How to Dispute a Moving Company Charge (Chargeback)
If you paid a moving company by credit card and the move was a scam — a deposit for a no-show, a charge far above the quote, a service never delivered — disputing the charge with your card issuer is often the fastest way to claw money back. This page explains your federal right to do it and the deadline that governs it. It is general information, not legal advice or financial advice.
Your federal right: the Fair Credit Billing Act
For credit cards, the federal Fair Credit Billing Act gives you the right to dispute a billing error in writing, and you generally must send that dispute within 60 days after the card issuer mailed the statement showing the charge.[1] Once you dispute, the issuer must acknowledge your dispute (generally within 30 days) and resolve it (generally within two billing cycles), and it cannot try to collect the disputed amount while it investigates.[1]
What counts as a disputable charge
The dispute right covers more than math mistakes — it includes a charge for goods or services that were not delivered as agreed. A deposit for a move that never happened, or a delivery charge for a service you did not receive, can fall within that.
What a billing-error dispute involves
A Fair Credit Billing Act dispute generally takes written form. In practice it involves:
- a written notice to the card issuer (many also offer an online dispute portal) that identifies the charge, the amount, and why it is wrong;
- sent within the 60-day window measured from the statement date;
- with the supporting paperwork attached — the estimate, the bill of lading, the message trail, and a short timeline;
- and copies kept, along with any case number the issuer assigns.
”Chargeback” vs. the Fair Credit Billing Act
People use chargeback loosely. Technically, the Fair Credit Billing Act is your federal legal right; a chargeback is the card network’s own reversal process your issuer uses to carry it out. They overlap in practice — the network rules sometimes allow disputes beyond the strict 60 days — but the federal 60-day window is the reliable one.
A dispute is one track, not the whole case
A card dispute concerns the money, not the reporting. The conduct itself goes on record elsewhere — the FTC at ReportFraud.ftc.gov[2] and, for an interstate mover, the FMCSA database[3]. The full order of operations:
What you can do, step by step
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Get all your paperwork in hand
The written estimate(s), the bill of lading, your contract, and any texts or emails. Every step below needs these. Photograph everything.
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Calmly point to the contract and the rule
Show the mover the estimate and the 100% / 110% release figure, and ask for an itemized bill in writing. Many disputes end here. It won’t force release if the mover refuses.
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File an FMCSA hostage complaint — interstate moves only
File with the National Consumer Complaint Database and upload your estimate and bill of lading. It puts the mover on the federal enforcement radar. It cannot recover your money or act instantly.
NCCDB: nccdb.fmcsa.dot.gov · 1-888-368-7238 (1-888-DOT-SAFT).
How to file, step by step → -
File with your state attorney general’s consumer-protection division
This is the office that can actually investigate — and the only real path for an intrastate (in-state) move.
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File a BBB complaint
Public pressure and mediation. No legal force, but it creates a record and sometimes moves a mover to settle.
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If you paid by credit card: a dispute may be available
The Fair Credit Billing Act lets a cardholder dispute a billing error in writing — including a charge for services not delivered as agreed — generally within 60 days of the statement. Whether a charge qualifies depends on the facts.
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Local law enforcement or a civil attorney
For a true refusal to deliver, a police report and a consultation with a civil attorney are the paths to getting goods back or recovering money.
Sources
Every legal claim above links to one of these official sources. Rules change — check the source if you're acting on this.