Win a chargeback against a merchant that took your money
The correct dispute reason code chosen, the pre-dispute merchant contact documented, evidence packaged the way an issuer actually reviews it, the claim filed inside the network’s 120-day time limit, and the provisional credit made permanent — including after the merchant rebuts.
Free preview: 4 of 22 steps
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Who it's for
US cardholders with an open credit or debit card who ordered goods or services that never arrived, arrived damaged or not as described, were billed repeatedly without authorization, or lost money on a cancelled trip or booking — especially anyone whose first app-based dispute was reversed and now faces the merchant’s rebuttal round. Not for people who paid by cash, wire, gift card or crypto, and not for identity-theft victims, who have a separate route under Regulation E.
About this playbook
This guide takes a US cardholder from a charge the merchant will not refund to a permanent credit, using the reason codes, evidence rules and deadlines the card networks actually enforce. You will pick the dispute reason code that decides most cases, build a merchant paper trail, and send the Fair Credit Billing Act written dispute that outranks the app button. Then you file the claim inside the 120-day window, secure the provisional credit, and cooperate with the issuer’s investigation. The back half covers the round most people lose: the merchant’s rebuttal, the point-by-point response, and the optional network arbitration that can overturn a denial. It does not cover money sent by wire, gift card or crypto, and it does not cover identity-theft reporting, which is a separate route with separate deadlines.
What you'll do, step by stepFree preview
Only a sample is open: 4 of 22 steps can be read in full. The rest unlock when you buy.
Phase 1: Confirm the charge is disputable and pick the reason code
4 stepsPhase 2: Contact the merchant and build the evidence file
4 stepsPhase 3: Send the Fair Credit Billing Act written dispute
4 stepsPhase 4: File with your issuer and secure the provisional credit
3 stepsPhase 5: Beat the merchant’s rebuttal
4 stepsPhase 6: Close out and keep the win
3 steps
Details
What you need first
The charge sits on a US-issued credit or debit card and is still inside the dispute window of about 120 days from the transaction or the expected delivery date — the first step verifies this. You can still sign in to the account and read the statement. You have a way to contact the merchant in writing, such as an email address or an in-app chat. You are the cardholder or an authorized user named on the account.
