Wrong charge on your card? FCBA billing-error rights
A charge you never made. A credit that never posted. An amount that shifted between receipt and statement. Billing errors are common, winnable, and time-boxed: federal law gives you a 60-day window to trigger a real investigation with real interim protections. This page is the window, the letter, and the follow-through.
Read the video transcript
A wrong charge on the card? Billing-error rights are some of the strongest you hold.
First rule: keep paying everything else. Only the disputed sum gets withheld.
Then exercise the right in writing, dated, inside sixty days of the statement.
And watch the two-cycle trap — averages across two statements can sting twice.
These rights translate to plain power. Use them.
Our billing-error guide scripts it. Free, link below.
Sixty days sounds generous until statements pile up. Open them, circle errors, write — the shield only works if you raise it.
Keep paying everything else
The dispute shields the contested dollars, not the account. Minimums stay current, other charges stay paid, and the investigation runs its course without new late marks muddying your file. Fight the line item fiercely; treat the rest of the account gently. Educational only; no outcome promised.
Step by step
Disputing a billing error
Step 1
Circle it on the statement
Copy the statement, circle the error. Your dispute references exact lines, not vibes.
Step 2
Write within 60 days
Name, account, error description, corrected amount. Certified mail, receipt kept.
Step 3
Pay the undisputed part
Keep minimums current on everything else. Protect the file while fighting the line.
Step 4
Track the investigation
Two billing cycles is the general outer window for resolution. Calendar it and follow up.
Questions
What people ask next
What counts as a billing error?
Unauthorized charges, wrong amounts or dates, missing credits, goods never delivered, and math errors — plus failure to send statements to your current address. A broad umbrella by design.
How fast must I act?
Write within 60 days of the statement containing the error. Phone calls help; the written notice within the window is what triggers full protections.
Can they collect meanwhile?
They generally cannot pursue the disputed amount or report it as delinquent while investigating — though the undisputed balance and minimums still apply.
What if the investigation disagrees?
You get a written explanation and can escalate: re-dispute with new evidence, complain to regulators, and note the dispute on your reports. Disagreement is a round, not an ending.
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Educational only — not legal advice. Not credit counseling. No score or timeline promises. Back to Journal.