It’s happened to all of us. You buy something in a store, and when you get it home, find out that it just doesn’t work. Maybe you’ve made a purchase online and it arrives damaged or isn’t the item you thought you were getting. Perhaps you’ve stayed in a hotel or flown on a plane and found out after the fact that they’ve added charges and fees that you weren’t expecting. Or maybe the cashier just swiped your card too many times and you were charged twice for the same purchase.

Are you out of luck? Is your only choice to take the hit and pay the bill? Not necessarily. Thanks to the Fair Credit Billing Act, you may be able to file a dispute and have the charges removed from your bill. While it’ll take a little bit of work on your part, it’s a fairly straightforward process and one that has a good chance of being successful. Bear in mind, we’re not talking here about cases of fraudulent activity, in which case you should cancel the card and notify the bank and other authorities. These are legitimate charges that you made, that you’d now like reversed for some reason.

Go Right to the Source

Just like your parents always told you, if you have a problem with someone, you should talk to them directly. Go right to the merchant, explain your dissatisfaction, and ask them to remove the charges. Chances are they’ll be happy to comply, in the interest of good customer services. The larger the organization, the more likely they are to have a policy in place to cover these instances.

If talking to them doesn’t work, put your complaint in writing. Send a letter to the merchant with details of the dispute. Make it as detailed as possible and send it by certified mail, so you’ll know it was received. Make a couple of copies of the letter—you’ll need them later.

Call For Backup

If you get nowhere with the merchant, it’s time to get help in removing the charges. Write a dispute letter to your credit card company. You have to do this within 60 days of the date that the bill with the charge you’re disputing was mailed to you. Again, be detailed—include your name, account number, amount disputed, date of the charge, and any other specific information that may be relevant. Include a copy of the letter you sent to the merchant to prove you’ve been working to resolve the matter. Again, send the letter by certified mail, and send it to the address for billing inquiries, not the address where you send your payment, as this may delay the process.

Now you’ll wait while your card company investigates your claim. They’ll contact the merchant and then decide who’s right. If it’s you, the charge is removed from your card. If not, you’ll have to pay the charge, along with any interest or penalties that may have accrued. One point to remember—the Fair Credit Billing Act specifies that the amount disputed must be over $50, and the merchant must be in your home state or within 100 miles of your billing address (not necessarily helpful with online orders). Many card companies will ignore these restrictions when investigating claims, but it’s important to know that your dispute could be rejected for these reasons.

Don’t Neglect Your Responsibilities

The fact that you’re disputing a particular charge doesn’t mean that you don’t have to keep current on your bill. You should continue to make payments to the card when due until your case is resolved. The last thing you want is for interest charges and late fees to pile up while waiting for an answer. Send your payments to the same address you normally do—don’t include them with your dispute letter, to avoid confusion.

Hopefully you’ll never have to go through this process. And if you do, there’s no guarantee that you’ll be successful. But knowing that the option is available to you, combined with the fact that most card companies and merchants have an interest in keeping their customers happy, can offer a great deal of peace of mind when shopping with your credit card.

Photo by B Rosen

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1. Four Ways to Get Your Money Back from a Credit Card Purchase
2. Soft Pull vs. Hard Pull: Which is What and Who’s Responsible?
3. Credit Repair III: The Credit Repair Process
4. Debit Card Disputes and How They Work
5. 11 Credit Card Terms Everyone Should Know!