Released: May 02, 2005

Help Desk FAQ

How can I dispute a credit card charge?

Under the Fair Credit Billing Act (FCBA), consumers have the right to dispute such billing mistakes as:

• charges not authorized by you
• charges listing the wrong price
• charges for items that were never received, accepted, or returned
• accounting errors
• charges where you have requested written proof of purchase

If you notice an error on your bill, under the FCBA you have 60 days from the date of the statement to file a written dispute with the creditor. Calling will not protect your rights. The creditor has 30 days from receipt of your letter to acknowledge your claim, after which it has two billing cycles or 90 days to correct the error, and/or inform you why it feels the charge is accurate.

If the creditor decides that the charge is accurate, you have 10 days from that notice to inform the creditor that you still refuse to pay the bill. At this point, the creditor can start collection proceedings and report you to the credit bureaus, but it must inform the bureau that you are refusing to pay the bill because of a dispute.

To file a formal complaint against a credit card company, you can write to:

Federal Trade Commission
Division of Credit Practices
901 Market St. # 570
San Francisco, CA 94103

Or call (415) 356-5270

In Southern California, contact:

Federal Trade Commission
Division of Credit Practices
11000 Wilshire Blvd., Suite 13209
Los Angeles, CA 90024

Or call (310) 235-4000