Knowing how to Dispute a credit card charge is vital if you have a credit card account. While merchants and credit card companies bristle at the term “charge back”, you need to know what to do when you order goods and services that are not delivered or not authorized by you. Billing errors, identity theft and the occasional sleazy merchant with a credit card machine, can all add charges to your credit card statement that you did not authorize. Moreover, ordering goods over the internet can get you goods (or not), that do not look anything like they did in the pictures.
How to dispute a charge with your credit card company.
The process for charging back a credit card charge with every credit card company is the same. The question is where do you send your dispute. Disputing a charge with Discover, American Express, Chase or Citibank is the same 4 step process. Below is a description of where to send your credit card disputes to if you bank with any of these institutions.
Step 1. Identify the charge you want to dispute, specifically.
Be sure to the the merchant name, date of the charge and amount available to you when you create your dispute. You can create the dispute online or write a letter if you must. I am not keen on the post office ever since COVID hit because a lot of our mail was never delivered and never returned to us. With an online dispute, you can be certain that it will be received by the credit card company. Be sure to capture a screen shot of every dispute and correspondence that you have with your bank.
Step 2 Wait no longer than 2 weeks for the acknowledgment.
The credit card company must acknowledge your dispute within 30 days, but with the speed of email, there is no reason why they cannot acknowledge your dispute in 2 weeks. If you don’t receive an acknowledgment in 2 weeks time, make your dispute again because you only have 60 days from the date that the charge hits your account to dispute it.
Step 3 – The bank must conduct a reasonable investigation into your dispute.
This means that they must contact the merchant to get its side of the story. The reality of these situations is that even if you swear on a stack of bibles that you are telling the truth, the bank will probably side with the merchant, but who knows? You still have to go through this process before you can sue the bank to credit your account.
Step 4 – Get your dispute results from the bank. Chances are strong that it will rule against you (See step 3 above).
Take heart. You were prepared for this since you were smart enough to read this. Seriously though, once the bank declines your dispute, you have just 2 options; walk away and eat the loss or 2. litigate with the bank with a law firm that will cost you nothing out of pocket. Remember, the banks are paying their attorneys on an hourly basis so really, you have an advantage.
When the credit card company denies your dispute, call us. We will take it from there.
The banks have had a large upsurge in charge backs over the past several years due to identity theft. This is still the fastest growing crime in America. Still, that does not mean that you should pay for the goods and services that someone else billed to your account. The banks are taking a hardline position wanting to recoup the funds that they paid to the merchant out of your account and they don’t really care who reimburses them. We do.
What to do if the credit card company refuses to credit your account?
Let us fight for you, for free. We are happy to draft the right dispute letter for you, for free. We take the time to understand your complaint and advise you of your rights. Our advice is free and so is the dispute letter. If we have to sue the merchant or the credit card company, our fees and costs get paid when we collect from these defendants. Our lawsuits cost you nothing out of pocket. If you have inaccurate or unauthorized charges on your credit card, call us at Law Offices of Gary D. Nitzkin, P.C. at (216) 358-0591or email us at Gary@micreditlawyer.com for a free, no obligation consultation.
How to Dispute a Credit Card Charge with Chase ©
Chase would like you to try to resolve issues with the merchants first. This is not a bad idea except that many merchants will not deal with you fairly. They just want to get paid. You also only have 60 days from the date that a charge appears on your credit card statement to dispute it. If you miss that 60 day period, then you can only fight it out with the merchant which is a lot harder than fighting it out with Chase. If you have a dispute to your Chase credit card account call (866) 564-2262 which is the phone number to Chase’s dispute line. Have your credit card and statement that contains the bogus charge in your hand when you call. You can also sign into your Chase account here, which is a far better idea that disputing over the phone. Here is the link to sign into your Chase account.
How to Dispute a credit card charge with American Express ©.
You can log into your American Express account here. You then choose your card and then you can start your dispute. Again, be sure to have your credit card and credit card statement that contains the bogus charge in your hand or in front of you when you posit the dispute. You will need to identify the charge or charges you are disputing and the reasons why you are disputing them. Good reasons to dispute a charge include not receiving the goods and services you ordered, whether received untimely or not all or receiving goods and services that you did not order. Issues with quality may not be a reason to dispute a charge with your American Express, but its still worth a try. If you have to call American Express you can reach their Dispute Department at (800) 528-4800. You should only use the telephone to make your dispute if you absolutely must. Disputing your credit card charges on line is a safer bet because you can take screen shots to prove the date on which you made your dispute(s).
How to Dispute a credit card charge with Bank of America ©.
Like most banks, you can log into your Bank of America account here. You can also call Bank of America at (800) 432-1000 to make your dispute. Again, you are better off making your dispute online and saving screenshots of the dispute that document the date that you made it. You should also have your credit card and the credit card statement in your hand when you make the dispute to Bank of America.
A word about “chip” transactions and how to dispute them
Most credit cards today contain a chip in the credit card in an effort to reduce the amount of credit card fraud that has plagued the industry. Using a credit card with a chip allows the credit card company to verify that the consumer who owns the card is the actual person using the card….most of the time. You see, while credit card magnetic stripes can easily be replicated, chips cannot.
While the chip is a good idea, it’s not perfect. For example, when you order goods online such as an Uber or on Amazon, neither of these merchants are using the chip in your card to process the charge. They are simply taking your credit card information that is readily available on the front and back. Moreover, there are times when a merchant’s chip reader is not working right and they simply ask you to swipe the card the card instead of using the chip. These situations avoid the security that the chip provides. Hence, even though your card may have a chip in it, it can still be compromised.
DO NOT LET A BANK DECLINE YOUR DISPUTE BECAUSE YOUR CARD HAS A CHIP IN IT. If you have a dispute to a charge on your credit card statement and the bank declines to process that dispute because your card has a chip, call us. We will fight for you and it will cost you nothing out of pocket.
Let us fight for you at no out of pocket charge to you.
Let us fight for you, for free. We are happy to draft the right dispute letter for you, for free. We take the time to understand your complaint and advise you of your rights. Our advice is free and so is the dispute letter. If we have to sue the merchant or the credit card company, our fees and costs get paid when we collect from these defendants. Our lawsuits cost you nothing out of pocket. Visit us at Law Offices of Gary D. Nitzkin, P.C. , call us at (216) 358-0591 or email us at Gary@micreditlawyer.com for a free, no obligation consultation. Our lawsuits cost you nothing out of pocket. Fighting the bank on your own is a bad idea. The banks’ lawyers fight these fights every day with very experience and seasoned lawyers. You should have one in your corner, too. We want to be your lawyers!
Attorney Gary Nitzkin
Licensed in Michigan only