How to dispute a wrong or fraudulent card charge in India

Almost everyone faces this at some point. A shop charges your card twice. A subscription you cancelled bills you again. Or a stranger's transaction shows up on your statement and you have no idea how. The money feels gone, but in most cases it is not, as long as you move fast and follow the right steps.

India has clear rules here. The Reserve Bank of India (RBI) has a customer-protection framework that caps how much you can lose on an unauthorised transaction, and the cap is often zero if you raise the alarm quickly. The catch is that speed and a written record are what protect you. This guide walks through exactly what to do, in order.

Before you call anyone, identify which of these three you are dealing with, because the path differs slightly.

A wrong charge is a genuine merchant error: the amount is higher than agreed, or you were billed for something you returned. A double charge is the same transaction hitting your account twice, common at petrol pumps, restaurants, and on flaky payment pages where you tapped pay twice. A fraudulent or unauthorised charge is one you did not make at all, which is the most serious and the most time-sensitive.

For a double charge, banks often place a temporary hold that drops off on its own within a few working days, so it is worth checking your statement before raising a formal dispute. For anything fraudulent, do not wait. Block the card first.

This is the single most important part. RBI's framework on limiting customer liability for unauthorised electronic transactions ties your loss directly to how quickly you report.

In short, if the loss is due to the bank's fault or a system gap, you bear nothing regardless of when you report. If it is due to a third party (a fraudster) and neither you nor the bank is at fault, your liability is zero when you report within three working days. Report a little later and a capped amount may apply depending on the account or card type. Delay a long time and you may bear the full loss. The clock starts from when you receive the bank's communication about the transaction, not from when the fraud happened.

• Call your bank's 24x7 helpline the moment you spot the charge, and block the card or freeze the account if it looks fraudulent.
• Send a written complaint too, by email or through the mobile app or net banking, on the same day, so the report time is documented.
• Note the complaint reference or ticket number the bank gives you. Without it, you cannot track or escalate.
• Keep evidence: SMS and email alerts, screenshots of the statement, and any merchant receipts.
• If money left your account through fraud, also report it on the national cybercrime helpline 1930 and at cybercrime.gov.in, which can help freeze the funds at the receiving end.

One honest point on liability. The zero-liability protection assumes you did not share your card details, OTP, PIN, or CVV with anyone. If you authorised the payment yourself, even after being tricked into approving an OTP, the bank may argue you are liable. That is a grey area and worth pushing back on, but it is harder to win.

Once reported, ask the bank to formally raise a dispute. For card transactions this often runs through the card network's chargeback process, where the bank claws the money back from the merchant's bank on your behalf.

You will usually fill a dispute form, online or at the branch, stating the transaction date, amount, merchant, and why you are disputing it. For an unauthorised transaction, the bank is generally expected to credit the disputed amount back to your account within about 10 working days as a shadow reversal while it investigates, and to close the case within 90 days. If the investigation finds in your favour, the credit becomes permanent.

Keep your tone factual and your records tidy. A clear timeline, with the date you first reported and every reference number, is what makes a dispute move quickly. A messy complaint is what makes a bank stall.

• Submit the dispute form with exact transaction details and your reason.
• Attach evidence: alerts, statement screenshots, merchant receipts, or proof of a cancelled subscription.
• Ask in writing for the expected timeline and whether a shadow reversal will be applied.
• Follow up if you hear nothing within the promised window, quoting your reference number each time.

A wrongful unauthorised charge can sometimes coincide with a missed payment or a card that gets blocked, which can ripple into your credit record. Once the dispute is settled, it is worth a quick look at your credit report to make sure nothing odd was reported. You can check your CIBIL score free and confirm the disputed account still looks clean.

Banks do not always resolve disputes well. If you are not satisfied with the bank's reply, or it does not respond within 30 days of your complaint, you can escalate to the RBI Integrated Ombudsman. It is free, and you do not need a lawyer.

Before that, exhaust the bank's own ladder: the branch, then the bank's grievance redressal officer, then its nodal or principal nodal officer. Keep every reply. Only once the bank has had its chance, or has gone silent for 30 days, does the Ombudsman take the case. The process is online through the RBI complaint portal, and the Ombudsman can direct the bank to refund you and, in some cases, pay compensation for the time and trouble.

We have a full walkthrough of how to file, what to attach, and realistic timelines in our RBI Ombudsman complaint guide. The short version is that a well-documented complaint, with your bank reference numbers and a clear loss, tends to get taken seriously.