The only thing worse than receiving a large credit card bill is receiving a large bill for an item you did not purchase.
One of your rights under the Fair Credit Billing Act is to dispute a charge, whether you were double-billed, overcharged, or the victim of credit card fraud. While it should (and often is) fairly simple, the process varies greatly depending on the credit card, card issuer, merchant, and your situation.
If you need to dispute a credit card charge, here’s the process to follow through, and have the incorrect item removed from your bill\u2014along with a few pointers for resolving the situation when things don’t go as planned.<\/p>
When you dispute a credit card charge, you submit a claim to the credit card company explaining why you are not obligated to pay for a specific purchase.<\/p>
Credit card disputes aren’t intended to resolve general customer service complaints, such as the fact that you don’t like the item you received and don’t want to pay for it. However, they can protect you from a merchant’s unethical behavior, such as if you did not receive an item you ordered and paid for or were not reimbursed after returning an item.<\/p>
Disputes are also necessary for resolving billing problems with your credit card company. For example, a company may incorrectly post a payment you made or send a bill to an old address after you provided a new one. Alternatively, you may notice a charge that you did not make, alerting you to the possibility that you were a victim of fraud.<\/p>
In these cases, you can dispute a charge or bill and ask your credit card company to conduct an investigation. The Fair Credit Billing Act (FCBA) guarantees you a prompt response from your credit card company if you dispute a charge and protects your credit score during the dispute investigation.<\/p>
While there are numerous reasons to dispute a credit card charge, they all fall into one of three categories: the charge was unauthorized, a billing error occurred, or there was an issue with the purchase. Let’s take a closer look at each category and look at some examples.<\/p>
It is fraud if someone uses your credit card to make a purchase that you did not authorize. The Fair Credit Billing Act limits a cardholder’s liability for unauthorized credit card use to $50. Most credit cards go above and beyond by implementing zero-liability policies, which state that cardholders are not obligated to pay anything in the event of unauthorized credit card use.<\/p>
You can avoid credit card fraud by immediately notifying your card issuer if your card is lost or stolen. However, if an unauthorized charge occurs before you do this, you can dispute it. If a criminal obtains the card information but not the card itself, unauthorized charges can occur while your card is still in your possession. You can also dispute these types of charges.<\/p>
A billing error is any charge made by a merchant inadvertently. The most common examples are multiple charges for the same purchase or a charge for a subscription service after you have canceled it. If a merchant refuses to refund a billing error, you can file a dispute.<\/p>
If you have a problem with a product or service you purchased, filing a dispute may help you get your money back. Remember that the Fair Credit Billing Act requires you to first attempt to resolve the issue with the merchant.<\/p>
The following are some of the reasons for this type of dispute:<\/p>
Normally, you have 60 days from the date of the charge on your credit card statement to dispute it. The Fair Credit Billing Act establishes this time limit, which applies whether you’re disputing a fraudulent charge or a purchase that didn’t go as planned.<\/p>
Check your cardmember agreement to see how much time you have to dispute a charge on your credit card. After opening a credit card, you should have received this in the mail, but it’s also usually available online. The billing rights section should include information on dispute time limits.<\/p>
If you do not begin your dispute within the time frame specified, you may be forced to pay that money. That’s why you should review your credit card statement every month for unauthorized charges.<\/p>
The method for disputing a credit card charge is determined by the nature of the problem. To have your dispute protected by federal law, you must file your request within 60 days of the date you received the bill containing the error.<\/p>
If your issue is classified as a billing error, which includes all of the bullet points listed above, the FCBA governs the dispute process. Take the following steps:<\/p>
The FCBA limits your liability for unauthorized transactions to $50; however, some credit card companies reduce this to $0. Furthermore, you are not liable for charges if you report a stolen or lost credit card before it is used. Here’s how to dispute a charge on your credit card bill that you didn’t make:<\/p>
Some credit card disputes are more directly related to a seller’s problem, such as undeliverable goods. In this case, contact the merchant first to obtain a refund or to resolve the issue. If they do not respond or are unwilling to work with you, you can initiate a chargeback with the credit card company directly. The FCBA will protect you if the charge was for more than $50 at a seller within 100 miles of your billing address and you attempted to resolve the issue with the merchant first. Here’s how to file a chargeback request:<\/p>