To dispute a credit card charge, send your card issuer a written notice at the address listed for billing inquiries within 60 days of the first statement showing the charge, explain exactly what’s wrong, and include documentation that backs you up. Your issuer then has two billing cycles, and no more than 90 days, to investigate. The protections you get along the way depend on which of two tracks your dispute falls under: a billing error, or a problem with the quality of what you bought.
Figure Out Which Kind of Dispute You Have
The Fair Credit Billing Act treats these two situations very differently, and picking the right track changes what you have to do.
A billing error is a problem with the charge itself. Federal law covers unauthorized charges, wrong amounts, charges for goods or services that never arrived or you didn’t accept, math errors on the statement, missing credits for payments or returns, and line items you don’t recognize and want documentation for.1Office of the Law Revision Counsel. 15 U.S. Code 1666 – Correction of Billing Errors For a billing error, you go straight to your card issuer. You don’t have to contact the merchant first, and there’s no minimum dollar amount.
A quality dispute is different. You got the item, but it’s defective, materially different from what was advertised, or the service was substandard. Technically you’re asserting against your card issuer the same claims you could assert against the merchant.2Office of the Law Revision Counsel. 15 U.S. Code 1666i – Assertion by Cardholder Against Card Issuer of Claims and Defenses That track comes with extra conditions, covered further down.
One side note on unauthorized charges specifically: your maximum liability under federal law is $50, and Visa, Mastercard, and most major networks have zero-liability policies that waive even that when you report promptly.3Visa. Visa’s Zero Liability Policy Check your statements regularly and report fraud as soon as you spot it.
What to Gather Before You File
A dispute without evidence is just a complaint. Before you contact your issuer, pull together the basics they need to locate the transaction: your account number, the date the charge posted, the exact dollar amount, and the merchant name as it appears on your statement. Then write a clear, specific explanation of what’s wrong. “I didn’t authorize this charge” or “the item arrived broken and the seller refused a refund” tells the issuer exactly what category you’re filing under.4Federal Trade Commission. Sample Letter for Disputing Credit and Debit Card Charges
The supporting evidence that matters depends on the type of dispute:
- For unauthorized charges: police reports, records showing you were somewhere else, or correspondence about compromised card numbers.
- For wrong amounts or double billing: receipts, order confirmations, or screenshots of the correct price.
- For undelivered goods: tracking showing non-delivery or emails where the merchant acknowledged the problem.
- For quality problems: photos of the defective item, the original listing or ad, and copies of every message you exchanged with the merchant trying to resolve it.
Keep copies of everything you send. Originals stay with you.
How to Send Your Notice
The FCBA requires written notice, and that notice must go to the address your issuer designates for billing inquiries. That is almost never the payment address. Look on the back of your statement, in your card agreement, or on your issuer’s website for the correct billing dispute address.5Office of the Law Revision Counsel. 15 U.S.C. 1666 – Correction of Billing Errors
Your notice must reach the issuer within 60 days of the date the first statement containing the error was sent to you. Miss that window and you lose the specific FCBA protections, including the right to withhold payment on the disputed amount and the ban on being reported delinquent while the dispute is open.5Office of the Law Revision Counsel. 15 U.S.C. 1666 – Correction of Billing Errors Sixty days feels generous until you remember the clock starts when the statement was mailed, not when you opened it.
Send the letter by certified mail with a return receipt. That receipt proves what you sent and when the issuer got it, and if the dispute later escalates it’s your most important document.
What About Online Dispute Portals?
Most issuers now let you file disputes through their website or app, and for a straightforward unauthorized charge that gets reversed in a week, that’s fine. The catch is that the FCBA’s statutory protections are tied to written notice sent to the billing inquiries address. For a $30 duplicate charge, the distinction doesn’t matter. For a large disputed amount where you want the legal right to withhold payment during a months-long investigation, mail the letter. When real money is on the line, do both: file online for speed, then follow up with a certified letter to lock in your legal position.
Extra Steps if You’re Disputing Quality
If your complaint is about the quality of something you bought rather than a billing error, your issuer isn’t obligated to step in until you clear three additional hurdles.
First, make a good-faith effort to resolve the problem with the merchant. Call, email, or write to the seller and ask for a refund, replacement, or credit, and document every attempt. If the merchant refuses or ignores you, you’ve met this requirement.6Federal Trade Commission. Using Credit Cards and Disputing Charges
Second, the transaction must exceed $50.
Third, the purchase must have been made in your home state or within 100 miles of your billing address. The geographic restriction was written for brick-and-mortar retail and feels awkward for online shopping, but it’s still in the statute.2Office of the Law Revision Counsel. 15 U.S. Code 1666i – Assertion by Cardholder Against Card Issuer of Claims and Defenses
Important exception: the $50 and 100-mile rules don’t apply when the merchant is the same company as the card issuer, is controlled by the issuer, or sold to you through a mail or online solicitation the issuer participated in. Purchases on a store’s own branded card, or from merchants inside the issuer’s direct ecosystem, bypass those limits.2Office of the Law Revision Counsel. 15 U.S. Code 1666i – Assertion by Cardholder Against Card Issuer of Claims and Defenses
One more limit worth noting: you can only assert claims up to the amount of credit still outstanding on that transaction when you notify the issuer. Pay the balance in full and you’ve reduced your leverage.
What Happens After You File
Once your issuer receives a valid dispute notice, a regulatory clock starts. They must send you a written acknowledgment within 30 days unless they’ve already resolved it. The full investigation must be completed within two billing cycles, and never more than 90 days from receipt of your notice.5Office of the Law Revision Counsel. 15 U.S.C. 1666 – Correction of Billing Errors
While the investigation is open, you can withhold payment on the disputed amount and any finance charges tied to it. You still owe the rest of your bill. Skipping the whole payment because one charge is disputed is a common mistake that generates real late fees on the undisputed balance.7GovInfo. FTC Fast Facts – Fair Credit Billing
During the investigation, the issuer cannot report the disputed amount as delinquent to credit bureaus or take collection action for it. Your account can’t be closed or restricted, though the issuer may apply the disputed amount against your credit limit.8Office of the Law Revision Counsel. 15 U.S. Code 1666a – Regulation of Credit Reports That protection is one of the most valuable parts of the FCBA: a pending dispute can’t drag down your credit score while the facts are being sorted.
The investigation ends one of two ways. If the issuer finds a billing error, they have to correct your account and remove all finance charges, late fees, and other costs tied to the disputed amount.7GovInfo. FTC Fast Facts – Fair Credit Billing If they conclude the charge is correct, they have to send you a written explanation of what you owe and why, and you get at least ten days to pay before they can report it delinquent.8Office of the Law Revision Counsel. 15 U.S. Code 1666a – Regulation of Credit Reports If you still disagree, you can send a second written notice within that payment period. The issuer may then report the delinquency, but they also have to note the amount is in dispute and tell you who got the report.
A separate rule puts pressure on issuers to follow procedure. If the issuer fails to follow the FCBA’s dispute rules, they forfeit the right to collect the disputed amount and related finance charges, up to $50, even if the underlying charge turns out to be valid.5Office of the Law Revision Counsel. 15 U.S.C. 1666 – Correction of Billing Errors
If Your Dispute Is Denied
A denied dispute isn’t the end of the road, but the next steps take more effort.
Filing a complaint with the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau is the most direct escalation. Submit one online at consumerfinance.gov/complaint in about ten minutes, or call (855) 411-2372. The CFPB forwards your complaint to the issuer, which generally has to respond within 15 days, and in some cases will provide a final response within 60 days. The CFPB won’t resolve the dispute for you, but companies take these complaints seriously because they feed a public database and regulators watch complaint patterns.9Consumer Financial Protection Bureau. Submit a Complaint
If the dispute left a negative mark on your credit report and you believe the information is wrong, you can also add a brief statement to your credit file explaining your side. Credit reporting agencies have to include or summarize it in future reports.10Consumer Financial Protection Bureau. What if I Disagree With the Results of My Credit Report Dispute Lenders don’t always read these carefully, but it documents your position.
For larger amounts, small claims court is an option. Filing fees vary by jurisdiction but generally range from $30 to $75. You don’t need a lawyer, and the informal setting lets you present your evidence directly to a judge.