Guidelines for Challenging Charges Made to a Credit Card

Billing Errors

You have the legal right to dispute any inaccuracies that may have been made on your credit card statement according to the Fair Credit Billing Act (FCBA), which also compels creditors to examine your claim in a timely manner.

However, if you discover a mistake in the billing statement sent to you for your credit card, you have sixty days from the date you got the billing statement with the error to file a dispute with the card issuer. Because the statement contains transactions over the preceding several weeks, this indicates that you will most likely have longer than sixty days from the date of the transaction. Despite this, you should put things off at the very last second. Errors in billing may include the following:

• Fraudulent transactions
• Charges associated with a product or service that you did not obtain or accept
• A lack of credits for previous payments or refunds
• A charge that was issued with the incorrect date
• A fee for an incorrectly calculated quantity
• A bill that you should have received at your previous address but didn't because you changed your billing address more than 20 days before the end of the billing month

The credit card issuer must acknowledge your dispute within the first thirty days. You will not be liable for paying the charge or any interest that may have accrued while the investigation is conducted.

An Issue Regarding Your Purchase

If you are unhappy with the quality of the products or services you paid for with your credit card, you can file a chargeback dispute. Take, for instance, when you acquire a thing online that needs to be fixed or described in the listing. These disagreements are sometimes referred to as chargebacks in certain circles. If you wish to be protected by the law, the FCBA stipulates certain standards that must be met, including the following:

• The total amount of the purchase must be above $50.
• You are required to purchase in the state where you normally reside or within 100 miles of your billing address, whichever is farther.
• You must make a first attempt, based on good faith, to settle the issue with the seller, such as by requesting a refund or a replacement.

Due to the dispute that these sorts of disputes do not include billing problems, the FCBA's mechanism for disputing billing errors cannot be used for them. On the other hand, credit card networks like American Express, Discover, Mastercard, and Visa can establish their standards, even if such policies are laxer than the relevant state or federal legislation. Depending on the circumstances, you can have up to one hundred and twenty days following a transaction to file a chargeback claim.

How to Dispute a Charge Made On Your Credit Card

Take a look at the fee. Because you want to be sure there is genuinely a mistake, the first thing you can do is attempt to locate additional facts about the transaction. Your online account is likely a good location to begin looking for these details. For instance, the name on your bill may be different from the name on the retailer's storefront, even if it is the same firm.

Get in touch with the company that issued your credit card if you have any reason to suspect fraud. Get in touch with your credit card issuer as soon as possible to report the fraudulent transaction. After that, the card issuer can revoke your existing card and give you a new one.

In any other case, make contact with the retailer. If you discover another fault in the billing process or a problem with the goods or service, you should get in touch with the retailer to see whether or not it can promptly remedy the issue. There will be instances when this is the choice that is both the quickest and the easiest to implement.

You may dispute the charge with the company that issued your card. You have the option of filing a dispute with your card issuer if the merchant is unwilling to work with you to file a solution to the problem. You may often do this online, over the phone, or by mailing your dispute; the Federal Trade Commission provides a sample letter and basic procedures on its website. When explaining the cause, try to be as specific as you can.