A bank customer who spots a charge that does not belong has a fixed window to say so, and the clock starts sooner than many people assume. Under Regulation E, the federal rule on electronic fund transfers, the bank has to receive the notice of an error no later than 60 days after it sends the periodic statement on which the error first appears. The count begins with the statement, not with the day the money moved.

Where the 60 days start

The rule is written into 12 CFR 1005.11, which says a notice of error must be received by the institution “no later than 60 days after the institution sends the periodic statement or provides the passbook documentation” on which the error first appears. A debit-card charge made in early September and listed on a statement sent in early October therefore runs on the October date. Someone who waits until the 61st day after that statement has missed the window the rule sets.

The kinds of problems that count as errors are all tied to electronic fund transfers. The list in the rule includes an unauthorized electronic transfer, an incorrect transfer to or from the account, a transfer left off the statement, a bookkeeping mistake by the bank and a consumer receiving the wrong amount of cash from an electronic terminal such as an ATM. A paper check dispute or a credit card dispute follows other rules.

For a customer who has just spotted a charge that was never authorized, the first task is to put the bank on notice, and the question of how long there is to dispute it has a plain answer: 60 days from the statement. The notice has to let the bank identify the customer’s name and account number, and it has to say why the customer believes there is an error, with the type, date and amount of the charge as far as the customer can give them. If the notice is made by phone, the bank may require written confirmation within 10 business days.

Once notice reaches the bank, the 10-business-day investigation clock starts, and the next date that matters is the day the bank must tell the customer what it found.

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What the bank owes back, and when

After the notice arrives, the bank has to determine “whether an error occurred within 10 business days of receiving a notice of error.” If it cannot finish in that time, it may take up to 45 days from receipt of the notice, but only if it provisionally credits the account for “the amount of the alleged error (including interest where applicable)” within the 10 business days and tells the customer within two business days after the credit is made.

The credit is conditional. A bank that requires written confirmation of an oral notice does not have to provide it if the confirmation does not arrive within 10 business days. It also does not have to provide it if the account is subject to Regulation T, the federal rule covering securities credit. For a suspected unauthorized transfer that meets the rule’s liability test, the bank may hold back a maximum of $50 of the credit.

Newer accounts and some card purchases get longer clocks

Two substitutions stretch the bank’s deadlines in certain cases. For a transfer within 30 days after the first deposit to the account, the applicable time is 20 business days in place of 10. The 45-day period becomes 90 days for a transfer that was not initiated within a state, a point-of-sale debit card transaction, or a transfer within 30 days after the first deposit. These changes lengthen how long the bank has to investigate. They do not lengthen the customer’s 60 days.

How the investigation ends

When the bank finds an error, it has to correct it within one business day of making that determination and report its results within three business days after completing the investigation. When it finds no error or a different one, it must give a written explanation of its findings and note the customer’s right to request the documents it relied on. If it takes back a provisional credit, it has to notify the customer of the date and amount, and it must still honor certain checks and preauthorized transfers for five business days after that notice.

Putting a dispute in writing

The full wording of the rule is free to read in the federal regulations at 12 CFR 1005.11, and each of the dates above comes from that section. A customer can use it as a checklist when calling the bank: ask for the date the statement was sent, ask when the 10 business days end, and ask whether a provisional credit has been posted.

A short written dispute helps even when a phone call comes first. It can state the customer’s name and account number, the type, date and amount of the charge, and why it is believed to be an error, which are the details the rule asks the notice to enable the bank to identify. Keeping a copy and noting the day and method of delivery gives the customer a record of when notice reached the bank.

The 60-day window, the 10-business-day investigation and the 45-day outer limit all appear in Regulation E, 12 CFR 1005.11.

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This article was produced with AI assistance and edited for accuracy against the sources linked above.