You can dispute a credit card charge whenever it’s unauthorized, billed at the wrong amount, or tied to goods or services you never received as agreed. The Fair Credit Billing Act also lets you challenge math errors, missing credits, and charges you simply want more information about. For quality problems, a separate provision lets you assert against your card issuer the same claims you could bring against the merchant, though the requirements are stricter. In almost every case, the clock is short: written notice must reach the issuer within 60 days of the statement date.
Situations That Qualify as a Billing Error
The Fair Credit Billing Act spells out the categories that count as billing errors, and matching your situation to the right category matters because it determines which protections apply.1Office of the Law Revision Counsel. 15 USC 1666 – Correction of Billing Errors
- Unauthorized charges. Someone used your card or account number without permission. Stolen cards, skimmed numbers, and any transaction you didn’t initiate all qualify.
- Wrong amount. The merchant charged $200 when the receipt says $20, or your statement shows an amount you never agreed to pay.
- Goods or services not received or not as agreed. A package never arrived, a service provider didn’t show, you refused delivery because the item didn’t match the contract, or the merchant shipped the wrong product or quantity.
- Math and accounting errors. The creditor miscalculated your balance, applied a payment to the wrong account, or made a computational mistake.
- Missing credits. A return or payment you made didn’t post to your account.
- Undelivered statements. The creditor failed to mail your statement to your last known address, provided you gave that address in writing at least 20 days before the end of the billing cycle.
Recurring charges from a subscription you already canceled fit here too. Once you’ve revoked authorization, further charges are unauthorized transactions. Save a date-stamped cancellation confirmation before filing, because the merchant will almost certainly claim you never canceled.
You can also file a dispute simply to get more information about a charge. Requesting clarification or proof of a transaction is expressly listed as a valid billing error notice under Regulation Z.2Consumer Financial Protection Bureau. Regulation Z 1026.13 – Billing Error Resolution
Quality Disputes Follow Different Rules
Complaining that something you bought was defective, broken, or not what was advertised is not a billing error. It falls under a separate provision called claims and defenses, which lets you assert against the card issuer the same legal claims you could bring against the merchant under state law. The practical effect is similar — you can withhold payment — but three conditions must all be met.3Office of the Law Revision Counsel. 15 USC 1666i – Assertion by Cardholder Against Card Issuer of Claims and Defenses
- You made a good-faith effort to resolve the problem directly with the merchant first. Call, email, or visit, and keep records of every attempt.
- The original transaction was more than $50.
- The transaction occurred in your home state or within 100 miles of your current billing address.
The dollar and distance limits fall away in specific situations: when the seller is the card issuer itself, is controlled by the card issuer, is a franchised dealer in the card issuer’s products, or obtained the order through a mail solicitation the card issuer made or participated in.4eCFR. 12 CFR 1026.12 – Special Credit Card Provisions
Online purchases sit in a gray area. The statute predates e-commerce and hasn’t been updated to say directly whether an internet transaction with a distant seller counts as a mail solicitation. If you bought something online from a seller more than 100 miles away, you may still have a quality dispute depending on how the transaction was solicited, but the outcome isn’t guaranteed.
One more constraint: what you can recover through claims and defenses is limited to the amount still owed on that specific charge when you first notify the issuer. Pay the bill down and your leverage shrinks with it.3Office of the Law Revision Counsel. 15 USC 1666i – Assertion by Cardholder Against Card Issuer of Claims and Defenses
The 60-Day Deadline
For billing errors, your written notice must reach the card issuer within 60 days of the date the statement containing the error was mailed to you. Not 60 days from when you noticed the charge. Sixty days from the statement date. Miss that window and the creditor has no legal obligation to investigate, even if the error is obvious.1Office of the Law Revision Counsel. 15 USC 1666 – Correction of Billing Errors
This is where most claims fall apart. People don’t check statements monthly, or they assume they can deal with a suspicious charge whenever they get around to it. By then the clock has expired and the strongest legal protections are gone. Transaction alerts through your issuer’s app catch problems in real time rather than weeks later.
The claims-and-defenses route for quality disputes doesn’t carry a specific federal deadline, but waiting weakens your position because you can only recover the credit still outstanding on that transaction.
Your Liability for Unauthorized Charges
Federal law caps your personal liability for unauthorized credit card charges at $50, and even that applies only if the issuer met certain requirements: giving you notice of potential liability, providing a way to report loss or theft, and issuing a card with a means of identification. If any of those is missing, you owe nothing.5Office of the Law Revision Counsel. 15 USC 1643 – Liability of Holder of Credit Card
Most major issuers advertise zero-liability policies that waive the $50. Those are voluntary company policies, not legal requirements, and they sometimes come with conditions like timely reporting. The statutory $50 cap is the worst-case scenario under federal law, no matter how much the thief runs up. Once you report the card lost or stolen, you have zero liability for anything charged afterward.
How to File the Dispute
The statute requires a written notice. Not a phone call, not a note on a payment stub, not an in-app message, though many issuers accept online disputes as a convenience. To preserve every legal protection, send a letter that includes:
- Your name and account number
- The date and dollar amount of the disputed charge
- A clear explanation of why the charge is wrong, specifying the type of billing error
Send it to the address your issuer designates for billing inquiries, usually printed on the back of your statement. This is not the payment address. Sending your dispute to the payment-processing center can delay everything or lose it entirely.1Office of the Law Revision Counsel. 15 USC 1666 – Correction of Billing Errors
Use certified mail with return receipt requested. That gives you proof of the date the issuer received your notice, which matters if there’s ever a question about whether you met the 60-day deadline. Attach copies of receipts, delivery confirmations, cancellation emails, or other supporting documents. Keep the originals.
For unauthorized charges tied to identity theft, you don’t need a police report to file with your issuer. If you later need transaction records from the business where the fraudulent purchase happened, that business can require a police report along with an identity theft affidavit.6Federal Trade Commission. Businesses Must Provide Victims and Law Enforcement with Transaction Records Relating to Identity Theft
What Happens After You File
After receiving your dispute, the card issuer must acknowledge it in writing within 30 days, unless the whole matter is resolved in that same 30-day period. From there, the issuer has two complete billing cycles, capped at 90 days total, to investigate and reach a resolution.1Office of the Law Revision Counsel. 15 USC 1666 – Correction of Billing Errors
During the investigation, you can withhold payment on the disputed amount and any related finance charges. The creditor cannot try to collect that portion. If you’re on autopay, the issuer must not deduct the disputed amount as long as your notice arrived at least three business days before the scheduled payment.4eCFR. 12 CFR 1026.12 – Special Credit Card Provisions
The creditor also cannot threaten to damage your credit or report the amount as delinquent while the dispute is pending. Reporting the amount as in dispute is allowed. Delinquency reporting is not, at least until the investigation concludes and you’ve had time to respond.7Office of the Law Revision Counsel. 15 USC 1666a – Regulation of Credit Reports
If the investigation confirms your dispute, the creditor must credit your account for the incorrect amount and remove any related finance charges. The account should look as if the error never happened.
If the creditor decides the charge was correct, they must explain their findings in writing and tell you how much you owe and when it’s due. You then get at least 10 days to pay before the creditor can report you as delinquent.7Office of the Law Revision Counsel. 15 USC 1666a – Regulation of Credit Reports
You don’t have to accept that result. Send another written notice within the payment period stating you still believe the amount is wrong, and the creditor can report you to the credit bureaus only if they also report that the amount is in dispute and notify you of every party they’ve reported to. This doesn’t restart the investigation, but it keeps a one-sided delinquency mark off your credit report.
If Your Dispute Is Denied
If the issuer sides against you and you still believe the charge is wrong, a few options remain.
File a complaint with the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau at consumerfinance.gov or by calling (855) 411-2372. The CFPB forwards your complaint to the issuer, which generally must respond within 15 days. This creates a formal regulatory record, and companies tend to take complaints more seriously when a federal agency is watching.8Consumer Financial Protection Bureau. Submit a Complaint
For quality disputes, remember that claims and defenses lets you assert the same legal claims against the issuer that you could bring against the merchant under state consumer protection law. That includes the right to sue. Small claims court is often the most practical route for amounts under a few thousand dollars, and filing fees are relatively modest.
Debit Cards Don’t Have the Same Rights
Everything above applies to credit cards. Debit cards operate under a different law, the Electronic Fund Transfer Act, and the gaps matter enough that paying with a debit card genuinely costs you protection.
Liability for unauthorized charges is the clearest example. Credit cards cap your exposure at $50 under any circumstances. Debit cards use a tiered system tied to how quickly you report the problem:9Consumer Financial Protection Bureau. Regulation E 1005.6 – Liability of Consumer for Unauthorized Transfers
- Reported within 2 business days: liability capped at $50.
- Reported after 2 business days but within 60 days of the statement: liability capped at $500.
- Reported after 60 days: no cap, so you can lose everything the thief takes from that point forward.
The second gap involves quality disputes. The EFTA doesn’t give you a right to dispute a debit card transaction because you’re unhappy with the goods or services. Credit cards let you withhold payment and assert claims against the issuer. Debit cards don’t offer that federal protection. The money leaves your checking account immediately, and getting it back depends on the merchant’s willingness to refund or your bank’s voluntary chargeback policies. When the choice is available, a credit card gives you meaningfully stronger legal footing.