Free tool for US cardholders · rules checked 6 November 2026
How to dispute a charge on your credit or debit card
Tell us what happened and when the charge showed up. You'll get your deadline, the law that protects you, what to try first and a dispute letter you can send to your card issuer. Free, and nothing you type leaves your browser.
How to dispute a charge, step by step
- Contact the merchant first unless it's fraud. Most banks ask whether you tried, and a refund from the merchant is faster than any dispute. Keep the emails or chat logs. How to ask for a refund.
- Collect proof: receipt or order confirmation, tracking, photos of what arrived, the cancellation email, the refund promise.
- Open the dispute with your card issuer in the app, online or by phone. Card apps usually have a "Dispute transaction" button on the charge itself.
- For credit cards, also send it in writing to the issuer's billing-error address (printed on your statement). The Fair Credit Billing Act's protections depend on written notice within 60 days. The letter above is in that format.
- Answer quickly if the bank asks for more. The merchant gets to respond, and the bank decides.
Your deadline
| Card | Law | Deadline | Your liability if it's fraud |
|---|---|---|---|
| Credit card | Fair Credit Billing Act (Regulation Z) | Written notice reaching the issuer within 60 days after the statement with the error was sent | At most $50, and most issuers charge $0 |
| Debit card, unauthorized use | Electronic Fund Transfer Act (Regulation E) | Report within 60 days after the statement was sent | $50 if you report within 2 business days of learning of a lost or stolen card; up to $500 after that; possibly everything taken after the 60 days |
| Debit card, merchant problem | No federal right; card network rules | Often about 120 days from the transaction or expected delivery date | Not applicable |
| Prepaid or gift card | Regulation E covers most registered prepaid accounts | Check the card's terms; report as soon as you can | Depends on the card |
Banks often accept disputes later than the legal minimum under Visa and Mastercard rules, but don't count on it. Act inside the legal window.
How long does a credit card dispute take?
For a credit card billing error, the issuer must acknowledge your letter within 30 days and resolve it within two billing cycles, and never more than 90 days. You don't have to pay the disputed amount while it investigates, and it can't report that amount as late.
For a debit card error, the bank has 10 business days to investigate. It can take up to 45 days (90 for new accounts, foreign and point-of-sale transactions) if it gives you provisional credit within those 10 business days.
Credit card dispute vs chargeback
They're the same process seen from two sides. You file a dispute with your bank; the bank then pulls the money back from the merchant's bank, which is the chargeback. What is a chargeback · Chargeback time limits by card network.
Bank-by-bank guides
Chase · Wells Fargo · Apple Pay · Cash App · Venmo · Zelle · PayPal · App Store and Google Play · In the UK: Section 75 and chargeback.
Things that weaken a dispute
- Disputing a charge you actually made as "fraud". If the merchant shows it was you, you lose and may be flagged. Pick the reason that's true.
- Using the product after saying it never arrived, or keeping an item you say was not as described without offering to return it.
- Disputing the same charge with the merchant (for example a PayPal case) and the bank at once. Pick one route.
Sources: Consumer Financial Protection Bureau, Regulation Z §1026.13 (billing error resolution) and Regulation E §1005.6 and §1005.11 (liability and error resolution); Federal Trade Commission, "Disputing credit card charges". Read 6 November 2026. Legal information, not legal advice.