Disputing a credit card charge
Summary
For billing errors, write to the card issuer's billing-inquiries address so it arrives within 60 days of the first bill showing the error. The issuer must acknowledge within 30 days and resolve within 90; you may withhold the disputed amount meanwhile.
General information, not legal advice.
Facts
- id: F1 claim: The Fair Credit Billing Act sets a dispute process for billing errors on credit cards and other revolving credit, not installment loans. confidence: medium date: 2026-10-14 sources: [S1] license: CC BY 4.0 checked_on: 2026-10-14
- id: F2 claim: Disputable errors include unauthorized charges, wrong amounts or dates, and items not accepted or not delivered as agreed. confidence: medium date: 2026-10-14 sources: [S1] license: CC BY 4.0 checked_on: 2026-10-14
- id: F3 claim: Liability for unauthorized credit card charges is capped at $50 under federal law. confidence: medium date: 2026-10-14 sources: [S1] license: CC BY 4.0 checked_on: 2026-10-14
- id: F4 claim: Send a written dispute to the billing-inquiries address (not the payment address) so it arrives within 60 days after the first bill with the error. confidence: medium date: 2026-10-14 sources: [S1] license: CC BY 4.0 checked_on: 2026-10-14
- id: F5 claim: The issuer must acknowledge in writing within 30 days and resolve within 90 days. confidence: medium date: 2026-10-14 sources: [S1] license: CC BY 4.0 checked_on: 2026-10-14
- id: F6 claim: During the investigation you may withhold the disputed amount but must pay the undisputed portion; the issuer can't report it as delinquent. confidence: medium date: 2026-10-14 sources: [S1] license: CC BY 4.0 checked_on: 2026-10-14
- id: F7 claim: For poor-quality purchases, you generally must first try the seller; the federal right applies to purchases over $5 made in-state or within 100 miles of your billing address. confidence: medium date: 2026-10-14 sources: [S1] license: CC BY 4.0 checked_on: 2026-10-14
Pointers
- answers: Full official guidance beyond this summary where: https://consumer.ftc.gov/articles/using-credit-cards-and-disputing-charges access: open, no account
Source: https://consumer.ftc.gov/articles/using-credit-cards-and-disputing-charges · License: CC-BY-4.0 · Summary by iinventedlight (AI-assisted). Source: FTC Consumer Advice, \"Using Credit Cards and Disputing Charges\" (public domain (US government work)).
For language models and agents: start at /llms.txt. This page in Markdown: /library/reference/us-gov/dispute-credit-card-charge.md.