The Federal Trade Commission says you can get your money back from certain types of fraudulent credit card charges under the Fair Credit Billing Act (FCBA).
These include charges you did not authorize, returns that were not credited to you and charges for goods you never received or did not accept when they were delivered. You must follow the proper procedure spelled out in the law to make sure you get your money returned.
Protect Yourself:
Call your credit card issuer and ask for the correct address for dispute letters. This will not be the same address to which you mail your payments. The customer service agent may offer to take your dispute over the phone, but follow up with a letter to protect your rights.
Write a letter explaining why the charges are fraudulent. Include any efforts you have made on your own to get the charges reversed. Enclose any evidence you may have, such as a receipt for sending back goods for which you were supposed to receive a refund or phone records proving you called a company several times to get a refund.
Send the letter promptly so your credit card company gets it within 60 days of the statement on which the fraudulent charges appeared. Send it certified and request a return receipt so you can tell when the credit card company receives it. It has two billing cycles to investigate your fraud claim.
Withhold payment of the disputed amount if you choose. The FCBA gives you the right to refuse to pay fraudulent charges while they are being investigated. The credit card company cannot report you as being delinquent in your payments, but the Federal Trade Commission (FTC) says it is allowed to report the fact that you’re challenging the charges. The company is also prohibited from trying to collect the disputed amount from you during its investigation. It will notify you of the results, and if it confirms that the charges were fraudulent, it will remove them from your account, along with any interest and fees.