How long do I have to dispute a credit card charge?

The Fair Credit Billing Act gives you 60 calendar days from when the issuer delivers the first statement containing a billing error to send a written dispute.

Does calling my credit card company count as a dispute?

A phone call may start the issuer's ordinary dispute process, but it does not preserve FCBA rights. The dispute must be sent in writing to the billing-inquiries address.

What happens after I send a written dispute?

The issuer has 30 days to acknowledge it and two billing cycles, up to 90 days, to resolve it. During that time, it cannot collect or report the disputed amount as delinquent.

Can I still dispute a charge after 60 days?

Yes. Card-network processes often allow disputes up to 120 days, and issuers may accept later disputes voluntarily, though the federal FCBA billing-error protections may no longer apply.

60 days · in writing · or it doesn't count

You have 60 days to dispute that charge. A phone call doesn't start the clock — a letter does.

The Fair Credit Billing Act protects you from billing errors — wrong amounts, charges you didn't authorize, goods that never arrived. But the protection has two catches: a 60-day deadline that starts with the statement containing the error, and a requirement that your dispute be in writing. Enter your statement date to see your window.

01What the 60-day rule actually covers

The Fair Credit Billing Act covers billing errors on credit card accounts: charges you didn't authorize, charges in the wrong amount or on the wrong date, math errors, charges for goods or services that never arrived or arrived broken, and statements mailed to the wrong address. It does not cover buyer's remorse or quality complaints — those go through the card network's ordinary dispute process instead.

The clock starts when the issuer sends the first statement containing the error, and it runs 60 calendar days. Spot the charge on day 50 and you have 10 days, not 60 — which is why the habit that actually protects you is reading the statement the week it arrives.

02The phone call trap

Calling preserves nothing Nearly everyone disputes a charge by phone. It feels official — there's a case number, an agent, sometimes a provisional credit. But FCBA rights attach only to a written dispute sent to the issuer's billing-inquiries address within the 60 days. If the phone dispute goes sideways, and you never sent the letter, the federal protections — the issuer's duty to investigate, the ban on collecting or reporting the disputed amount meanwhile — were never triggered.

Send the letter even if you've already called. Include your name, account number, the charge, the amount, and why it's wrong. Certified mail with return receipt costs a few dollars and is your dated proof.

03What the issuer must do once your letter lands

They have 30 days to acknowledge your dispute in writing, and two billing cycles (at most 90 days) to resolve it. While it's open, they cannot collect the disputed amount, charge interest or late fees on it, or report it as delinquent to the credit bureaus. If the error is confirmed, the charge and every fee it generated come off. If they decide the charge stands, they owe you a written explanation — and you have further rights if you disagree within 10 days.

04Missed the window?

The FCBA deadline is firm, but it isn't the only door. Visa and Mastercard's own dispute rules typically allow chargebacks up to 120 days from the transaction, and issuers often accept disputes voluntarily well past the federal window. For truly unauthorized use — a stolen number, a card you never had — separate protections cap your liability at $50, and most issuers waive even that. The lesson for next time costs nothing: read the statement when it arrives, and the 60 days will always be enough.

More money-deadline tools: FeeWindow (your annual-fee refund window), ZeroEnds (your 0% APR cliff), ReportsLow (what your card reports) — all tools.