First, confirm that your credit card was charged incorrectly. Review the transactions on your credit card statement or your online credit card account and compare the amount to your receipt. For restaurant or other services, be sure you’re not forgetting to factor in any tips that you wrote on the merchant’s copy of the receipt.
Work With the Merchant to Resolve the Error
Start by contacting the business where the error occurred. Many merchants are willing to work with you to correct the error to avoid dealing with a chargeback—a process that costs fees and can damage their standing with their bank. Let the merchant know the error—provide a copy of your receipt if you have it—and ask if they can fix it. Working with the merchant may give you a faster result since they should have all of the transaction information—which the credit card issuer will have to request anyway if you end up disputing the charge through them. If the merchant agrees that you were charged the wrong amount, they’ll be able to refund the amount back to your card, give you a store credit, or give you back cash. If the charge is correct, the merchant should be able to explain why.
Disputing Charges With Your Credit Card Issuer
If you don’t have luck with the merchant, you can go directly to your credit card issuer. Be aware that you may not be able to dispute some charges depending on how long ago they occurred. Federal law limits billing error disputes to charges that appeared on a credit card statement within the past 60 days, but some credit card issuers may allow you to dispute charges older than that. Federal law also dictates that you send your dispute in writing, but most credit card issuers will investigate and respond to your dispute if you make it by phone or online. Call the number on the back of your credit card, log in to your online account, or send a dispute letter to your credit card issuer. Sending copies of any receipts or documentation supporting your claim will help you resolve the issue quickly. Calling your credit card issuer to make your dispute is more convenient, but sending a letter (via certified mail) will help protect your rights if you need to take legal action against the credit card issuer. For example, you can take legal action if the credit card issuer doesn’t respond in time or tries to bill you before returning the results of the investigation. Once you’ve disputed the error with your credit card issuer, they’ll conduct an investigation to figure out whether you were indeed charged the wrong amount. The investigation can take a few days or several weeks, depending on the complexity of your transaction and the merchant response time. The credit card issuer will contact the merchant for any information they have pertaining to the transaction, such as a signed receipt. Then, they will decide whether the charge is correct and either reverse the transaction or let you know why the charge is correct. If the charge is indeed correct, you’ll have to pay it.
Complaining to the Authorities
If you’re still unsuccessful at resolving the transaction after going to the merchant and the credit card issuer, then you can file a complaint with the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau. The CFPB will launch its own investigation. They won’t force the credit card issuer to pay you, but getting a government agency involved can inspire the credit card issuer to resolve the error in your favor.
