How To Dispute a Credit Card Charge—The Dispute Process Explained
PYMNTS’s 2022 report shows that 24% of e-commerce customers across the U.S., U.K., and Australia have disputed at least one credit card charge during the previous year.
Be it a small miscalculation or a large unauthorized transaction, you have the right to file a dispute and, if accepted, receive a refund.
To carry out the dispute process successfully, it is critical to understand its intricacies. This article aims to educate on credit card disputes, answering questions like:
- What are some valid reasons for disputing a credit card charge?
- How to dispute a credit card charge
- What happens when you dispute a credit card charge?
Valid Reasons for Disputing a Credit Card Charge
As per the Fair Credit Billing Act (FCBA), consumers generally have the right to withhold any disputed payment made with a credit card until the dispute gets investigated and resolved, which typically takes place within 90 days. Charges you can dispute usually include:
- Duplicate charges or charges containing a processing error, such as a wrong authorization date or total amount charged
- Charges for undelivered, canceled, returned, or defective goods or services
- Unauthorized or fraudulent charges
Conditions To Be Aware Of
To be able to withhold a payment, the charge must fulfill the following three conditions:
- The cost of the goods or services in question must be over $5.
- You must have paid for said items in your home state or within 100 miles of your current billing address.
- You must have attempted to resolve the issue with the seller first.
It is also important to acknowledge that you must initiate the dispute process within a certain time frame to successfully withhold a payment. The table below details how much time you have to dispute a payment based on the type of issue you’re dealing with:
The Importance of Protecting Your Financial Information Online
In 2022, the FTC received identity theft reports amounting to over $1.1 million, around 440,000 of which resulted from credit card fraud alone. Recently, as more and more people have taken advantage of digital payments, card-not-present fraud is becoming a prevalent concern. In light of these developments, knowing how to protect your card data during online transactions is crucial. Some of the steps you can take include:
- Using strong passwords—Set a strong, unique password for each account to make it more resistant to brute force attacks and other guessing methods.
- Enabling multi-factor authentication—With multi-factor authentication, you have to verify your identity to make a purchase or access your account, making the hackers’ job much more difficult.
- Activating transaction alerts—Enable transaction notifications and review each one thoroughly to detect fraud on time.
- Avoiding public Wi-Fi networks and risky websites—Hackers are known to intercept sensitive information on public, unsecured Wi-Fi networks. Providing your financial details to sketchy websites can expose them to potential threats if the merchant in question doesn’t employ proper security measures.
- Buying with virtual cards—A virtual card is a stand-in card number that you can use for online transactions to protect your real card numbers or bank information from potential hackers. Many banks offer virtual cards to their customers, but often with limited features. You should consider an independent virtual card provider, such as Privacy, to enjoy robust protection, comprehensive customization options, and increased control over your finances.
Gain More Control Over Your Finances With Privacy
A Privacy Virtual Card has a unique, randomly generated card number, CVC, and expiration date, and you can use it for online transactions at most places where all major U.S. debit or credit cards are accepted. You can either connect the virtual card to your debit card or a bank account and use it for online purchases as you would any other card. The difference is that virtual cards mask your real bank or card data, which protects it in case the vendor suffers a data breach.
Security and Convenience at Your Fingertips
Privacy is a BBB®-accredited company, abiding by the same high security standards as any well-known bank. Besides security, Privacy offers you more control over your payments and helps you manage your finances with ease. The table below breaks down some of the most notable Privacy features:
- Merchant-Locked Card: The Merchant-Locked Card locks to the first vendor you use it at. If the card number becomes compromised, the perpetrator can’t use it anywhere else. This card is perfect for subscriptions and recurring charges.
- Single-Use Card: The Single-Use Card closes a few minutes after the first transaction, making it useless to potential hackers. You can use it when shopping on unfamiliar websites with questionable security practices.
- Pausing and closing: You can pause or close your virtual cards swiftly without affecting your real card or bank account. Once you do, Privacy will block all further charges. Doing so allows you to prevent unwarranted charges from sneaky merchants and subscription services.
- Spending limits: Privacy Cards have customizable spending limits, which help you stay within budget and prevent merchants and subscription services from charging hidden fees.
- Browser extension for Chrome, Firefox, and Safari: The Privacy browser extension autofills card numbers at checkouts, allowing you to make fast and seamless purchases. It spares you from having to get your wallet or enter card numbers manually every time you want to make a spontaneous purchase.
- Mobile app for iOS and Android: The Privacy mobile app lets you create and use virtual cards wherever you are. By enabling real-time alerts, you can get notified when your cards are used or declined, helping you detect suspicious activity timely.
How To Get Your Privacy Virtual Cards
To give Privacy a try, follow these steps:
- Create an account
- Provide the information required to verify your identity
- Add a funding source (debit card or bank account)
- Request Your Privacy Virtual Card
Privacy’s basic plan is free for domestic transactions and includes 12 virtual cards a month, spending limits, the pausing and closing feature, and access to browser extensions and apps. Paid plans provide up to 60 virtual cards, 1% cashback on select purchases (totaling up to $4,500 a month), and no foreign transaction fees, among other benefits.
