Quick answer: Try the merchant first, then file a dispute with your card issuer through its app, website, or the number on the back of your card. Under the Fair Credit Billing Act you have 60 days from the statement date to dispute billing errors, and the issuer must acknowledge within 30 days and resolve within two billing cycles (up to 90 days).
Key Takeaways
- You generally have 60 days from the statement date to dispute a billing error
- Contact the merchant first, then your card issuer
- Keep receipts, screenshots, and dates as evidence
- Fraudulent charges are capped at $50 liability by law
Step 1: Contact the merchant
Many issuers require you to attempt a resolution with the seller first, and merchants often refund faster than a formal dispute. Keep a record of the date, who you spoke with, and what was said.
Step 2: File the dispute with your issuer
Log in to your card account and find the transaction. Most major issuers (Chase, Capital One, American Express, Citi, Discover, Bank of America) have a “Dispute this charge” or “Report a problem” button. Choose the reason that fits: unauthorized charge, item not received, item not as described, duplicate charge, or wrong amount.
Step 3: Provide evidence
Upload receipts, order confirmations, screenshots of messages with the seller, tracking information, and photos if the product was damaged or different from what was advertised. Clear, dated evidence is what wins disputes.
What happens next
The issuer typically posts a temporary credit while it investigates. The merchant is given a chance to respond. If the issuer rules in your favor the credit becomes permanent; if not, the charge is reinstated and you should receive a written explanation and the right to request the documents the issuer relied on.
Fraud vs. billing dispute
If you did not make the charge at all, report it as fraud, not a dispute. Your liability for unauthorized credit card charges is capped at $50 by law, and nearly all issuers waive even that. The card will usually be cancelled and reissued.
Tips that improve your odds
- Act quickly; the 60-day clock starts on the statement date, not the purchase date.
- Do not stop paying the rest of your bill; only the disputed amount can be withheld.
- Keep everything in writing when possible.
- If the issuer denies a valid claim, you can complain to the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau at consumerfinance.gov/complaint.
FAQ
Can I dispute a debit card charge the same way? Debit cards are covered by a different law (Electronic Fund Transfer Act) with tighter deadlines, so report even faster.
Will a dispute hurt my credit score? No. Filing a dispute is not reported to credit bureaus.
Can I dispute a subscription I forgot to cancel? You can try, but issuers often side with the merchant if terms were disclosed. Cancel the subscription first, then dispute charges made after cancellation.
What the merchant sees, and why documentation decides everything
When you dispute, your issuer sends the merchant a chargeback notice containing a reason code. The merchant can accept the loss or fight it by submitting evidence: signed receipts, delivery confirmation to your address, IP and device logs, the terms you agreed to at checkout, or messages showing you received the goods.
The issuer then decides under the card network’s rules, which weigh documented facts far more heavily than either party’s account of events. This is why specific, dated evidence wins and general dissatisfaction loses. A screenshot of the product listing, the order confirmation, photographs of what actually arrived, and the timestamped message where the seller refused a refund will beat a paragraph explaining that the item was not as expected.
Category by category
Subscriptions you cancelled. Issuers want proof that you cancelled and that the charge came afterward. Keep the cancellation confirmation email or screenshot. If you cancelled through an app store, the receipt from Apple or Google is your evidence. Disputing a subscription you forgot to cancel usually fails, because the terms were disclosed.
Travel that was cancelled. A flight or hotel that refuses a refund can be disputed as services not provided. One warning: if you accepted a voucher or credit, the issuer may treat that as settlement of the claim. If you want cash rather than credit, decline the voucher in writing and say so explicitly.
Not as described. You generally must return the item or make it available for return, and you should photograph both the item and the original listing before returning it.
Merchant out of business. These disputes usually succeed, since the merchant cannot respond, but the 60-day clock still applies and does not pause because a company folded.
Free trial conversions. Difficult unless the terms were genuinely hidden. Save the signup screen if you suspect the disclosure was inadequate.
Two different legal rights, often confused
The Fair Credit Billing Act covers billing errors: unauthorized charges, wrong amounts, duplicates, goods never delivered. The deadline is 60 days from the statement date and the process is straightforward.
A separate right, known as claims and defenses, covers disputes about the quality of goods or services you actually received. It has different conditions: you generally must have made a good-faith attempt to resolve it with the merchant, and in most cases the purchase must have exceeded $50 and been made in your home state or within 100 miles of your billing address. Many issuers waive the geographic condition in practice, particularly for online purchases, but the requirement to try the merchant first is nearly always enforced.
Knowing which right you are invoking changes how you frame the dispute and what evidence matters.
If you lose the dispute
A denial is not necessarily the end. You have the right to request copies of the documents the issuer relied on, which often reveals exactly which piece of merchant evidence was decisive. If you can rebut it with something new, card networks allow a second review, sometimes called pre-arbitration.
Beyond that, a complaint to the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau at consumerfinance.gov/complaint puts the dispute in front of a regulator and requires a company response. For larger amounts, small claims court against the merchant remains available and does not require a lawyer.
What does not work is filing the same dispute repeatedly with the same evidence. Issuers close repeat disputes without review, and a pattern of unsupported disputes can affect how the issuer treats your account.
Reducing how often you need any of this
A few habits eliminate most disputes before they start. Use a credit card rather than a debit card for anything online, since the protections are stronger and the money never leaves your account. Use virtual card numbers, offered by several major issuers, for free trials and unfamiliar merchants; they can be locked or given a spending cap. Set a calendar reminder two days before any free trial converts. And screenshot the terms at signup for subscriptions, particularly the renewal price after an introductory period, since that screenshot is exactly what wins a dispute later.
Sources
Last updated: August 15, 2026. Written by the InfoBrief Editorial team. We link to official government and company sources and update articles when facts change. See our disclosure.