Paid by credit card but it never arrived? How a billing dispute works
When a package never shows up and the seller stops answering, a credit card gives you a legal tool that debit cards and cash don't: the billing error process under the Fair Credit Billing Act.
- Send a written billing error notice so the card issuer receives it within 60 days after it sent the first statement showing the charge.
- The issuer must acknowledge in writing within 30 days, unless it resolves the dispute first.
- It must resolve the dispute within two complete billing cycles, and never more than 90 days.
The 60-day window
Under 15 U.S.C. 1666, Fair Credit Billing Act: correction of billing errors, the process starts when the card issuer receives a written notice "within sixty days after having transmitted" the statement with the charge. Your notice should identify you and your account, say you believe the statement has a billing error and the amount, and give your reasons. 12 CFR 1026.13 (Regulation Z), billing error resolution implements the rule and lists billing errors, which include charges for property "not accepted by the consumer" or "not delivered to the consumer as agreed."
What the card issuer must do
- Within 30 days of getting your notice: send a written acknowledgment, unless it resolves the dispute first.
- Within two complete billing cycles (no more than 90 days): either correct your account, including any finance charges on the disputed amount, or explain in writing why it believes the bill is correct.
Write it the right way
- Use the billing-error address on your statement (some issuers also accept online disputes and say so in their billing rights notice).
- Don't write it on the payment stub if your issuer says not to.
- Include the order number, the delivery date you were promised, and copies of your messages with the seller.
- Keep proof of when you sent it.
Before disputing, check whether the seller already owes you a refund option under the FTC's shipping rule. See your rights when an online order is late. Also see how to tell if a debt collector is legitimate.
General consumer information, not legal advice. Sources: 15 U.S.C. 1666, Fair Credit Billing Act: correction of billing errors; 12 CFR 1026.13 (Regulation Z), billing error resolution.
Published October 30, 2026. We do not use affiliate links on this page; see our Affiliate Disclosure.