How to Dispute a Transaction With Bank of America
You see a charge on your Bank of America card that looks wrong. Here is what to check first, how to file, and what the bank does next.
A charge lands on your Bank of America card that you do not know or think is wrong. You can dispute it. This page walks through the whole path, from the first check to the final answer, in the cardholder's seat. If you want the short version, start with bank of america charge dispute. For the full picture of the bank's dispute process, read bank of america dispute next.
What counts as a dispute
Three kinds of charges often fit. The first is a charge you do not recognize at all. The second is a refund a merchant promised and never gave. The third is a subscription you canceled that kept billing anyway.
Bank of America says plenty of the charges people dispute turn out to be their own, just ones they cannot place or recall. The name a store bills under is not always the name you know it by. A family member may have spent it and forgot to say. So the first check is not with the bank. Before you dispute a charge you do not recognize, ask any authorized users on your account if they made it.
A promised refund that never came is its own kind of problem. If a merchant promised a refund and gave none or only part of it, you may want to dispute the charge. Keep whatever proof you have of the promise, such as an email or a chat log.
A canceled subscription that keeps charging is the third kind. To dispute a charge for a canceled subscription, keep a copy of any emails confirming you canceled.
Try the merchant before you file
Bank of America suggests calling the merchant first, since the merchant may fix the problem faster. A dispute, by contrast, sends your claim down a longer road through two banks.
This step is not a wall. If the merchant says no, or never answers, you file anyway. The call just gives the problem a chance to end early.
Pending charges do not count yet
A charge can show up as pending before it posts. Bank of America only takes disputes on posted charges, because pending charges may still change. The amount can shift, or the charge can drop off on its own.
So if your odd charge still says pending, watch it. Once it posts, you can file.
How to file the dispute
Bank of America says disputing online is the easiest and fastest way, but you may also write or call. Pick the one you can reach and use it.
For a card charge in particular, bank of america dispute credit card charge covers the filing steps in more detail.
The 60-day window
Time matters here. Bank of America says most credit card charges must be disputed within 60 days of the statement date. That is the date on the statement where the charge first appears, not the day you swiped the card.
Sixty days is enough time to check with the house and try the merchant first. It is not enough time to sit on a charge you do not know. Read the statement when it comes, not weeks later.
What proof to gather
Collect what shows your side. Chase's guide says to pull together receipts, photos and any notes you traded with the merchant about what went wrong. For a canceled subscription, that means the cancellation email. For a promised refund, the promise itself.
You do not need a sworn statement. Regulation Z says a creditor may not require an affidavit or signed statement under penalty of perjury as part of a reasonable investigation. Send what you have. The bank will ask if it needs more.
What happens after you file
Bank of America looks into the charge with the merchant and its bank, then contacts you with the results. Your claim does not go straight to the shop.
The bank may come back to you with questions. Bank of America asks you to answer its requests for more information within 12 business days. Answer fast.
For the timeline from filing to answer, see how long does bank of america dispute take.
Your payments while the case is open
Bank of America handles credit card disputes under billing error rules set by federal law. Those rules, called Regulation Z, protect you while the bank works.
Regulation Z says a creditor may not try to collect the disputed amount during the error resolution period. So the bank cannot dun you for the charge itself while it checks.
The rest of your monthly bill does not get that shield. Chase's guide says the minimum payment still comes due each month even with a charge under dispute. Bank of America can help here too. If you have a payment scheduled, Bank of America may lower it so you do not pay the disputed amount.
Regulation Z defines the disputed amount as the dollar amount the consumer says is in error. Only that part is protected. The rest of the bill still comes due, and Regulation Z says a creditor may report the account as delinquent if undisputed amounts remain unpaid.
Your credit report while the case is open
The rules also cover what the bank can tell the credit bureaus. Regulation Z says a creditor may report that an amount or account is in dispute.
The rules also stop a quiet penalty. Regulation Z says a creditor may not include finance charges on undisputed balances just because a consumer withheld payment of a disputed amount. Withholding the disputed part should not add finance charges to the rest.
How the investigation works
The bank has to look at real evidence, not just ask you to swear you are right. Regulation Z says a creditor may compare signatures on credit slips to the consumer's signature in its records when investigating an unauthorized transaction. That is one tool it can use on its side.
If the bank finds in your favor, the money comes back. Chase's guide says a dispute the bank sides with ends with the charge taken back off the bill. Regulation Z adds that the creditor must credit the consumer's account with any finance or other charges incurred as a result of the alleged error. So fees that grew out of the bad charge come off too.
The two endings
Every dispute ends one of two ways.
If Bank of America finds the charge was posted in error, it corrects your account. The charge comes off, and any fees tied to it come off with it.
If the bank finds the charge was right, it stays. Chase's guide says a dispute that lands on you leaves the charge on you to cover. That is the harder ending, but it is a real one. A lost dispute is not a fine and not a penalty. It is the bank saying the charge was yours all along.
One more protection sits behind all of this. Regulation Z says the consumer's billing error rights are independent of the provisions in section 1026.12(b) and (c). Your right to dispute a billing error stands on its own.
Start with the statement
The whole path begins with one habit. Open the statement when it arrives. Look for charges you do not know. Ask the house, try the merchant, and file inside the window. The dispute system works best for the cardholder who uses it on time.