What Happens After You Dispute a Charge
Your bank looks into it, may give you a temporary credit, and then tells you what it found in writing.
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You sent your dispute. Now the work moves to your bank. Here is what to expect, and what to watch for.
Your bank looks into it
Expect questions. Reply the same week if you can.
Credit cards have one clock. Regulation Z gives the card issuer 2 complete billing cycles after it receives the notice to resolve the error. Regulation Z says the card issuer must resolve the error no later than 90 days after it receives the notice.
For a debit card, Regulation E says your bank must decide if there was an error within 10 business days of getting your notice. Regulation E says your bank may take up to 45 days if it gives provisional credit within 10 business days.
You may get money back for now
Some banks pay you back for now. Regulation E says you get full use of a provisional credit while your bank looks into the error. It is not final yet.
On a credit card, you do not pay the charge in the meantime. Regulation Z says the cardholder need not pay the disputed amount or its related charges during the dispute. The rest of the bill is still due.
You get an answer
If the bank agrees with you, the charge comes off for good.
If it does not, it has to tell you why. Regulation E says if your bank finds no error, it must explain why in writing. Ask for the papers it used. You can read them and see what it saw.
Did you skip a step before you filed? Go back to what to do before you dispute a charge.