How to Make a Chargeback Request to Your Issuer

You have decided to dispute a charge. Here is the order to do it in: what qualifies, what to gather, how to submit, and what the written notice must say.

October 2026

You have looked at the charge. You have decided it is wrong. Now you need to tell your card issuer, and tell it in a way that keeps your rights. This page walks through a chargeback request from start to finish, in the order you should do it. If you are still weighing whether to dispute at all, start with how do I do a chargeback. Come back here when you are ready to act.

What a chargeback request is

A chargeback request is you asking your card issuer to pull money back from a merchant. The money goes back to your account if the issuer agrees the charge was wrong.

It is not the same as a refund. Discover's article says a refund, unlike a chargeback, comes from a merchant. A chargeback goes around the merchant to the bank behind it. You are asking your issuer to decide the question, not asking the shop to change its mind.

That difference matters for timing. The law also sets a clock for your written notice. More on that below.

When you can request one

The law draws the lines here, and it is worth knowing them before you write anything.

Chase's guide says the Fair Credit Billing Act protects consumers against creditors for unauthorized charges and certain billing errors. Regulation Z fills in what counts as a billing error. It says a charge not made by the cardholder or someone allowed to use the card is a billing error. The Fair Credit Billing Act says a charge for the wrong amount is a billing error. Regulation Z says a charge for goods or services not accepted or not delivered as agreed is a billing error.

In plain words, you are on solid ground if someone used your card without permission. You are also covered if the bill shows the wrong amount, or if what you paid for never showed up or came broken. American Express's guide also says you may be able to get money back in one more case. That is when something you paid for was never delivered or arrived defective or damaged.

One kind of charge does not fit. American Express's guide says to check with additional card members or authorized users if you see a charge you do not recognize. A charge made by someone allowed to use your card is not a billing error. That guide says the primary card member is responsible for charges made by additional card members. So ask the house before you ask the bank.

Before you request: three checks

Do these three things before you contact your issuer. Each one can save you a wasted dispute.

First, check that the charge has posted. Chase's guide says you can only dispute charges that have already been posted. Wait for it to post, then act.

Second, check with anyone else on the account, as above. A quick text can save you a dispute you would lose.

Third, try the merchant. Give the shop a fair chance first. If it refuses, or ignores you, or you have good reason to skip it, move on to your issuer. Keep the emails either way. They count as evidence.

Gathering your evidence

Now build your file. Chase's guide says you should gather receipts, photos and merchant communications as evidence before disputing a charge.

What does that look like in practice? The receipt or order confirmation shows what you agreed to pay. Photos show the item that arrived broken, or did not match what was sold. Emails and chat logs show what the merchant promised and what it said when you complained.

Gather this before you file, not after.

How to submit the request

American Express's guide says options for disputing a charge may include contacting your credit card issuer or logging into your online account.

Contacting your issuer or logging into your online account gets the process moving. But here is the part many people miss, and it is the one that protects your legal rights.

The Consumer Financial Protection Bureau says the cardholder must also send a written billing error notice to protect their rights. Chase's guide says for billing error disputes you can send a letter to your credit card issuer and may use certified mail for proof.

So do both. Contact your issuer or use your online account, then send the letter. The letter is what the law counts.

What the written notice must include

Regulation Z sets the contents. It says the notice must let the card issuer identify the cardholder's name and account number. It says the notice should give the error's type, date and amount, and why the cardholder thinks it is wrong.

So your letter needs five things. List your name, your account number, the kind of error, the date and amount, and why you dispute it. Keep it short and factual. Attach copies of your evidence, and keep the originals.

Now the clock. Regulation Z gives the cardholder 60 days to get a written notice to the card issuer. And Regulation Z starts the 60 days when the card issuer sends the first statement that shows the error. That is a hard line. A request made in the app on day 70 does not protect your rights the way a written notice on day 55 does. If your statement arrived weeks ago, send the letter now.

While the request is pending

Three things happen while you wait, and two of them are good news.

Regulation Z says the cardholder need not pay the disputed amount or its related charges during the dispute. You can hold back the disputed part of the bill without penalty while the issuer looks at it.

Chase's guide says credit card disputes do not hurt your credit score. The dispute itself is not a mark against you.

But the rest of the bill is still due. American Express's guide says failing to make at least the minimum payment could mark your account as late and hurt your score. Pay the undisputed part on time, every month, until this ends.

After the decision

The issuer rules one way or the other.

If it finds you are correct, the charge comes off. The CFPB says the charge must be removed from your bill if the card company finds you are correct.

If it finds against you, you get an explanation. The CFPB says the card company must tell you in writing why the bill is correct if it says you are incorrect. American Express's guide says that once a dispute is resolved, you may need to pay if you are found responsible for the charges.

If the whole process is new to you, how to file chargeback covers the mechanics in more depth.

Where to check your rights

Your card agreement spells out what your specific issuer will do. The CFPB says you can find or request your agreement at your credit card company's website or the CFPB's Credit Card Agreement Database. The CFPB also says to check your credit card agreement to review your rights about unauthorized charges.

Read it before you file if you can. It tells you how your issuer handles disputes, and what it expects from you.

One last word on scope. This page covers the request you make to your issuer. If you want the wider picture of what a chargeback is and how the whole claim works, see chargeback claim. For the card side of the same process, chargeback credit card walks through it as well.

Send the letter inside 60 days. Pay the rest of the bill. Keep your evidence. Do those three things and your chargeback request stands on its best footing.