How to Issue a Chargeback: Deadlines, Filing, and Denials

To issue a chargeback, send your credit card issuer a written dispute within 60 days of the date the statement carrying the charge was mailed to you. Include your account information, a statement that the bill contains an error, and the exact dollar amount you’re disputing, along with any documentation that supports your claim. Most major issuers accept these disputes through their website or mobile app, and an electronic submission through the issuer’s own portal counts as written notice under federal rules.¹ The process is governed by the Fair Credit Billing Act, which requires your issuer to investigate and forbids collection of the disputed amount while the case is open.

What Qualifies for a Chargeback

Not every disappointing purchase is a billing error. Federal law limits disputes to specific categories:

Unauthorized charges — someone used your card without permission. Your liability for unauthorized credit card charges is capped at $50, and if only your card number (not the physical card) was used, you owe nothing.²
Goods not delivered, or goods that arrived fundamentally different from what you were promised.
Incorrect amounts — you were charged more than the price, or the same transaction posted twice.
Credits not applied — a promised refund or adjustment never appeared on your statement.

Quality-of-goods complaints (a product that works but disappoints) are treated under a separate section of the law and generally require you to have tried to resolve the problem with the merchant first, on a purchase over $50.³

Try the Merchant First

Contact the seller and ask for a refund before filing anything with your card issuer. It’s faster if they agree, and for quality-of-goods complaints the law actually requires a good-faith attempt with the merchant before your issuer has to step in.³ Even when it isn’t legally required, a documented attempt to resolve the issue strengthens your dispute.

Keep records of every contact: the date, who you spoke with, and what was said. Save emails, chat transcripts, and screenshots. If the merchant refuses to help or goes silent, those records become part of your evidence.

Gather Your Documentation

Before you open the dispute form, pull together:

The merchant’s name, exact charge amount, and transaction date exactly as they appear on your statement.
Order confirmations, receipts, photographs of damaged or wrong items, or screenshots of the product description you relied on.
Copies of emails, chat logs, or notes from calls with the merchant.

Enter every figure exactly as it shows on your statement. A mismatched amount or a slightly different merchant name can slow the case down.

How to File the Dispute

The Fair Credit Billing Act’s protections are triggered by a written notice sent to your card issuer’s billing inquiry address. A phone call alone does not preserve your rights under the statute.¹ If your issuer accepts disputes through its website or app, that electronic submission counts as written notice, and most major issuers do accept them that way.

Whatever channel you use, your notice must contain three things: information that identifies you and your account, a statement that the bill contains an error, and the dollar amount you believe is wrong.⁴ Attach or upload your supporting documents.

If you file by mail, send it to the billing inquiry address printed on your statement, which is usually different from the payment address. Use certified mail with return receipt so you can prove when the issuer got it. Online or by mail, save the confirmation — you’ll need it to track the case.

The 60-Day Deadline

You must submit written notice within 60 days of the date the statement containing the disputed charge was first mailed or delivered to you. Miss that window and you can forfeit your right to dispute under federal law.⁴

Card networks like Visa run their own chargeback systems with longer windows (Visa allows up to 120 days from the purchase date in many cases), so an issuer may still process a late request as a courtesy. But the network’s clock doesn’t preserve your statutory rights. If your dispute is close to the line, treat 60 days as the deadline.

What Happens After You File

Once the issuer has your notice, it cannot try to collect the disputed amount while the investigation is open. Your statements can still show the charge, but they must indicate that payment of the disputed portion is not required until the case is resolved.⁴ Many issuers also apply a provisional credit that temporarily removes the charge from your balance, though the statute doesn’t require it for credit card disputes.

The merchant is notified and gets a chance to respond with evidence such as shipping confirmations, a signed delivery receipt, or proof that the service was performed. The issuer must complete its investigation and tell you the result within two complete billing cycles, and no later than 90 days after it received your notice.⁴

If the bank rules in your favor, it must correct your account and remove any finance charges assessed on the disputed amount. Any provisional credit becomes permanent.

Keep paying the undisputed part of your balance in the meantime. Skipping payment on amounts you’re not disputing can produce legitimate late fees and negative credit reporting on those amounts.

While the case is open, the issuer can’t report the disputed amount as delinquent, and it can’t threaten your credit rating over your refusal to pay a charge you’re actively disputing.⁵

If the Dispute Is Denied

A denial has to come with a written explanation of why the issuer believes the charge is correct. The amount goes back on your account with any finance charges that accrued during the investigation. You can request copies of the documents the issuer relied on.⁴

From there, you have options:

Write back within the payment window (at least 10 days). If you respond in writing, the issuer can still report you as delinquent but must also note the amount is disputed and tell you which credit bureaus it contacted.⁵
File a complaint with the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau at consumerfinance.gov. The CFPB forwards complaints to the issuer and works to get you a response.⁶
Report the issue at ReportFraud.ftc.gov, which helps regulators track patterns of unfair practices.⁷
Sue the merchant directly in small claims court if the amount is worth it. Filing fees generally run from about $15 to $300 depending on the jurisdiction and claim size.

Chargebacks on Debit Cards Are Different

If the transaction was on a debit card rather than a credit card, the Fair Credit Billing Act doesn’t apply. Debit disputes fall under the Electronic Fund Transfer Act, and your liability for unauthorized transactions scales with how quickly you report the problem: capped at $50 if you report within two business days of learning of the loss, up to $500 if you report later but within 60 days of your statement, and potentially uncapped after that.⁸ When you have a choice between disputing on a credit card or a debit card, the credit card almost always gives you stronger legal footing.

Don’t File a Chargeback You Know Is Wrong

Disputing a charge you know is legitimate — sometimes called “friendly fraud” — has real consequences. Issuers can close your account at any time, and a pattern of questionable disputes can trigger that.⁹ Merchants keep internal lists of customers who file chargebacks and can refuse to do business with you again. Deliberately false chargebacks (claiming a product never arrived when it did, for example) can be treated as wire fraud, and even without criminal charges you could face a civil suit from the merchant for the disputed amount plus its chargeback fees.

1
Consumer Financial Protection Bureau. Regulation Z 1026.13 – Billing Error Resolution
2
Office of the Law Revision Counsel. 15 U.S. Code 1643 – Liability of Holder of Credit Card
3
Office of the Law Revision Counsel. 15 U.S. Code 1666i – Assertion by Cardholder Against Card Issuer of Claims and Defenses
4
Office of the Law Revision Counsel. 15 USC 1666 – Correction of Billing Errors
5
Office of the Law Revision Counsel. 15 U.S. Code 1666a – Regulation of Credit Reports
6
Consumer Financial Protection Bureau. Contact Us
7
Federal Trade Commission. Using Credit Cards and Disputing Charges
8
Office of the Law Revision Counsel. 15 U.S. Code 1693g – Consumer Liability
9
Consumer Financial Protection Bureau. Can My Card Issuer Close My Account