To dispute a credit card charge, send your card issuer a written billing-error notice within 60 days of the statement that first showed the charge. For a charge you didn't make, federal law caps your liability at $50, and the issuer can't try to collect a disputed amount while it investigates.
The Short Answer
The Fair Credit Billing Act is built into Regulation Z, section 1026.13. Your notice has to reach the issuer no later than 60 days after it sent the first statement that showed the error. The issuer must acknowledge your notice within 30 days and resolve it within two complete billing cycles, and in no event later than 90 days.
While the dispute is open, the issuer may not try to collect the disputed amount, report it as delinquent, or restrict or close your account solely because you used these rights in good faith. Three things decide most outcomes: filing inside the window, putting the dispute in writing, and attaching documents that show what went wrong.
Before You Dispute: Two Steps That Save Hours
Do these in order, because a dispute that skips them is easier to deny.
1. Verify the charge is actually wrong. Pull the statement and compare the merchant name to the date and amount. Plenty of "fraud" calls turn out to be charges the cardholder forgot about: a free trial that converted, a recurring subscription, or a charge from a parent company under a different name (PayPal merchants show as "PAYPAL *MERCHANTNAME," and some payment platforms show their own name, not the brand). Search the merchant descriptor in your email first. If you find a receipt for something you ordered, you probably don't have a dispute.
2. Write to the merchant. For a billing error, Regulation Z doesn't make you settle it with the merchant before you notify the issuer. The CFPB's interpretation of the rule says you can send a notice for goods or services not delivered as agreed without first resolving it with the merchant. A different right does require the attempt. Your claims-and-defenses rights under section 1026.12(c) apply only if you made a good-faith effort to resolve the dispute with the merchant. Email beats phone because email creates a paper trail. Give the merchant about a week, and keep the thread. If they refund you, you're done. If they ignore you or refuse, you now have evidence for the dispute.
Gather Documentation Before You File
Every successful dispute is built on documents. Pull these first.
- Statement entry with date, amount, and merchant descriptor.
- Receipt or order confirmation, if one exists.
- Email with the merchant, especially the refund request and the response (or a timestamp showing no response).
- Proof of non-delivery for goods: tracking, photos of damaged items, or screenshots of the listing.
- Proof of non-performance for services: canceled reservation, airline schedule-change email, unfulfilled contract.
- For travel: booking confirmation, the cancellation policy in effect when you booked (screenshot it, because merchants change policies), and any correspondence about schedule changes.
Your Legal Rights Under the FCBA
The Fair Credit Billing Act applies to credit card accounts. Two parts do most of the work.
Section 161, billing errors. Regulation Z lists what counts as a billing error, including an unauthorized extension of credit, goods or services not accepted or delivered as agreed, a payment that wasn't credited, and a computational error. Your written notice must reach the issuer no later than 60 days after it transmitted the first periodic statement that reflects the error. The issuer then has 30 days to acknowledge and up to two complete billing cycles, no more than 90 days, to resolve it. While the dispute is pending, the issuer may not try to collect the disputed amount or report it as delinquent. Withholding a disputed amount can't subject your undisputed balance to finance charges.
Section 170, claims against the issuer. If a merchant won't fix a problem with goods or services you bought, you can assert that claim or defense against the issuer. Regulation Z applies this when you made a good-faith attempt to resolve it with the merchant and the purchase was more than $50 and made in your home state or within 100 miles of your address. Those two limits don't apply in some cases, such as when the merchant is the issuer, is controlled by the issuer, or got your order through a mail solicitation the issuer made or joined in. Your issuer's own dispute policy may be broader than the statute, so check it.
Fraud is a separate rule. Under Regulation Z section 1026.12(b), your liability for unauthorized use of a credit card can't exceed $50. Many issuers and card networks advertise zero liability, which goes further, so read your card's terms. An unauthorized extension of credit is also a listed billing error, so don't wait. Report it as soon as you notice, and send your written notice inside the 60 days.
The Three Types of Disputes
Issuers sort disputes into three buckets, and the type drives the documentation you need.
1. Fraud (unauthorized transactions). A charge you didn't make. Lost card, stolen number, account takeover, a skimmed card at a gas pump. Expect the issuer to close the card and send a new number. You mostly need to say clearly that you didn't make the charge, and to say it quickly.
2. Merchant disputes (authorized but disputed). You made the purchase but didn't get what you paid for. The product never arrived, the hotel charged twice, the cancellation was confirmed but never refunded. The merchant can contest these, so documentation is everything.
3. Billing errors (issuer or processor mistakes). A payment that wasn't credited, a math error, or a charge for the wrong amount because the merchant ran the card twice. The evidence often sits in the issuer's own records.
The Step-by-Step Dispute Process
Step 1: Send the notice in writing. Most big issuers have an online dispute form in the cardholder portal. Use it instead of the phone, because the form creates a written record and a case number you can quote in every follow-up. If you want to send a letter, mail it to the billing-error address on your statement (not the payment address). Your notice has to be received inside the 60 days, so mail early, and certified mail with a return receipt gives you proof of the date.
Step 2: Attach your documentation. Most portals let you upload PDFs and images. Attach the receipt, the email thread, the cancellation policy screenshot and the tracking page. Don't summarize them in the description. Attach them and let the analyst read them directly.
Step 3: Ask about a temporary credit. Some issuers put a temporary credit on your account while they investigate. If yours does, it can be reversed if the investigation goes against you, so don't spend it as if it were final. Whether you get one or not, you still don't have to pay the disputed amount while the dispute is open.
Step 4: Wait out the investigation. The issuer must resolve a billing-error dispute within two complete billing cycles and no later than 90 days. The merchant can respond with its own documentation, which can trigger a second look.
Step 5: Get the resolution in writing. If the issuer agrees there was an error, it corrects your account. If it decides there wasn't one, it has to explain why. Keep both the notice and the answer. The escalation paths are below.
Travel-Specific Considerations
Travel disputes cross merchant boundaries, currencies, and time zones, which makes them harder than most. A few rules that help.
Airline cancellations. The Department of Transportation's refund rule (14 CFR Part 260) requires airlines to refund you in cash or the original form of payment when they cancel a flight or significantly change it and you don't accept the alternative. If an airline offers only a voucher, cite that rule in your dispute and attach the airline's refusal. Check DOT's site for the rule's current status before you file. Document the original schedule, the new schedule, and the airline's refusal, and file under "service not provided."
Hotel disputes. Write to the hotel's reservations team first, by email or chat, and get a confirmation number. If the property charged a no-show fee on a refundable booking, attach the screenshot showing the free-cancellation cutoff.
Rental cars. Damage-charge disputes are winnable when you have photos taken at pickup and return. The card you booked with may include primary or secondary rental coverage. Many travel cards do (see best credit cards with travel insurance), and that coverage sometimes resolves the problem outside the dispute process.
Online travel agencies. When you book through a third-party site, that site is often the merchant of record, not the airline or hotel. Your dispute may go to the agency, and the agency's terms may govern it. Read those terms before filing and copy them into the dispute notes.
Foreign-currency charges. Disputes over an exchange rate or a foreign transaction fee are hard to win. They're usually about the underlying charge, so dispute that instead.
What Happens During the Investigation
Once you file, the issuer works the case and may ask the merchant for its side through the card network. Three outcomes are common:
1. The merchant doesn't respond. The issuer can side with you, and the credit becomes permanent.
2. The merchant responds and the issuer rules for you. You keep the credit.
3. The merchant responds with strong evidence and the issuer rules against you. This happens when the merchant produces a signed receipt, a delivery confirmation, or a contract that contradicts your claim. You still have the escalation paths below.
Throughout the investigation, the issuer may not try to collect the disputed amount or report it as delinquent.
Common Mistakes That Kill Disputes
Relying on the phone. Regulation Z asks for a written notice, and a phone call leaves no record. Even if a rep says they've filed it, you've got no proof of the filing date. Follow up in writing and keep a copy.
Missing the 60-day window. The clock starts with the first statement that showed the charge, not the transaction date. A charge that posted June 1 and first appeared on a statement sent in mid-June gives you until about mid-August. After 60 days your FCBA rights are gone, though some issuers may still look at a late dispute. Ask.
Skipping the merchant on a merchant dispute. You can file a billing-error notice without it, but your claims-and-defenses rights need the good-faith attempt, and issuers tend to ask about it. Document the attempt even if the merchant ignores you.
Not attaching documentation. "I never got the product" without a tracking screenshot will lose to a merchant who responds with a delivery confirmation. Evidence beats assertion.
Paying the disputed amount. You don't have to pay the disputed portion while the dispute is open. Pay the undisputed part of your bill on time and leave the disputed amount alone.
Filing the wrong category. If you made the purchase yourself, fraud isn't the right box. Use a merchant dispute or billing error and bring documents.
Prevention Strategies
Prevention is the wallet hygiene that keeps you out of the dispute queue.
Set transaction alerts on every card. Real-time alerts on each purchase, or each purchase over a small amount, catch fraud in minutes instead of weeks. Most issuers offer them in the app.
Use virtual card numbers online. Several issuers and wallets offer virtual or device-specific card numbers that limit your exposure if a merchant is breached. The virtual credit cards guide walks through how they work.
Carry a backup card. When a card is compromised, you may be without it for days. A backup credit card kept in a separate place avoids declined autopay.
Use cards with strong purchase protection. Some cards extend warranties and cover damaged or stolen items for a limited time. The purchase protection guide breaks down which cards include this benefit.
Advanced Strategies When the Dispute Goes Against You
You've got escalation paths if the first round goes the wrong way.
1. File a written rebuttal with new evidence. Ask your issuer whether it allows a rebuttal and how long you have. Introduce documents you didn't include the first time or point out specific errors in the merchant's response.
2. Escalate to the executive office. Large issuers have an office that handles complaints past the front-line dispute team. Search "[issuer name] executive office" for contact details. Send a written summary, the documents, and the resolution you want.
3. File a CFPB complaint. The Consumer Financial Protection Bureau takes complaints about credit cards at consumerfinance.gov/complaint and sends them to the company. The CFPB says most companies respond within 15 days, and a company that is still working on its response can take up to 60 days to give a final one.
4. Contact your state attorney general. The AG's office handles consumer complaints and sometimes mediates. Use it when the CFPB path stalls.
5. Try small claims court. For a dispute over a few hundred dollars where the merchant won, small claims can be faster than people expect. Filing fees vary by court, so check yours.
Tools and Resources
- AnnualCreditReport.com. Free credit reports from all three bureaus. Check here after a fraud dispute to confirm the bureaus updated.
- Credit Karma. Free monitoring on TransUnion and Equifax, useful for spotting unauthorized new accounts that often follow fraud cases.
- Credit Sesame. Free credit monitoring that can help you spot unfamiliar accounts.
- myFICO. Paid access to FICO scores, useful after fraud to confirm there's no scoring damage.
- TransUnion direct. Your TransUnion report and score, plus dispute filing directly with the bureau.
- CFPB complaint portal (consumerfinance.gov/complaint). Federal escalation when the issuer denies a legitimate dispute.
- Issuer dispute portals. Inside the cardholder app, usually under "Dispute a charge" or "Transaction inquiry."
Your Next Step
Open your latest statement and find the date the charge first appeared. Count 60 days from the statement that showed it, and send your written notice well before that day, with your documents attached. Keep the case number, write to the merchant at the same time, and if the issuer denies a dispute you can back up, file a CFPB complaint.
Updated October 17, 2026: dispute rules.
