is.

The creditor also cannot close your account or restrict it solely because you’re withholding payment on a disputed charge. If a creditor ignores any of these procedural requirements, it forfeits the right to collect the disputed amount and any related finance charges, up to $50.¹

Unauthorized Charges and the $50 Cap

If someone uses your credit card without permission, whether through theft, skimming, or an online data breach, federal law caps your personal liability at $50. Under 15 U.S.C. § 1643, you can only be held liable for unauthorized charges that occur before you notify the issuer, and even then the total can’t exceed $50 regardless of how much the thief spent.⁴ Once you report the card lost or stolen, your liability for future unauthorized charges drops to zero.

In practice, most cardholders never pay even that $50. Major card networks have voluntarily adopted zero-liability policies that absorb the full cost of unauthorized transactions. Visa’s policy states that cardholders “won’t be held responsible for unauthorized transactions” on Visa cards, with limited exceptions for certain commercial and anonymous prepaid cards.⁵ Mastercard offers a similar guarantee. These network policies aren’t federal law, they’re contractual commitments that can change, but they’ve been in place for years and effectively reduce unauthorized-charge liability to zero for most consumer cards.

Disputes Over Defective Goods or Bad Service

The billing error process covers charges that were wrong, unauthorized, or for goods that never arrived. A product that showed up defective, or a service that was performed badly, falls under a different legal mechanism with stricter rules.

Under 15 U.S.C. § 1666i, you can assert against your card issuer any claims or defenses you’d have against the merchant, including breach of warranty or failure to deliver what was promised. This right kicks in only after you’ve made a good-faith attempt to resolve the problem directly with the merchant first.⁶ You also face geographic and dollar thresholds. The transaction must exceed $50, and it must have taken place in your home state or within 100 miles of your billing address.

Those geographic and dollar limits disappear in several situations. If the merchant is the same company as the card issuer, is controlled by the issuer, or obtained the transaction through a mail or online solicitation that the issuer participated in, the restrictions don’t apply.⁶ Many online purchases fall into that last exception, since card issuers frequently participate in the marketing of the purchase platform.

One important limit: the most you can recover through this route is the amount of credit still outstanding on the transaction when you first notify the issuer.⁶ If you’ve already paid off most of the balance, your leverage shrinks accordingly. If you’re dealing with a defective product or botched service, notify your issuer before paying down the charge.

What Happens During the Investigation

Once the bank accepts your dispute, it contacts the merchant’s acquiring bank and requests the merchant’s side of the story. The merchant then has a limited window to respond with what the industry calls “compelling evidence,” such as a signed delivery confirmation for a delivery dispute or matching device data for a fraud claim.

If the bank determines the charge was an error, it must correct your account and remove any related finance charges. If the bank sides with the merchant, it must send you a written explanation of why and tell you the exact amount you owe. That amount can include finance charges that accumulated during the investigation. The bank must give you the same grace period you’d normally receive before those charges kick in, and as long as you pay within that timeframe, the bank can’t report you as delinquent.²

If Your Dispute Is Denied

A denied dispute isn’t the end of the road. Read the bank’s written explanation carefully. It should identify specifically why the charge was found valid. If the bank relied on merchant evidence you can refute, you can submit additional documentation and ask the bank to reopen the case. There’s no federal right to a formal second investigation, but most issuers have internal escalation processes.

If you believe the bank violated FCBA procedures, meaning it missed a deadline, failed to acknowledge your dispute, or reported you as delinquent during the investigation, you can file a complaint with the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau. The CFPB routes complaints directly to the company, and issuers generally respond within 15 days. Include all key facts and documentation in your initial submission, because the CFPB generally won’t accept a second complaint about the same issue.⁷

For disputes involving a meaningful dollar amount, small claims court is another option. You can sue the merchant for breach of contract or the card issuer for FCBA violations. The FCBA itself provides for actual damages, statutory damages, and attorney’s fees in successful claims, which gives it some teeth even for smaller amounts.

Debit Cards Are Not Covered by the FCBA

Everything above applies to credit cards. If you paid with a debit card, a different federal law governs your dispute rights, the Electronic Fund Transfer Act, implemented through Regulation E. The protections are noticeably weaker, and your liability for unauthorized transactions depends on how quickly you report: $50 if you notify the bank within two business days, up to $500 if you report between then and 60 days after your statement, and potentially unlimited liability for unauthorized transfers that occur after that 60-day mark.⁸

The practical difference is stark. With a credit card, a fraudulent charge means you withhold a payment you haven’t yet made; the money was never out of your pocket. With a debit card, the money is already gone from your checking account, and you’re waiting for the bank to put it back. That timing gap can cause bounced checks, missed rent payments, and cascading overdraft fees. If you have a choice between putting a purchase on a credit card or a debit card, the dispute protections alone make a strong case for credit.

1
Office of the Law Revision Counsel. 15 USC 1666 – Correction of Billing Errors
2
Federal Trade Commission. Using Credit Cards and Disputing Charges
3
Consumer Financial Protection Bureau. 12 CFR 1026.13 – Billing Error Resolution
4
Office of the Law Revision Counsel. 15 USC 1643 – Liability of Holder of Credit Card
5
Visa. Zero Liability
6
Office of the Law Revision Counsel. 15 USC 1666i – Assertion by Cardholder Against Card Issuer of Claims and Defenses
7
Consumer Financial Protection Bureau. Submit a Complaint
8
Consumer Financial Protection Bureau. Regulation E 12 CFR 1005.6 – Liability of Consumer for Unauthorized Transfers