Last month a customer logged into her credit card account and saw a $240 charge from a garden furniture company. She had placed the order in early May, paid with her card, and watched the tracking page for weeks. The page never updated. Emails to the seller went unanswered. The furniture never arrived. She now had a charge sitting on her statement and no chairs in her yard.
When you pay for something you never received, a few federal rules and a clear paper trail give you several routes to ask for your money back, starting with the seller and, for credit card charges, the card issuer. The path you take depends on the type of payment and the timing of your first notice, so knowing which box your problem fits into will help you choose the fastest fix.
Know what counts as a billing error
A credit card billing error can include being charged for a purchase when you did not receive what you ordered or did not accept delivery of the items. This is the core situation for a dispute over goods or services not delivered, and it is different from a simple disagreement about quality. Knowing which category your problem falls into helps you choose the right route, because the card issuer's billing-error process is built for charges that are wrong on the bill.
If you were billed for something you never got, or you received products you never ordered, the Federal Trade Commission publishes separate guidance on those situations. Reading that guidance alongside your card's own dispute terms gives you a fuller picture of your options before you act.
Watch the deadline for a written billing-error notice
For a credit card billing error, the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau says you should send a written notice to the card company no later than 60 days after the statement showing the error was sent. The clock is tied to the statement where the error first appeared, not to the date you noticed the problem on your own calendar, so reviewing each statement promptly matters.
Regulation Z, the federal rule that implements the Truth in Lending Act, covers billing error resolution at 12 CFR 1026.13. Reading that section, or the CFPB's plain-language summaries of it, can help you understand the procedures the card issuer must follow once it receives a valid notice.
Try the seller first, and keep your records
For a product or service dispute, the usual first step is to ask the seller for a refund or to undo the charge. The seller may be able to fix the problem directly, and the CFPB notes that asking the seller first is part of showing good faith, which matters for certain credit card refund requests.
Before you contact the seller, gather sales receipts, order confirmations, warranties, contracts, work orders, and any emails or records of your contact with the company. Put your complaint in writing to a salesperson or customer service representative, keep a copy, and escalate to a manager if the first representative cannot help. A written record makes it easier to show what you asked for and when.
One common myth is that you can skip the seller and file a card dispute immediately. Many card agreements require that you try to solve the problem with the merchant first. Skipping that step can slow your dispute or give the card issuer a reason to deny it. A short email to the seller with your order number and a request for a refund creates the documentation you need for the next level.
Use the card issuer's dispute process and a chargeback if needed
If the seller will not refund the charge, you can contact the card company. The CFPB says you may call the customer service number on the bill or the back of the card, or file a dispute online, though some companies require online account access for online disputes. For a written dispute, include your name, address, account number, and a clear explanation of what is wrong and why. The billing-dispute address may differ from the payment address, so check the statement before you mail anything.
While the card company investigates, you do not have to pay the disputed charge or the related finance charges, but you must still pay the undisputed portion of your bill. Keeping up with undisputed charges helps you avoid problems unrelated to the dispute.
The card company can sometimes reverse a charge through a process called a chargeback. The sources available here do not describe how chargebacks work in practice or which documents the card company will require, so ask the issuer directly what it needs from you and how long its investigation may take.
A quick example: the customer with the garden furniture called her card issuer on the sixty-first day after the statement closed. Because she missed the 60-day window for a formal billing-error notice, the card company treated her call as a general dispute rather than a billing error under Regulation Z. The issuer still opened an investigation and requested proof of delivery from the merchant, but the customer no longer had the automatic right to withhold payment during the review. She paid the disputed amount to avoid interest and late fees while the case moved forward.
Escalate to government and consumer offices when needed
If the seller does not resolve the problem, you can file complaints with your state consumer protection office, your state attorney general, and the Federal Trade Commission. The FTC handles complaints about scams and suspicious communications, and the USAGov guides explain where to file complaints about online purchases and about company products or services.
If the seller is located outside the United States, the USAGov guidance points to econsumer.gov as an option. Local consumer protection offices and the Better Business Bureau can also help when a company does not respond, though the available sources do not describe the BBB's process or response times in detail.
Before you file, check where the seller is based, since that affects which office can take your complaint. Keeping your records organized will also make any complaint easier for an agency to review.
One question many people ask is whether filing a complaint will hurt their credit score. The sources reviewed here do not cover how disputes appear on credit reports, so check with the card issuer or a qualified credit counselor if you are concerned about your credit file while a dispute is open.
What to ask before you start
Before you pick up the phone or write the letter, run through a short checklist. Did you receive what you ordered, or did you accept delivery of the items? Is your written notice being sent within 60 days of the statement showing the charge? Where does your card agreement describe billing-error handling? Did you try in good faith to resolve the issue with the seller before asking for a credit-card refund? Is the seller located in the U.S., or outside it?
Answering those questions in order will save you time and help you choose the right office for each step. A purchase from an overseas retailer may need a different complaint channel than a local merchant. A charge that appeared three months ago may be past the formal dispute window, even if you only opened the statement last week.
The garden furniture customer eventually received a full refund after the card issuer completed its investigation and the merchant could not produce a delivery signature. She kept every email, the original order confirmation, and screenshots of the tracking page that never updated. That documentation made the case straightforward for the card company and shortened the review. The chairs never showed up, but her account was credited within two billing cycles.
Please seek a professional. This article is general information, not financial, tax or insurance advice. Please seek a licensed financial, tax or insurance professional about your own situation.
