How do I cancel a credit card transaction?

To cancel a credit card transaction, contact either the merchant on the other side of the transaction or the credit card company. Which you should contact first depends on whether or not you think the transaction is fraudulent.

When You Think the Transaction Is Fraudulent:

If you want to cancel a credit card transaction because you think it is fraudulent, the first thing you should do is search online for the name of the biller, as listed on your credit card account. Sometimes, legitimate transactions can lead to false alarms simply because a biller’s corporate name isn’t as recognizable as the brand name a consumer really does intend to pay. If that clears things up in your case, great – crisis averted.

However, if you still don’t recognize the details, you should definitely call your credit card’s issuer (the number is listed on the back of your card) to inform them about the unauthorized transaction. Even if the issuer can’t cancel the transaction before it goes through initially, you will not be on the hook for any fraudulent purchases made with your credit card account. All credit cards give users a $0 fraud liability guarantee.

When You Just Want to Cancel the Transaction:

If you know that a credit card transaction is legitimate, but you want to cancel it because you changed your mind or made the purchase by mistake (or any other reason), take your request directly to the merchant the transaction is with. The credit card company won’t be able to do much about a legitimately authorized credit card transaction. They might be able to instruct you on how to cancel future transactions if the card is being used for a subscription or other recurring purchase, but that’s about it.

Your chances of being able to cancel a credit card transaction made online figure to be especially good. Check the merchant's cancellation policy. Some provide a small window in which you can cancel a pending transaction. Just bear in mind that in this situation, an order may show as canceled before the transaction reversal posts to your credit card account.

Hi! Thanks for writing! I am not sure that I understand your question exactly right, so I will interpret it as best as I can and hopefully provide helpful answers!

If you bought a thing or a service with your credit that you want to return or cancel, then you would contact the vendor you bought it from, follow the procedure to return it. and the vendor would issue a refund directly to your credit card. If you accidentally hit "Buy" in a website and didn't mean to, you would again contact the vendor directly to clear up the problem. If a thing or service is defective, again, you'd first contact the vendor. If they won't help, you'd go into your credit card account online or call your credit card company to file a dispute on that particular charge. The credit card company will have much more clout and power than you will to resolve a defective item, and they will help you. It's worth the time to fill out and follow up with the dispute form.

If you were charged wrongly for a thing or service you did NOT buy, again, first, contact the vendor to get them to remove the charge. If they say "Buzz off," you'd go into your credit card account online or call your credit card company to file a dispute on that particular charge. As mentioned above, the credit card company will have much more clout and power than you will to resolve a defective item, and they will help you. It's worth the time to fill out and follow up with the dispute form.

I have had great luck with getting credit card companies to help me when a vendor treats me poorly, is unfair, or is crooked. I hope that you will too if you have an incorrect charge that needs to be resolved.

I hope this answers your question! If not, please write back to us! Have a good day.