Most people ask a seller for a refund and stop there. The Fair Credit Billing Act gives you a separate, formal dispute right against your card issuer directly — with the burden of proof on the merchant, not you.
Non-Receipt Is a "Billing Error," by Definition
The Fair Credit Billing Act (FCBA), codified at 15 U.S.C. § 1666 and implemented through Regulation Z (12 C.F.R. § 1026.13), gives credit card holders a formal dispute mechanism separate from simply asking the seller for a refund. Under 12 C.F.R. § 1026.13(a)(3), a "billing error" explicitly includes a charge for goods or services "not delivered to the consumer or the consumer's designee as agreed" — meaning non-receipt isn't just a customer service issue, it's a defined billing error you have a statutory right to dispute directly with your card issuer.
The Statutory Timeline
- Your window to dispute: you must send a written billing error notice to your card issuer no later than 60 days after the issuer sent the first statement reflecting the disputed charge.
- Issuer's acknowledgment deadline: the issuer must send written acknowledgment within 30 days of receiving your dispute.
- Investigation and resolution: the issuer must complete its investigation and resolve the dispute within two complete billing cycles, and no later than 90 days after receiving your notice.
While the dispute is pending, you're legally entitled to withhold payment on the disputed amount — and any associated finance charges — under 12 C.F.R. § 1026.13(d), without that withheld payment being treated as delinquent.
The Part That Actually Favors You: Burden of Proof
This is the detail most consumers don't realize matters. To defeat your non-delivery dispute, the card issuer and merchant have to provide affirmative proof that the merchandise was actually delivered to you or your authorized designee, consistent with what was agreed. A bare tracking scan showing a package was dropped off — with no signature, no confirmation of actual physical receipt — is frequently treated as insufficient under a properly conducted FCBA review, particularly where the sale terms implied delivery into your hands rather than an unattended drop-off.
This is a meaningfully different standard than what many merchants apply informally, where a "delivered" tracking status is treated as the end of the conversation. Under FCBA, that same tracking status may not be enough to defeat a formal billing dispute.
How to File the Dispute Correctly
- Confirm you're within 60 days of the statement that first showed the disputed charge — this window is strict.
- Send your dispute in writing (not just a phone call) to the address your card issuer designates specifically for billing error notices — check your statement or card issuer's website for this address, since it may differ from their general customer service address.
- State clearly that the goods were not delivered as agreed, and include your account number, the amount, and the date of the transaction.
- Keep a copy of everything you send and the date you sent it.
- If the issuer sides with the merchant based only on a bare tracking scan with no proof of actual receipt, you can push back citing the FCBA's specific proof-of-delivery standard.
Related Kibbo Tools
Sources
- Consumer Financial Protection Bureau — 12 C.F.R. § 1026.13 (Regulation Z, Billing Error Resolution). consumerfinance.gov
- Legal Information Institute, Cornell Law School — 15 U.S.C. § 1666 (Fair Credit Billing Act). law.cornell.edu