Disputing a debit card charge

The information on this page is specifically about transactions made with a merchant. This doesn’t include withdrawals or deposits made at an ATM. If you have an issue with an ATM transaction, please call us at 1-866-536-9023 from 8am - 11pm ET Monday-Friday, or 8am - 6pm ET on Saturdays.

If a transaction was authorized by you, a Joint Holder, or an authorized user, and there’s an issue with the product, service or transaction, you can file a dispute. Here’s a few examples of when you can dispute a transaction:

• You paid for merchandise or a service and didn’t receive it, or only received part of it

• You signed up for a free trial and didn’t know you would be charged for a subscription

• You canceled a service and you’re still being charged for it

• You made a purchase, but the amount on your statement is wrong or you were charged twice.

• The merchandise or service you purchased wasn’t as described

If a transaction wasn’t authorized by you, a Joint Holder, or an authorized user – this could indicate fraud. Contact us immediately by calling us at 1-866-536-9023 from 8am - 11pm ET Monday-Friday, or 8am - 6pm ET on Saturdays.

1. Confirm the charge has posted to your account

Pending transactions can’t be disputed because the amount may change or the transaction may drop off your account. You can report a problem with a transaction once the transaction has been posted, which is generally within about 5 days. 

The easiest way to check if a transaction has been posted is online. Login to your account online or download our mobile app. If you haven’t enrolled in online banking, sign up now to get started. 

2. Contact the merchant

Working directly with the merchant is typically the fastest way to resolve the problem. While you can dispute a transaction without contacting the merchant first, it may take up to 4 months for us to resolve a dispute for you.

3. Get your paperwork ready

If you’re unable to resolve the issue by contacting the merchant, make sure to gather all of your documents before filing a dispute. Keep them until your dispute is closed, too. 

Here’s a few examples of documents that you’ll need: 

• Receipts and invoices

• Pictures of the product or service

• Communications with the merchant to try to fix the issue

• Bank statement showing the additional charge, if you were charged twice

It’s best to dispute a transaction as soon as possible after you’ve tried to resolve the problem with the merchant. We’re only able to try to work with the merchant for a short period of time after the transaction is posted. 

We strongly encourage you to file a claim within 60 days after we send you the statement with the transaction in question. While you can dispute a transaction at any time, a delay may impact the outcome of the dispute. To dispute a transaction, call us at 1-866-536-9023 from 8am - 11pm ET Monday-Friday, or 8am - 6pm ET on Saturdays.

When you call to dispute the transaction, we’ll start the claim filing process. Here’s what you can expect:

1. Be on the lookout for an email or letter from us – We’ll review the claim and reach out if we need any additional information or documentation from you. Please note that if we don’t receive all of the information or documents requested, we might close the claim.

2. We’ll try to resolve the problem with the merchant –When possible, we’ll act as the “go-between” for you and the merchant to try to get the transaction reimbursed, but there are rules in place that Capital One and the merchant have to follow when this happens. The information provided by you and the merchant will help determine the outcome of the dispute.

   • Depending on what information the merchant provides, we may need you to provide additional information or documentation again.

3. We may provide temporary credit – If your claim is eligible, we’ll provide a temporary credit to your account within 10 business days if we are not able to resolve your dispute before then. Not all claims are eligible for a temporary credit.

4. We’ll let you know the outcome – When we have completed the investigation, we'll send you an email or letter explaining the outcome of the claim. It can usually take between 90 to 120 days to complete an investigation. Resolution time frames  may vary depending on the type of transaction the claim is filed on– such as ATM or ACH, for example. Please refer to the information provided when filing for specific timeframe details.

During the call, we’ll tell you a few things: if your claim is eligible for temporary credit, how long it may take to resolve the dispute and a claim number for your reference.

There are three possible outcomes when we complete our investigation. Based on our investigation, your dispute may have a combination of the outcomes. This can happen if the merchant issues you a partial refund directly to your debit card, or if we were only able to get a partial reimbursement when working with the merchant. 

1. Approved: This means we'll reimburse you for the transaction. If we provided you with a temporary credit, it’s now permanent and yours to keep. If you weren’t provided  temporary credit, we’ll issue you one.

2. Not approved: This means that we weren’t able to get the transaction reimbursed. If you were provided temporary credit, we’ll remove it from your account.

3. Issue resolved: This means the merchant resolved the transaction. Typically this happens when the merchant issues a refund to your debit card outside of the dispute process.  If you were provided temporary credit, we’ll remove it from your account.

If your claim was not approved, or if we determined the issue was resolved, you can always request documentation to help explain the outcome. To request documentation, call us at 866-536-9023 from 8 a.m.-11 p.m. ET Monday-Friday, or 8 a.m.-6 p.m. ET on Saturdays.