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If you spot a charge you didn’t authorize, contact your card issuer or bank promptly using its official app, website, or the number on your card. Ask it to secure the account and investigate. The next steps and deadlines depend on whether the charge is on a credit card or is an electronic transfer from a checking account or debit card. Keep the statement and records of every contact. A dispute triggers an investigation; it does not guarantee a refund.
First, check what the transaction is—and report suspected fraud promptly
An unfamiliar merchant name is not always fraud: it may be a company’s alternate billing name, a purchase by another authorized cardholder, or a subscription renewal. Check the date, amount, receipt, and authorized users if you can do so quickly. If the transaction still appears unauthorized, report it without waiting to finish that check. The CFPB advises consumers to contact their bank or credit union as soon as they discover an unauthorized transfer: CFPB guidance on unauthorized transactions.
- Use the number printed on the card or sign in through the institution’s official app or website. Don’t use a phone number or link from an unexpected text, email, or search advertisement.
- Say that you believe the transaction was unauthorized. Ask the institution to open the appropriate investigation and whether it should freeze or block the card, disable compromised credentials, or issue a replacement.
- Record the date and time, whom you spoke with, any case number, and the next steps or documents requested.
- Save the statement, transaction details, receipts, messages, and copies of notices you send. Monitor the account for additional activity and follow up on the institution’s stated timeline.
If you were also scammed, the FTC’s scam guidance explains steps such as contacting the payment company and reporting the incident. Do not assume that a paid recovery or monitoring service is required to dispute a transaction.
Choose the process that matches the payment
Credit-card billing errors and electronic transfers from a bank account are governed by different federal protections. The CFPB’s Regulation E guidance addresses covered electronic fund transfers, while the FTC and CFPB explain credit-card billing-error rights under the Fair Credit Billing Act (FCBA) and Regulation Z.
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| Payment and issue | Key notice step | What to expect |
|---|---|---|
| Credit-card charge you did not authorize | Contact the issuer promptly, and send written billing-error notice within 60 days after the first statement containing the error was sent. Use the billing-inquiries address, not the payment address. | Federal law generally limits responsibility for unauthorized credit-card charges to $50; the issuer investigates under the billing-error process. |
| Unauthorized debit-card or other covered electronic transfer | Notify the bank or credit union immediately. Deadlines and potential liability depend on when you discovered the loss or transfer and when the statement was sent. | Regulation E may require a timely investigation and, in some cases, provisional credit while it continues. |
| Purchase you authorized, but the item was not delivered or the amount is wrong | Contact the seller where appropriate and ask the issuer which billing-error or purchase-dispute process applies. | This is not automatically unauthorized use. Rights can differ by payment type and by the facts. |
Credit-card billing error: send written notice within 60 days
The FCBA’s billing-error process applies to covered credit-card billing errors, including unauthorized charges and certain other errors. The FTC says federal law generally limits a consumer’s responsibility for unauthorized credit-card charges to $50. To use the formal written billing-error process, send your notice within 60 days after the issuer sent the first statement showing the error. See the FTC’s credit-card charge dispute guidance and the CFPB’s credit-card billing-error guidance.
- Find the issuer’s address for billing inquiries, errors, or disputes on the statement or its website. Do not send the notice only to the payment address.
- Identify the account and transaction, explain why you believe it is an error, and state what you want the issuer to do. Include copies—not originals—of relevant records.
- Keep a complete copy. The FTC notes that certified mail with return receipt can provide evidence of what the issuer received.
- Pay the undisputed part of the bill while the issuer investigates. The disputed amount and related charges are treated differently under the process.
The issuer generally must acknowledge a written billing-error notice within 30 days unless it has already resolved the matter, and resolve it within two billing cycles, no more than 90 days. If it finds an error, it must correct the account and remove related charges. If it finds no error, it must explain its decision and the amount due in writing. These timeframes and duties are described in the FTC’s credit-card dispute guidance.
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A separate rule applies when the issuer owes you a credit balance: if the amount owed exceeds $1 and you request a refund in writing, the FTC says the issuer must send it within seven business days of receiving the request. That is a credit-balance refund rule, not a deadline for refunding every disputed transaction.
Debit card or bank transfer: notify the bank immediately
For a covered electronic fund transfer, including many debit-card and bank-account transactions, Regulation E deadlines can affect liability. Under the CFPB’s summary, when a card is lost or stolen, reporting within two business days after discovering the loss generally limits liability to the lesser of the unauthorized amount or $50. Waiting longer can raise potential liability to $500. If a statement showing an unauthorized transfer has been sent, notify the institution within 60 days; delay can affect liability for later transfers if the institution can show that timely notice would have prevented them. The rules depend on the transaction and statutory conditions; consult the CFPB’s unauthorized-transfer guidance.
After notice, the institution generally has 10 business days to investigate, or 20 business days for certain accounts open less than 30 days. If it cannot finish in time, it generally must provisionally credit the disputed amount, subject to conditions, while it continues investigating. The usual resolution period is 45 days, with up to 90 days in specified cases, including certain foreign transactions, recently opened accounts, and debit-card point-of-sale transactions. If the institution concludes the transfer was authorized, it must give written notice before removing a provisional credit.
If you first report the issue by phone, ask whether the bank requires written confirmation. CFPB guidance says failing to provide requested written confirmation within 10 business days after an initial telephone report can affect the institution’s provisional-credit obligation. Keep the bank’s instructions and meet the deadline it gives you.
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Unauthorized use is different from a merchant dispute
If you made the purchase but the item was defective, never arrived, or did not match what the seller promised, the problem may be a purchase or billing dispute rather than unauthorized use. Credit-card billing-error rules include certain charges for goods not accepted or not delivered as agreed, as well as duplicate or incorrect amounts and failures to post payments or credits. Product quality alone is not necessarily a billing error. The FTC explains the distinction and notes that debit-card protections may not provide the same ability to obtain a refund for a missing or incorrect item: FTC guidance on disputing a credit-card charge.
For a purchase you did authorize, contact the seller and keep records of the conversation, order, delivery status, and promised remedy. Then ask the issuer which dispute route applies. Don’t label a merchant disagreement as fraud if you authorized the transaction; give the institution an accurate account of what happened.
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If the claim is denied or the money does not return
Ask the issuer or bank for its written decision and, where applicable, the information it relied on. Compare the explanation with your records and the institution’s requested steps. If the issue remains unresolved, you can submit a complaint through the CFPB’s consumer complaint portal or report the matter to the FTC using ReportFraud.ftc.gov. Agency complaints can help bring an issue to the institution’s attention; they do not guarantee a particular outcome.
These federal summaries address ordinary U.S. consumer credit cards and covered electronic fund transfers. Business accounts, wires, payment apps, prepaid accounts, foreign transactions, and other specialized arrangements may follow different rules. Check your account agreement and current agency guidance for the transaction involved.
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