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Credit Card Billing Error Attorneys in Tulsa, Oklahoma
Credit card companies make mistakes, and many consumers do not know the rights federal law gives them when a billing dispute is mishandled. Whether your account has been charged for something you did not buy, your written dispute has been ignored, or your claim was denied with a form letter saying it was not fraud, federal law may give you powerful tools to fight back. The Fair Credit Billing Act is one of the most underused consumer protection statutes on the books. We represent consumers in Tulsa and throughout Oklahoma who have been wronged by credit card companies, and we know how to hold them accountable.
Do You Have a Case?
You may have a credit card billing error, unauthorized-use, or credit-reporting claim if:
Unauthorized charges appeared on your account that you did not make or authorize, and the credit card company refused to remove them;
You disputed a charge in writing, but the credit card company failed to acknowledge your dispute within 30 days;
Your written billing dispute was not resolved within two complete billing cycles, and no later than 90 days;
Your account was reported as delinquent, charged off, or otherwise negatively reported to the credit bureaus while a proper billing dispute was still open and unresolved;
You were charged fees, interest, or other amounts that appear to be unauthorized, miscalculated, improperly disclosed, or inconsistent with your account agreement;
Your account was closed, restricted, or suspended solely because you disputed an amount or refused to pay the disputed amount while a proper billing dispute was pending;
A fraudulent credit card account was opened in your name or unauthorized account activity is being reported on your credit; or
Your dispute was denied as “not fraud,” even though the issue involved an incorrect charge, goods or services not accepted or delivered as agreed, a missing credit, or another non-fraud billing issue.
Denied Because They Said It Wasn't Fraud? You May Still Have Rights.
'We investigated and found no fraud' is not the same as 'you have no rights.' If your credit card dispute was denied on that basis, you may have been given the wrong answer under the wrong law.
This is one of the most common situations we hear about — and one of the most misunderstood. A consumer disputes a charge on their credit card. The credit card company investigates, concludes it doesn't meet their definition of fraud, and sends a denial letter. The consumer assumes that's the end of it.
It often isn't.
Fraud Claims and Billing Disputes Are Two Different Things
Credit card disputes may involve different legal frameworks, and credit card companies sometimes analyze a billing dispute as if it were only a fraud or unauthorized-use claim. That can lead to the wrong result.
Fraud or unauthorized-use claims generally involve charges the consumer did not make or authorize. TILA’s unauthorized-use protections generally limit consumer liability to $50, along with any applicable network or issuer zero-liability policies.
FCBA billing-error disputes may include non-fraud issues and can apply even where the consumer authorized the transaction, but only if the dispute falls within the FCBA’s billing-error framework and procedural requirements.
What the Fair Credit Billing Act Actually Covers
The FCBA does not cover every complaint about a credit card transaction, but it does cover more than fraud. Under the FCBA and Regulation Z, a billing error may include:
A charge you did not make or authorize;
A charge in the wrong amount;
A charge for goods or services you did not accept, or that were not delivered as agreed;
A charge involving the wrong quantity, late delivery, delivery to the wrong location, or goods or services different from what was agreed;
A mathematical, computational, or accounting error;
A payment or credit that was not properly posted to your account;
A charge that is unclear or not properly identified, where you request clarification or supporting documentation; or
A failure to send your periodic statement to the correct address, in certain circumstances.
There is an important distinction for defective or poor-quality goods and services. If you refused to accept the goods or services because they did not match the agreement, or if they were not delivered as agreed, the dispute may fall within the FCBA billing-error process. But if you accepted the goods or services and your complaint is only about their quality, the issue may not qualify as a billing error under Regulation Z. Other rights may still apply, but the legal analysis is different.
The FCBA also includes a separate protection that may allow a cardholder to assert certain claims or defenses against the credit card issuer when the dispute arises from a credit card transaction with a merchant. That protection has additional requirements and limits, including a good-faith effort to resolve the problem with the merchant.
What the Credit Card Company Is Required to Do
When you submit a timely written billing dispute that qualifies under the Fair Credit Billing Act, your credit card company has specific obligations. It must:
Acknowledge your dispute in writing within 30 days, unless it resolves the dispute first;
Within two complete billing cycles, and no later than 90 days, either correct the account or conduct an investigation and send you a written explanation;
Refrain from treating the disputed amount as delinquent for credit-reporting purposes while the FCBA dispute is pending;
Refrain from closing, restricting, or otherwise taking adverse action against your account solely because you have not paid the disputed amount while the dispute is pending; and
If it denies the dispute, provide a written explanation of the reasons it believes the charge or account statement is correct.
If a credit card company ignores these procedures, or rejects a valid FCBA billing-error dispute simply because it found “no fraud,” it may be violating federal law. Available remedies may include actual damages, statutory damages where available, costs, and attorney’s fees.
What You Should Do
If your credit card dispute was denied, do not assume that ends the analysis. Save the denial letter, your dispute letter, account statements, credit reports, and any communications with the credit card company or merchant. The key question may not be whether someone stole your card. The key question may be whether the credit card company properly handled a valid billing dispute under the Fair Credit Billing Act or another consumer protection law.
How We Help:
We evaluate your billing dispute, identify whether the FCBA, TILA, FCRA, or other consumer protection statutes apply, and pursue recovery on your behalf. Some cases involve both FCBA and Fair Credit Reporting Act violations — for example, when a credit card company denies a valid dispute and then reports the disputed amount as delinquent to the credit bureaus. When that happens, you may have claims under both statutes, which can expand the remedies available in the right case.