How to Dispute a Credit Card Charge: Your Rights and the Steps

Independent guide - not affiliated with or endorsed by any card issuer or card network. Use the dispute and contact details printed on your statement or in your issuer's official app; never use a number from an unsolicited email or text.

To dispute a credit card charge in the US, first ask the merchant to fix it, then contact your card issuer. For billing errors, send a written dispute to the issuer's billing-inquiries address so it arrives within 60 days after the first statement showing the error was sent. While the issuer investigates, you can withhold payment on the disputed amount, and the issuer must resolve the dispute within a set deadline.

Those rights come from the Fair Credit Billing Act, part of federal law, and are explained by the Federal Trade Commission (FTC) and the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau (CFPB). Your issuer may offer extra protections through card network rules, often called a chargeback, but the federal rights are the floor. This guide explains both and gives a step-by-step process that works with any issuer.

Which charges can you dispute?

Disputes fall into three broad groups, and each is handled a little differently:

The FTC explains that for unauthorized charges, federal law limits your responsibility to a small capped amount, and many issuers go further with zero-liability policies. Report a lost or stolen card as soon as you notice; charges made after you report it are not your responsibility.

Step 1: Try the merchant first

Many problems are fixed fastest by the merchant: a duplicate charge, a refund that never posted, a subscription you cancelled. Contact them, explain the problem and ask for a refund to the card. Keep a record of the date, who you spoke to and what was agreed. For quality-of-goods disputes, the FTC says you must have made a real attempt to resolve it with the seller before the issuer is involved. Even for billing errors, a note showing you tried helps your case.

Do not let this step eat your deadline. If the merchant has not fixed it within a couple of weeks, go to the issuer.

Step 2: Contact your card issuer

Most issuers let you start a dispute in their app or online account, and many resolve simple cases that way. To make sure your federal billing error rights apply, the FTC recommends sending a letter to the address the issuer gives for billing inquiries, which is printed on your statement and is not the address for payments. The letter should arrive within 60 days after the first bill containing the error was sent to you.

Include:

• Your name, address and account number.
• The date, merchant and amount of the charge.
• A clear statement of why you believe it is an error.
• Copies, not originals, of receipts, order confirmations, cancellation emails or delivery tracking.

Send it by a method that gives you proof of delivery, and keep a copy. If you also dispute in the app, note the reference number.

Step 3: What the issuer must do

According to the FTC, once the issuer receives your written billing error notice:

• It must acknowledge your complaint in writing within 30 days, unless the problem has already been resolved.
• It must resolve the dispute within two billing cycles, and in any case within 90 days.
• While it investigates, you can withhold payment of the disputed amount and related charges. You still need to pay the rest of your bill on time.
• It cannot report the disputed amount as delinquent or take collection action on it during the investigation.

The CFPB adds that if you pay your entire bill except the disputed amount, you keep your grace period on new purchases. That protects you from interest on new spending while the case is open. Our guide on how credit card interest works explains why the grace period matters.

Step 4: The outcome

If the issuer finds an error, it must correct your account and remove related interest and fees. If it finds the charge was correct, it must explain why in writing, send copies of evidence if you ask, and tell you what you owe. The FTC notes that in that case the amount due can include interest that built up while the charge was in dispute. If you still disagree, you can write back within the time stated in the issuer's letter, and the issuer then cannot report you as delinquent without also reporting that you dispute the bill.

Chargebacks versus your federal rights

A chargeback is the process the card networks use to move money back from the merchant's bank to your issuer. When your issuer accepts a dispute, it often uses a chargeback to recover the money. Network rules can cover situations beyond the federal minimum and can have their own time limits, which vary by network and reason. Ask your issuer what applies and do not assume a longer window exists. The federal 60-day rule for billing errors is the safest deadline to work to.

Fraud and unrecognised charges

If you do not recognise a charge, check first whether it is a merchant's trading name, a family member or authorised user on your account, or a pre-authorisation hold that will drop off. If it is genuinely unauthorised:

1. Lock or freeze the card in the issuer's app, or report it lost or stolen using the number on the back of your card.
2. Dispute every unauthorised charge.
3. Ask for a replacement card with a new number.
4. Check your credit reports for accounts you did not open.

Scammers often pose as a bank's fraud team. Hang up and call the number on your card, and never share a one-time passcode with someone who called you. Our guides on one-time passcodes and cards declined after activation cover related card security issues.

Mistakes that weaken a dispute

• Missing the 60-day window. Mark the statement date when you spot a problem.
• Disputing by phone only. A call can start the process, but written notice is what triggers the billing error protections.
• Not paying the undisputed balance. Late fees and interest still apply to the rest of the bill.
• Disputing a charge you actually authorised just to get out of a contract. Issuers investigate, and a false claim can lead to account closure.
• Throwing away evidence. Keep receipts, emails and screenshots until the case is closed.

If the issuer does not follow the rules

If the issuer misses its deadlines or will not explain its decision, you can submit a complaint to the CFPB online. Include your dispute letter, proof of delivery and the issuer's replies.

Sources

• FTC: Using credit cards and disputing charges
• CFPB: Can they charge me interest on a charge I told them I did not make?
• Regulation Z, 12 CFR 1026.13: Billing error resolution
• CFPB: Submit a complaint