What Is a Chargeback Dispute: Deadlines, Liability, and Filing

A chargeback dispute is a formal request asking your bank or card issuer to reverse a credit or debit card charge you believe is wrong, unauthorized, or tied to goods or services you never properly received. Two federal laws create the right: the Fair Credit Billing Act for credit cards and the Electronic Fund Transfer Act for debit cards. Both set strict deadlines, and missing them can turn a reversible charge into a permanent loss.

When You Can File a Chargeback

Not every bad purchase qualifies. The dispute has to fit a recognized category of billing error or unauthorized use. The main grounds are:¹

Unauthorized charges from theft, a data breach, or account fraud.
Billing errors such as duplicate charges, wrong amounts, or math mistakes on your statement.
Non-delivery of goods or services you paid for.
Goods not as agreed — the item arrived damaged or is significantly different from what the merchant described.

Which category applies matters because the evidence the bank needs and the rules that govern the dispute change with it.

Deadlines You Cannot Miss

Credit Cards: 60 Days

You have 60 days from the date your card issuer sends the statement containing the error to submit a written dispute notice. The notice must include your name and account number, identify the charge and amount you believe is wrong, and explain why.² Miss that window and you lose the federal protections for that charge.

Debit Cards: Report Fast, Because Liability Climbs

Debit card timing is tighter and the stakes rise sharply the longer you wait. Under 15 U.S.C. § 1693g, your liability for unauthorized transfers depends on how quickly you report:³

Report within 2 business days of learning your card was lost or stolen, and your liability is capped at $50.
Report after 2 business days but within 60 calendar days of receiving the statement showing the unauthorized transfer, and liability rises to $500.
Wait longer than 60 calendar days, and you face unlimited liability for unauthorized transfers that happen after that window closes.

The jump from $50 to unlimited exposure is why debit card problems need immediate attention. A phone call the day you notice the charge keeps your potential loss small.

How Much You Can Lose on an Unauthorized Credit Card Charge

Federal law caps your liability for unauthorized credit card use at $50, and even that only applies if the issuer previously told you about your potential liability and gave you a way to report a lost or stolen card. If the issuer didn’t meet those conditions, you owe nothing.⁴ Many issuers also offer voluntary zero-liability policies that go beyond this federal floor.

Extra Rules for Quality-of-Goods Disputes

If you’re disputing a charge because the product or service was unsatisfactory, rather than because it was unauthorized or miscalculated, a separate provision kicks in. Under 15 U.S.C. § 1666i, you can hold your credit card issuer responsible for the same claims you’d have against the merchant, but three conditions apply:⁵

You first made a good-faith attempt to resolve the problem with the merchant.
The transaction was for more than $50.
The purchase happened in your home state or within 100 miles of your billing address.

The dollar and geographic limits fall away if the merchant is affiliated with or controlled by the card issuer, or if the issuer solicited the purchase itself (for example, through a promotion mailed with your statement).⁵ Online purchases from a distant seller often fail the geographic test unless one of those exceptions applies. The most you can recover under this provision is the amount still outstanding on the transaction when you first notify the issuer.

Keep this contact-the-merchant-first rule separate from ordinary billing errors. For unauthorized charges, duplicate charges, wrong amounts, or non-delivery, federal law does not require you to contact the merchant before filing with your bank.⁶ You can go straight to the issuer.

How to File

Before you contact the bank, pull together:

The exact date of the purchase, the merchant’s name as it appears on your statement, and the dollar amount.
Copies of any emails, chat logs, or letters showing attempts to resolve the issue with the merchant.
Supporting evidence: photos of damaged goods, screenshots comparing the listing to what arrived, delivery tracking, or anything else that shows what went wrong.

Most banks accept disputes through an online portal, by phone, or in writing. For credit cards, the Fair Credit Billing Act requires written notice sent to the address the issuer designates for billing disputes, which is usually different from the payment address.² For debit cards, you can notify the bank orally or in writing, though the bank may ask for written confirmation within 10 business days of an oral report.⁷

What Happens After You File

Credit Card Timeline

Once your issuer receives a written dispute, it has 30 days to acknowledge receipt unless it resolves the problem in that initial period. The full investigation must finish within two complete billing cycles, capped at 90 days total.² While the investigation is open, the issuer cannot try to collect the disputed amount, cannot report it as delinquent, and cannot tell credit bureaus the account is in bad standing on that charge.¹

At the end, the issuer either corrects the error (and refunds any finance charges that accrued on the disputed amount) or sends you a written explanation of why it believes the charge was correct. If the ruling goes against you, you can request copies of the documentation the issuer relied on.²

Debit Card Timeline

Debit disputes move faster at the start. Your bank has 10 business days to investigate and report back. If it needs more time, it can provisionally credit your account for the disputed amount and extend the investigation to 45 days.⁷ You have full use of the credited funds while the investigation runs.

If the bank concludes no error occurred, it must notify you within one business day of the decision and send a written explanation. It can then reverse the provisional credit, but only after giving you at least five business days’ notice.

Don’t File a Chargeback You Can’t Justify

Disputing a charge you actually authorized and received value for, sometimes called “friendly fraud,” has consequences. Under 15 U.S.C. § 1644, knowingly using a credit card to obtain money, goods, or services worth $1,000 or more in a year through fraudulent means is a federal crime carrying fines up to $10,000, up to 10 years in prison, or both.⁸ Short of prosecution, banks track patterns and may close accounts, and merchants share information about customers with repeated disputes. The system works on good-faith use.

1
Federal Trade Commission. Using Credit Cards and Disputing Charges
2
Office of the Law Revision Counsel. 15 USC 1666 – Correction of Billing Errors
3
Office of the Law Revision Counsel. 15 USC 1693g – Consumer Liability
4
Office of the Law Revision Counsel. 15 USC 1643 – Liability of Holder of Credit Card
5
Office of the Law Revision Counsel. 15 USC 1666i – Assertion by Cardholder Against Card Issuer of Claims and Defenses
6
Consumer Financial Protection Bureau. Regulation Z – 1026.13 Billing Error Resolution
7
Office of the Law Revision Counsel. 15 USC 1693f – Error Resolution
8
Office of the Law Revision Counsel. 15 USC 1644 – Fraudulent Use of Credit Cards, Penalties