How to Do a Credit Card Chargeback: Deadlines and Filing Steps

To do a credit card chargeback, contact the merchant first, then send a written dispute to your card issuer at the address listed for billing inquiries within 60 days of the statement date that shows the charge. Your notice needs your name and account number, the specific charge and amount, and why you believe it’s wrong. The Fair Credit Billing Act requires the issuer to investigate, and you don’t have to pay the disputed amount or any interest on it while that investigation is underway.

Try the Merchant First

Before anything else, call or email the seller. For quality-of-goods disputes under 15 U.S.C. § 1666i, federal law actually requires a good faith attempt to resolve the problem with the merchant before you can push the claim to your card issuer.¹ Mastercard’s chargeback rules impose a similar expectation for certain categories.

Even when the law doesn’t require it, going to the merchant first is usually faster than a formal dispute. A charge that looks fraudulent often turns out to be a familiar business operating under an unfamiliar billing name. Keep a log of every attempt — dates, who you reached, what they offered or refused. That record becomes evidence if the dispute escalates.

What You Can Dispute

The FCBA recognizes specific categories of billing errors that qualify for a formal dispute:

Unauthorized charges, including charges in an amount different from what you agreed to pay.
Goods or services that never arrived, or that didn’t match what the merchant promised.
Computation or accounting mistakes, like an incorrect total or a duplicated charge.
Payments or refunds you made that don’t appear on your statement.
Charges you don’t recognize and want the issuer to document.

These categories come directly from the statute and cover most situations where your statement doesn’t match reality.²

A separate provision, § 1666i, lets you raise against the issuer the same complaints you’d have against a merchant for defective or misrepresented goods. It comes with limits: the transaction generally has to exceed $50 and must have occurred in your home state or within 100 miles of your billing address, unless the merchant is affiliated with the card issuer or the issuer solicited the transaction.¹ Most online purchases fall outside the geographic limit, which is why the Visa and Mastercard network chargeback rules — which carry longer windows of 90 or even 120 days from the transaction date — often do the real work for e-commerce.

The 60-Day Deadline

You have 60 days from the date your issuer sends the statement containing the error. Miss that deadline and the issuer has no obligation under federal law to investigate.² The clock starts when the statement is transmitted, not when you open it, so ignoring statements is one of the fastest ways to lose your rights.

Send the dispute to the address your issuer designates for billing inquiries. It’s usually printed on the back of your statement or posted on the issuer’s website, and it is almost never the same as the payment address. Dropping your dispute letter into the payment processing envelope doesn’t count — the statute requires delivery to the billing inquiries address.²

What to Put in the Dispute

The statute requires three things: your name and account number, the specific charge you believe is wrong along with the dollar amount, and an explanation of why you believe it’s an error.² Beyond that minimum, add anything that supports your version of events:

Receipts, order confirmations, or contracts showing what you agreed to pay.
Tracking numbers or delivery records when the issue is non-delivery or late delivery.
Emails and call notes from your attempts to resolve things with the merchant.
Photos of damaged or wrong merchandise.

How to Send It

Most issuers now accept disputes through their website or mobile app. You pick the transaction, choose a reason, type your explanation, and upload documents or screenshots. The online route is fast and gives you an immediate confirmation number.

For larger amounts or anywhere you expect pushback, mail a dispute letter by certified mail with return receipt. The receipt pins down the exact date the issuer received your notice, which matters if the 60-day deadline is ever questioned. Keep copies of everything.

The FCBA’s protections apply to “written notice.” An issuer’s own online dispute portal almost certainly satisfies that, since the issuer built the system for the purpose. Certified mail just removes any argument.

What Happens After You File

The issuer must send you a written acknowledgment within 30 days of receiving your dispute, unless it resolves the matter in that time. From there, it has two full billing cycles — and no more than 90 days — to complete the investigation.² While the investigation is pending, you don’t have to pay the disputed amount or any interest and fees accumulating on it. You do have to keep paying the rest of your bill on time; the dispute only shields the charge in question.³

The issuer also cannot report you as delinquent or threaten your credit rating over the disputed amount while the investigation runs.³

If the Issuer Rules Against You

When the issuer concludes the charge is valid, it has to notify you in writing, explain why, and tell you what you owe, including any finance charges that built up during the investigation. It must give you the same grace period you had before the dispute, so you have time to pay without more interest piling on.³

If you still disagree, write to the issuer within 10 days of getting that explanation to maintain the charge is wrong. The issuer can then begin collection and may report the account as delinquent, but any report has to note that you dispute the amount.³

The law also puts teeth on the issuer. If it misses the 30-day acknowledgment, blows past the 90-day resolution window, or tries to collect the disputed amount during the investigation, it forfeits the right to collect that amount and any related finance charges, up to $50.⁴ The cap is modest, but the forfeiture applies even when the underlying charge was perfectly legitimate.

If the issuer ignored the FCBA’s requirements, you can file a complaint with the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau at consumerfinance.gov/complaint. The CFPB forwards the complaint to the issuer, which must respond. Companies track these closely because the agency uses response patterns in enforcement decisions. Small claims court is another option when the dollars justify the trouble; filing fees generally run from around $10 to $75 depending on the jurisdiction.

Debit Cards Work Differently

Everything above governs credit cards. Debit transactions fall under the Electronic Fund Transfer Act, and the protections are weaker. Your liability for unauthorized debit charges hinges on how quickly you report: notify the bank within two business days and the cap is $50; wait longer but report within 60 days of your statement and exposure jumps to $500; miss 60 days and you can be liable for everything stolen after that.⁵ If the bank can’t resolve a debit dispute in 10 business days, it must provisionally credit your account while it continues to investigate for up to 45 days.⁶ The 60-day reporting deadline mirrors the credit card rule, but the consequences of missing it are far harsher.⁷ When you have the choice, a credit card gives you stronger ground to stand on.

1
Office of the Law Revision Counsel. 15 USC 1666i: Assertion by Cardholder Against Card Issuer of Claims and Defenses
2
Office of the Law Revision Counsel. 15 USC 1666: Correction of Billing Errors
3
Federal Trade Commission (FTC). Using Credit Cards and Disputing Charges
4
GovInfo. 15 USC 1666: Correction of Billing Errors – Section E
5
Office of the Law Revision Counsel. 15 U.S. Code 1693g – Consumer Liability
6
Consumer Financial Protection Bureau. Regulation E 1005.11 – Procedures for Resolving Errors
7
Consumer Financial Protection Bureau. Comment for 1005.11 – Procedures for Resolving Errors