The charge on my statement is more than I agreed — is it a billing error, and what clock applies?

Yes. Under the Fair Credit Billing Act, a credit-card statement reflection that is not in the amount agreed is a billing error (15 USC 1666(b)(1)), and your written notice must reach the issuer within 60 days after the statement containing the error was sent. For debit cards, Regulation E treats an incorrect electronic fund transfer as an error (12 CFR 1005.11(a)(1)(ii)) with the same 60-day statement window. Both clocks run from the statement date, not the purchase date.

Can I dispute a charge that is still pending?

Generally no: banks require a charge to post before opening a formal dispute, because the amount may still change — at a restaurant the pending total routinely rises once the tip you wrote is added at settlement. While a charge is pending, the merchant is your fastest route: ask them to void or correct the authorization. Suspected fraud is the exception: report it to your bank immediately, even while pending.

Should I dispute the whole bill when only part of the amount is wrong?

No. Dispute the difference only. The agreed part was a purchase you made; the difference is the billing error. Disputing the whole charge when you owe most of it can be treated as an inaccurate claim and weakens the good part of your case. This checker computes the difference from your two amounts and names it in dollars and cents.

A restaurant changed my tip — what proves what I actually wrote?

Your signed receipt, or a photo of it, showing the tip you wrote. Visa reason code 12.5 covers a transaction amount altered after completion without the cardholder's consent, and the signed slip is the document that decides whose version of the tip is true. If you no longer hold it, ask the merchant in writing for a copy of the signed slip before you file — a merchant that altered a tip often corrects it rather than produce the slip.

What reason codes cover a wrong amount?

Visa 12.5 (Incorrect Amount) and Mastercard 4834 (Point-of-Interaction Error, Incorrect Transaction Amount condition), each with an about-120-day filing window from the transaction or central processing date. You do not choose the code yourself — your issuer assigns it from your description — but naming the family tells you what evidence matters: proof of the agreed amount.

Charged Wrong Amount Credit Card Dispute Checker

How the checker works

Pending first, difference second

Two questions decide a wrong-amount case, in this order. First: has the charge posted? A pending charge is an authorization, not a finished transaction — its amount may still change, and at a restaurant it routinely rises once the tip you wrote is added at settlement. Banks generally will not open a formal dispute on a pending charge at all, so comparing a pending figure with the agreed amount and calling the gap an overcharge is the fastest way to waste a filing. Wait until it posts, then compare again. Second: how much higher is the posted total than the agreed total? That difference — and only that difference — is the billing error. The agreed part was a purchase you made; disputing the whole bill hands the merchant an easy win on the part you actually owe, and can get the good part of your claim treated as inaccurate too.

The clocks that actually bind you

Two clocks, and the earlier one is the one that matters. Under US rules, your notice is due within 60 days of the statement that first shows the error — the Fair Credit Billing Act for credit cards (written notice, to the billing-inquiries address), Regulation E for debit cards (oral or written notice). The card networks' filing window is about 120 days from the transaction (Visa 12.5, Mastercard 4834). The checker computes both from your own dates, and tells you plainly which one to protect first. If the overcharge on a debit card caused overdraft fees, ask for those fees to be refunded as part of the correction: Regulation E requires a confirmed error to be corrected including, where applicable, fees the institution imposed as a result of the error — fees that would have been charged anyway are the exception, so name the specific fees the overcharge caused.

Not a wrong amount? Check the neighbour, not this tool

This tool is wrong-amount ONLY. Charged twice for one purchase — two lines, not one line too high — belongs to the Duplicate Charge Checker, which compares the status of both lines. A purchase that never arrived, a service cancelled but still billed, or goods not as described are different disputes with different reason codes, and this checker deliberately refuses to re-label them as wrong amounts: a correct amount filed as a wrong amount loses, and a wrong amount filed as fraud loses faster. One charge, one comparison: agreed amount against posted amount, difference only.

Want the full wrong-amount playbook?

The worked example (agreed $42.00, posted $52.50, dispute $10.50), the altered-tip evidence ladder, the merchant script, the clock table, and the traps (pre-tip authorizations, added fees you actually agreed to, and the whole-bill mistake) — with the checker above the fold.

Read the wrong-amount billing error guide

Sources (verified November 3, 2026): Fair Credit Billing Act, 15 USC 1666(b)(1) — a billing error includes a statement reflection "not in the amount reflected"; 15 USC 1666(a) — written notice within 60 days after the statement containing the error was sent, creditor acknowledges within 30 days and resolves within two billing cycles (max 90 days); Regulation E, 12 CFR 1005.11(a)(1)(ii) — "an incorrect electronic fund transfer" is an error; 12 CFR 1005.11(b)(1)(i) — error notice (oral or written) no later than 60 days after the statement showing the error was transmitted; 12 CFR 1005.11(c) official comment — confirmed errors are corrected including, where applicable, refunding fees imposed as a result of the error; Visa 12.5, "Incorrect Amount" (including a transaction amount altered after completion without consent), ~120 days from the transaction date; Mastercard 4834, "Point-of-Interaction Error" (Incorrect Transaction Amount condition), ~120 days from the central processing date; Bank of America, North Shore Bank, and Capital One — pending charges generally cannot be formally disputed until posted. Your bank and card agreement are the final word.

General information only — not legal advice. This checker gives a general read of your situation against published network reason codes and US consumer rules (FCBA, Regulation E). It does not predict your issuer's decision. Your cardholder agreement and issuer policies control your specific case.

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Charged Wrong Amount on Your Credit Card? Dispute the Difference

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