Billing Errors

• If you believe the credit card company made a mistake on your bill or if you paid for goods you did not receive, you must contact your credit card company within 60 days of receiving the bill, according to 2011 regulations. You cannot dispute charges over the telephone; you must write the credit card company a letter listing the disputed charges and explaining why you are filing a dispute. Send your letter via certified mail to the credit card company. The credit card company must investigate the charges and decide whether your dispute is valid within 90 days of receiving your letter.
  
  

Quality of Goods

• If you paid for goods that were defective when you received them, you can contact your credit card company as well as the merchant to address the issue. You can dispute the purchase of a defective product only if you spent more than $50 on the product and if you purchased it from a merchant located within 100 miles of your home address. Contact your credit card company prior to filing a dispute if you bought goods online from a merchant in another state or country to determine whether you are eligible. As with billing errors, you have 60 days after receiving your credit card statement to file this type of dispute.
  
  

Unauthorized Charges

• If you report your credit card lost or stolen, you are not liable for unauthorized charges of more than $50 made after filing your report. There is no time limit to file the report, but you may be liable for unauthorized charges made before you report the loss of the card. If you have a debit card with a credit logo, you must report it lost or stolen within two business days of the fraudulent activity to limit your liability for unauthorized charges to $50.
  
  

Warning

• Even if you dispute some of the charges on your credit card bill, you are still responsible for making the minimum payment on your bill for the month. If you choose not to make the required payment as a result of a dispute, the creditor may charge you interest or take collection action against you, including reporting you to the credit bureau for delinquent payment.