How long does a credit card dispute take?
Timeline Overview
Under the Fair Credit Billing Act, your credit card issuer must acknowledge your dispute within 30 days and resolve it within two billing cycles (about 60 days). However, many disputes take longer, especially if the merchant contests it. The entire process can stretch to 90 days or more.
You might get a temporary credit to your account while the investigation is ongoing. If the dispute is resolved in your favor, the credit becomes permanent. If not, the credit is reversed.
- Issuer must acknowledge within 30 days.
- Resolution within two billing cycles (about 60 days) under FCBA.
- Complex cases can take 90 days or more.
- Provisional credit may be issued within a few days.
Factors That Affect Timing
The time can vary based on the type of dispute, the merchant's response, and the card network's rules. Fraud disputes may be resolved faster than disputes over services not rendered. If you need to provide additional documentation, that can add time.
Debit card disputes follow similar timelines but are governed by the EFTA, which also requires resolution within 45 days for most cases, with possible extensions.
Common mistakes
- Expecting an immediate resolution—disputes take time.
- Not checking your statements for provisional credits—they can be reversed.
- Assuming all disputes take the same time—fraud vs. service disputes differ.
