How to Dispute a Credit Card Billing Error: The 60-Day Letter and Your Rights

Published by the Modern Lending Solutions editorial team. Last reviewed: October 30, 2026.

Short answer: call the card issuer, and also send a written billing error notice so that it reaches the address on your statement within 60 days after the first statement that shows the error. The issuer must acknowledge it within 30 days and resolve it within two billing cycles, and no later than 90 days. Until then you do not have to pay the disputed amount and related charges, but you still pay the rest of your bill. This is general information, not legal advice.

What counts as a billing error

Regulation Z, which implements the Fair Credit Billing Act, lists billing errors that include (12 CFR 1026.13(a), eCFR, text up to date as of October 28, 2026, read October 30, 2026):

A charge made by someone without “actual, implied, or apparent authority” to use your card (1026.13(a)(1)).
A charge for property or services “not accepted by the consumer” or “not delivered to the consumer … as agreed” (1026.13(a)(3)).
The creditor’s “failure to credit properly a payment or other credit” (1026.13(a)(4)).
A “computational or similar error of an accounting nature” made by the creditor (1026.13(a)(5)).
A charge you want clarified, “including documentary evidence” (1026.13(a)(6)).
A statement not mailed or delivered to your last known address, if the creditor received that address in writing at least 20 days before the end of the billing cycle (1026.13(a)(7)).

The written notice and the 60 days

A billing error notice is “a written notice from a consumer” that is received at the address the creditor gives for this purpose “no later than 60 days after the creditor transmitted the first periodic statement that reflects the alleged billing error” (1026.13(b)(1)). It must let the creditor identify your name and account number and, to the extent possible, state “the consumer’s belief and the reasons for the belief that a billing error exists, and the type, date, and amount of the error” (1026.13(b)(2) and (3)).

The CFPB says: “To dispute a charge on your credit card bill, you should call the card company and let them know about the problem right away.” It adds: “To protect your rights you must also send a written billing error notice to the card company within 60 calendar days after the charge appeared on your statement” (CFPB, page last modified May 3, 2024, read October 30, 2026). A phone call alone does not meet the written notice rule, so send the letter as well.

What to put in the letter

Your name, address and account number.
The date, amount and description of the charge as it appears on the statement, and the statement date.
Why you believe it is an error: for example, you did not make the charge, the item was not delivered, or a payment was not credited.
What you are asking for: a correction and a credit of the amount and related finance or other charges, or copies of documents.
Copies (not originals) of receipts, order pages, delivery records or messages with the seller.
Send it to the billing error address on your statement, not the payment address, and keep a copy and proof of the date sent.

The CFPB says: “Be sure to keep copies for your records. Write down the dates you make follow-up calls and keep this information together in a file” (CFPB).

What the issuer must do, and when

The creditor “shall mail or deliver written acknowledgment to the consumer within 30 days of receiving a billing error notice”, unless it resolves the dispute within those 30 days, and must finish the resolution steps “within 2 complete billing cycles (but in no event later than 90 days) after receiving a billing error notice” (1026.13(c)).

If the error occurred as you said, it must correct it, credit the disputed amount and related finance or other charges, and send a correction notice (1026.13(e)).
If, after “a reasonable investigation”, it finds no error or a different error, it must send an explanation of its reasons and, if you ask, “copies of documentary evidence of the consumer’s indebtedness” (1026.13(f)).
If it decides you owe some or all of the amount, it must “promptly notify the consumer in writing of the time when payment is due” and the amount still owed (1026.13(g)(1)).

While the dispute is open

Regulation Z says: “The consumer need not pay (and the creditor may not try to collect) any portion of any required payment that the consumer believes is related to the disputed amount (including related finance or other charges)” (1026.13(d)(1)). If you are enrolled in an automatic payment plan offered by the card issuer, the issuer “shall not deduct any part of the disputed amount” if your notice arrives up to 3 business days before the scheduled payment date. The creditor may not report the account as delinquent because you did not pay the disputed amount (1026.13(d)(2)), and may not close or restrict the account “solely because the consumer has exercised in good faith” these rights (1026.13(d)(3)).

The creditor can still collect the part of the bill that is not disputed, count the disputed amount against your credit limit, and show it on your statement with a note that payment of it is not required while the dispute is open (1026.13(d)(4)). So keep paying at least the minimum on the rest of the balance. If you already paid the charge, the CFPB says you can still dispute it, “But you probably won’t get the money back until the credit card company has decided that you were right” (CFPB).

If the issuer decides against you

After telling you what you owe, the creditor must give you the time to pay without added finance charges that your account terms allow, or 10 days, whichever is longer, before it may report the amount as delinquent (1026.13(g)(2) and (3)). If within that time you send another written notice that part of the error is still in dispute, it may report the amount as delinquent only if it also reports that the amount is in dispute and tells you in writing who received the report (1026.13(g)(4)). A creditor that has fully followed these steps has no further duty under this section if you reassert “substantially the same billing error” (1026.13(h)).

If you think a report about the account is wrong, see how to dispute a loan reporting error. To file a complaint, see how to file a loan complaint.

A problem with what you bought: claims and defenses

A separate rule covers a dispute with the seller about the quality of property or services. When the seller “fails to resolve satisfactorily a dispute as to property or services purchased with the credit card”, the cardholder “may withhold payment up to the amount of credit outstanding for the property or services that gave rise to the dispute and any finance or other charges imposed on that amount” (12 CFR 1026.12(c)(1), eCFR, text up to date as of October 28, 2026, read October 30, 2026). The issuer “shall not report that amount as delinquent until the dispute is settled or judgment is rendered” (1026.12(c)(2)).

These rights apply only if you made “a good faith attempt to resolve the dispute” with the seller, the amount is more than $50, and the purchase was made in the same state as your current designated address or within 100 miles of it (1026.12(c)(3)(i)). The $50 and distance limits do not apply in listed cases, such as when the seller is the card issuer or the order came through a mail solicitation the issuer took part in (1026.12(c)(3)(ii)). The CFPB says to contact the seller first and ask for a refund, and that this right covers an amount you have not yet fully paid (CFPB, page last modified September 6, 2024, read October 30, 2026).

A charge you did not make

For unauthorized use of a credit card, your liability “shall not exceed the lesser of $50 or the amount of money, property, labor, or services obtained by the unauthorized use before notification to the card issuer” (12 CFR 1026.12(b)(1)(ii)). Tell the issuer as soon as you can, and send the written billing error notice as well.

Questions to ask the issuer

What is the address for billing error notices, and can I also send it online?
When did you receive my notice, and when will I get your written acknowledgment?
Which amount on my next statement is marked as not required while the dispute is open?
What is the minimum payment on the undisputed balance?
If you decide against me, what documents can I ask for, and how long will I have to pay?

A $2,000 balance, only for the math

This example is only for the math, not a typical balance or dispute. If a dispute ends with you owing $2,000 that you cannot pay at once, here is that amount paid over 24 months at the Federal Reserve’s August 2026 averages: 22.36% for credit card plans and 11.90% APR for 24-month personal loans (G.19).

Option	Monthly payment	Interest	Total paid
Card at 22.36%, 24 months	$104.11	$498.64	$2,498.64
Personal loan at 11.90%, 24 months	$94.05	$257.20	$2,257.20

$104.11 x 24 = $2,498.64, and $94.05 x 24 = $2,257.20. Your rate depends on your credit and the lender, and fees raise the cost. See credit card minimum payment vs personal loan and credit card trailing interest.

Checklist

Read each statement as soon as it arrives.
Call the issuer about the error right away.
Send a written billing error notice so it arrives within 60 days of the first statement that shows it.
Keep copies, proof of the date sent and notes of every call.
Pay at least the minimum on the undisputed balance.
Watch for the 30-day acknowledgment and the decision within 90 days.

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Sources

Disclosure: Modern Lending Solutions is not a lender, loan broker or agent for any lender or loan broker, and does not make credit decisions. Any compensation we receive is paid by participating lenders, only for advertising services. This guide is general information, not financial or legal advice.

How to Dispute a Charge or Billing Error on Your Credit Card