Fair Credit Billing Act: 7 Powerful Ways It Protects You in Maryland

You open your credit card statement, and something’s off. Maybe it’s a charge for a hotel room you never booked. Maybe it’s double billing for a purchase you already paid off. Or maybe a return you made three weeks ago still hasn’t shown up as a credit. Whatever the case, you’re not stuck just eating the cost.

The Fair Credit Billing Act (FCBA) is a federal law that gives you real, enforceable rights when your credit card statement doesn’t add up. It’s been on the books since 1974, and it still does a lot of heavy lifting for anyone who uses a credit card or a store charge account. If you live in Maryland, you actually get a bit of extra backup, because state law layers on additional consumer protections that work alongside the federal statute.

This article walks through what the Fair Credit Billing Act actually covers, how it plays out for Maryland residents specifically, and what steps to take if you find an error on your statement. We’ll also cover the Maryland Consumer Protection Act, where to file a complaint locally, and what happens if a creditor doesn’t play by the rules. By the end, you’ll know exactly what to do the next time your statement doesn’t look right.

What Is the Fair Credit Billing Act?

The Fair Credit Billing Act is a federal law passed in 1974 that amended the Truth in Lending Act. Its main job is to give consumers a formal, legally backed way to challenge mistakes on credit card and other open-end credit statements, and to stop creditors from strong-arming people while a dispute is still being sorted out.

Before the FCBA existed, a cardholder who spotted a bogus charge had little recourse beyond calling the company and hoping for the best. The law changed that by putting real deadlines, real duties, and real consequences into the process.

How the FCBA Amended the Truth in Lending Act

The Truth in Lending Act (TILA) was passed in 1968 to require lenders to disclose credit terms clearly. Six years later, Congress added the Fair Credit Billing Act as an amendment specifically to handle billing disputes and unauthorized charges, since TILA on its own didn’t say much about what happens after a bad charge shows up. Together, these two laws form the backbone of federal credit card consumer protection.

What Counts as a Billing Error Under the FCBA

The law is fairly broad about what qualifies as a billing error. According to the Fair Credit Billing Act, billing errors include charges not actually made by the consumer, charges in the wrong amount, charges for goods or services never received, charges for goods that arrived damaged, and failures to properly credit payments to an account. A few other examples worth knowing:

• Calculation or math errors on your statement
• A statement mailed to the wrong address
• Charges you want clarified or want proof of
• Goods that were significantly different from what was advertised

If your dispute fits any of these categories, the Fair Credit Billing Act gives you standing to formally challenge it.

How the Fair Credit Billing Act Protects Maryland Consumers

Maryland doesn’t have its own separate billing-dispute statute that replaces the FCBA. Instead, the federal law applies exactly the same way here as it does anywhere else in the country, and Maryland residents get to lean on it in full. Here’s what that protection actually looks like in practice.

Limiting Your Liability for Unauthorized Charges

If someone steals your card number and racks up charges, the Fair Credit Billing Act caps your responsibility. The FCBA reduces a consumer’s liability in cases of fraud and card theft to no more than $50. In practice, most major card issuers waive that $50 entirely as a customer-service policy, but the FCBA is what gives you the legal floor to stand on if a company tries to push more of the loss onto you.

The Right to Dispute Billing Errors

This is the heart of the law. As long as you send your dispute in writing (a phone call alone doesn’t count) to the billing inquiries address on your statement, and you do it within 60 days of the statement that first showed the error, the creditor is legally required to respond. Notice given by telephone is not sufficient to trigger the protections of the FCBA; a consumer can only protect their rights under the Act by sending a written notice, or online if the creditor indicates it will accept notices electronically.

Protection During the Investigation Period

While a dispute is pending, the creditor can’t just sit back and treat you like you owe the money. The FCBA requires creditors to acknowledge your letter, investigate promptly, and hold off on collection pressure in the meantime. Creditors must investigate and resolve disputes within two billing cycles and no more than 90 days, and during that investigation they cannot report the disputed charge as delinquent to the credit bureaus. That last part matters a lot for Maryland consumers trying to protect their credit score while a dispute plays out. If the investigation reveals that the charge was accurate after all, creditors must wait at least 10 days before reporting a payment as late, giving the consumer time to get the account current.

Step-by-Step: How to Dispute a Billing Error in Maryland

If you spot a problem on your statement, here’s the process the Fair Credit Billing Act lays out:

1. Review your statement carefully and confirm the charge is actually wrong, not just unfamiliar at a glance.
2. Try to resolve it directly with the merchant first if it’s a simple mix-up, like a duplicate charge.
3. Write a dispute letter to the creditor’s billing inquiries address (not the payment address). Include your name, account number, the dollar amount in question, and a clear explanation of why you believe it’s an error.
4. Send it within 60 days of the statement date that first showed the problem. This deadline is strict, so don’t wait.
5. Keep copies of everything, including the letter, any receipts, and proof of mailing.
6. Wait for acknowledgment. The creditor generally has to acknowledge receipt within 30 days.
7. Watch for the resolution. The creditor has up to two billing cycles, and no more than 90 days, to finish investigating and tell you the outcome.
8. Dispute the outcome if needed. If the creditor sides against you, you typically have 10 days to formally disagree before they can report the debt as delinquent.

Following this sequence matters because skipping the written notice, or missing the 60-day window, can cost you the protections the law would otherwise give you.

Maryland State Law Adds an Extra Layer of Protection

While the FCBA is federal, Maryland residents also have the Maryland Consumer Protection Act (MCPA) working in the background, and it covers some ground the federal law doesn’t reach as directly.

The Maryland Consumer Protection Act

The MCPA, found in Maryland’s Commercial Law Article, Title 13, prohibits unfair and deceptive trade practices in consumer transactions involving goods, services, credit, and debt collection. Fraudulent billing practices, such as undisclosed fees or charges for services not rendered, are prohibited under the MCPA, which mandates full disclosure of transaction terms. This means a Maryland consumer dealing with a shady billing practice may have both a federal FCBA claim and a state MCPA claim available, depending on the facts.

The Maryland Attorney General’s Consumer Protection Division is the state agency responsible for enforcing this law. The Division investigates claims of unfair and deceptive trade practices, whether prompted by a consumer complaint or started on its own, and it can conduct administrative hearings, issue cease-and-desist orders, and file civil lawsuits seeking remedies like restitution.

Beyond the Attorney General’s enforcement powers, Maryland consumers also have a private right of action in many cases. A private damages claim under the Maryland Consumer Protection Act generally requires the consumer to show actual injury or loss caused by a prohibited practice, and attorney’s fees can be a significant tool in that kind of case.

Where to File a Complaint in Maryland

If a creditor won’t cooperate, or you believe the practice crosses over from a billing mistake into something deceptive, you have a few options:

• Office of the Attorney General, Consumer Protection Division — handles complaints about goods, services, or credit used for personal or household purposes. You can reach the Division by phone at 410-576-6300, or toll-free at 1-888-743-0023, at their office at 200 St. Paul Place, Baltimore, MD 21202.
• Office of Financial Regulation — the right stop if your dispute involves a lender or financial company licensed or chartered in Maryland. The Office investigates complaints from Maryland consumers about financial service providers that are licensed, registered, or chartered in the state, or engaged in regulated financial service activities.
• Federal Trade Commission (FTC) — the federal agency that oversees the FCBA nationally and accepts complaints from any state.

Filing a state complaint doesn’t replace your FCBA rights with the creditor. It’s an additional avenue, especially useful if the company is dragging its feet or acting in bad faith.

What Happens If a Creditor Violates the FCBA

Creditors have a real financial incentive to follow the rules. If they don’t, they lose more than just goodwill.

• A creditor that ignores the dispute process forfeits the right to collect the disputed amount, even if the charge turns out to be legitimate, as long as the required procedures weren’t followed.
• Consumers can also pursue damages in court. A creditor who violates the FCBA can be liable for actual damages, plus twice the amount of any finance charge tied to the billing error, with a minimum of $500 and a maximum of $5,000 in statutory damages, or more if a pattern of violations can be shown.
• On top of federal remedies, a Maryland consumer may also have a claim under the state Consumer Protection Act if the same conduct qualifies as unfair or deceptive.

This combination is exactly why the Fair Credit Billing Act carries weight. It’s not just a set of polite guidelines, it comes with actual teeth.

Common Billing Errors Maryland Consumers Should Watch For

Some errors are obvious. Others slip by because people assume the statement is always accurate. Keep an eye out for:

• Double charges for a single purchase
• Charges for a subscription you canceled
• A refund or return that never posted
• Charges for merchandise that never arrived
• Charges in the wrong dollar amount
• Statements sent to an old or incorrect address, which can delay your ability to catch problems in time
• Charges for goods that were damaged, defective, or not as described

Any of these can trigger your rights under the Fair Credit Billing Act, provided you catch them and respond within the 60-day window.

Tips to Protect Yourself

A few habits go a long way toward making sure you never miss a billing error, or miss your chance to dispute one:

• Check your statement every month, not just when you happen to notice something odd.
• Set up transaction alerts through your card issuer’s app so you see charges in near real time.
• Keep receipts and confirmation emails for at least a few months after any purchase.
• Send disputes in writing, always, even if you’ve already called and talked to a representative.
• Mail disputes to the correct address, the one listed for billing inquiries, not the one for sending payments.
• Note the date you sent your dispute so you can track the 60-day and 90-day windows.
• Follow up if you don’t hear back within 30 days of sending your letter.

Small habits like these are usually what separate a dispute that gets resolved cleanly from one that turns into a drawn-out fight over your credit report.

Conclusion

The Fair Credit Billing Act gives every credit card user, including Marylanders, a clear and enforceable process for challenging mistakes, fraud, and unfair charges on their statements. It caps your liability for unauthorized charges, forces creditors to investigate disputes on a strict timeline, and protects your credit standing while that investigation is underway. Maryland residents get an extra layer of support through the state’s own Consumer Protection Act and the Attorney General’s Consumer Protection Division, which can step in when a billing issue crosses into deceptive or unfair business practice. The key is acting fast: review your statements regularly, put every dispute in writing, and send it within 60 days. Do that, and the law is squarely on your side.

Sources: FTC – Using Credit Cards and Disputing Charges | Maryland Office of the Attorney General – Consumer Protection Division