What Does Adjustment/Correction of Posted Item Mean?

An adjustment or correction of a posted item on your bank statement means your bank went back and changed a transaction that had already finalized. The change might be the bank’s own fix, a merchant’s corrected charge, an ATM recount, or a check that was processed for the wrong amount. It can add money to your balance or take money out. If the entry doesn’t look right, you have 60 days from the date the statement was sent to dispute it and preserve your full rights under federal law.¹

Why the Adjustment Showed Up

A handful of situations account for most of these entries:

A merchant submitted a duplicate charge, or a refund didn’t route correctly through the payment network.
An ATM recorded a deposit for a different amount than the cash actually inside, and the bank corrected the discrepancy after reviewing the machine’s contents.
A check was encoded electronically for the wrong dollar amount. If a $1,000 check gets encoded as $100, the bank posts a correction for the $900 difference.
The bank’s own system made a bookkeeping mistake on an electronic transfer, such as applying interest incorrectly or miscalculating a fee.²
The bank credited a deposit twice by accident and later removed the extra amount.

Banks handle the mechanics two ways. Some reverse the original transaction in full and post a fresh one for the correct amount. Others just post a separate entry for the difference. Either way, the adjustment shows up as a distinct line tied to the transaction it’s fixing.

Did It Add Money or Take Money Out?

A credit adjustment puts money back into your account. You’ll see one when you were overcharged, when a deposit posted for less than its true value, or when a merchant refund finally lands.

A debit adjustment pulls money out. That happens when the bank decides it credited you too much: an ATM counted more bills than were actually in the envelope, a check was encoded higher than it was written for, or a duplicate credit is being reversed. Your available balance drops, sometimes with little warning.

Both types carry a description pointing back to the original transaction. If you don’t recognize what’s being corrected, treat that as your cue to act, because the clock is already running.

What to Do If the Adjustment Looks Wrong

Federal law gives you 60 days from the date your bank sent the statement to report an error. Miss that window and the bank has no obligation under federal law to investigate or fix an electronic fund transfer error. Your account agreement may set an even shorter reporting period, so check the terms you agreed to when you opened the account.¹

You can notify your bank orally or in writing. The notice needs three things: your name and account number, which transaction is wrong and by how much, and why you believe it’s an error.¹

Before you call, pull together whatever supports your version: merchant receipts, ATM slips, screenshots of the online statement, the date and amount of the original transaction, and any reference number tied to the entry. That reference number helps the bank locate the item faster.

Most banks let you open the dispute through their app, their website, or by phone. If you report by phone, the bank may require written confirmation within 10 business days. If it asks and you don’t send it in time, the bank isn’t required to provisionally credit your account while it investigates.¹

What Your Bank Must Do After You Dispute

Once the bank has a valid error notice, it has 10 business days to investigate and tell you the results. It can take longer, up to 45 days, but only if it provisionally credits your account for the disputed amount (plus any applicable interest) within those first 10 business days. The bank has to notify you within two business days after applying that provisional credit, and you get full use of the funds during the investigation.³

Three situations stretch the final deadline from 45 days to 90 days:

The transfer originated outside the United States.
The transaction was a point-of-sale debit card purchase.
The transaction happened within 30 days of your first deposit to the account.

Even in those cases, the 10-business-day provisional credit rule still applies.² If the bank ultimately confirms an unauthorized transfer, it may withhold up to $50 from the provisional credit.³

When the investigation ends, the bank has three business days to report the results. If it finds an error, it has to correct it within one business day of that finding, and it also has to reverse any fees or interest the original mistake caused.³

If the bank finds no error, it must send you a written explanation and tell you that you can request copies of the documents it relied on. It has to provide those documents promptly when you ask.¹

If the Provisional Credit Gets Reversed

When the bank decides no error occurred and pulls back the provisional credit, it has to tell you the date and amount being debited. For five business days after that notice, the bank must honor checks, preauthorized payments, and similar items that it would have paid if the provisional funds were still there, and it can’t charge you overdraft fees on them.³

If the Bank Won’t Fix It

When the bank’s investigation doesn’t resolve the issue, or the bank misses the timelines above, you have places to escalate.

The Consumer Financial Protection Bureau takes complaints about checking and savings accounts. You can file online in roughly 10 minutes or call (855) 411-2372. Include the key dates and amounts, and attach copies of your communications with the bank (up to 50 pages of supporting documents). The CFPB routes the complaint to the bank, which generally responds within 15 days.⁴

If your bank is a national bank or federal savings association, you can also reach the Office of the Comptroller of the Currency’s Customer Assistance Group at 1-800-613-6743 or file at helpwithmybank.gov. The OCC only handles institutions it regulates, so for a state-chartered bank the CFPB or your state banking regulator is the better route.⁵

Either agency will want to see that you tried to resolve the dispute with the bank first, so keep records of every call, message, and letter.

1
Office of the Law Revision Counsel. 15 USC 1693f – Error Resolution
2
eCFR. 12 CFR 1005.11 – Procedures for Resolving Errors
3
Consumer Financial Protection Bureau. 12 CFR Part 1005 Regulation E – Section 1005.11 Procedures for Resolving Errors
4
Consumer Financial Protection Bureau. Submit a Complaint
5
HelpWithMyBank.gov. File a Complaint