Disputing unauthorised payment transactions with your bank (Italy)
Published byDocMuse
This document is in Italian
The PDF you download is in Italian — that is the language it has to be filed in, so it is not translated. Everything on this page is here to tell you what it says.
For an account or card holder in Italy who finds charges they never made or authorised (cloned or stolen card, phishing, unknown transfers): you dispute them with your own bank – not the merchant – without delay and at the latest within 13 months of the debit (Article 9 of Italian Legislative Decree 11/2010), and ask for a refund by the end of the next working day (Article 11). Block the card first through the bank’s free number. If the bank rejects the complaint, the Arbitro Bancario Finanziario decides online for a 20 € fee. Send this Italian letter by PEC to the bank’s certified address or by registered post with proof of receipt.
- Made for use in Italy
- Last updated October 14, 2026
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When to use this document
- Your Italian bank statement shows card payments you never made.
- After a phishing message, money left your account without your permission.
- The bank refuses to refund you and says the payment was authorised.
- You want to dispute unknown charges with your bank in writing and ask for the money back.
What you fill in
The details the document asks for.
- Customer
- Customer's address
- Sender's codice fiscale (Italian tax code)
- How the letter is sent (printed above the recipient)
- Bank
- Address of the bank that holds the account
- City
- Date
- Account number or last digits of the card
- Disputed transactions (date, amount, payee)
- Discovered on
- Date the card or access was blocked
- Police report (station, case number)
Common questions
- By when must an unauthorised card or account debit be disputed in Italy?
- Without delay, as soon as you notice it, and at the latest within thirteen months of the debit (Article 9 of Italian Legislative Decree 11/2010): the Arbitro Bancario Finanziario treats this as a strict time bar, after which no refund can be obtained. First block the card or online-banking access through the bank’s free number, then send this letter. Many banks also offer their own free dispute form, which can be used alongside the letter.
- Does an Italian bank have to refund at once even after phishing?
- The rule is a full and immediate refund, at the latest by the end of the next working day (Article 11 of Italian Legislative Decree 11/2010), and it is for the bank to prove the transaction was authenticated (Article 10). The bank may hold back the refund only on a reasoned suspicion of fraud by the customer, reported to the Bank of Italy, and may claim it back if it later proves the transaction was authorised. It does not refund where the customer acted fraudulently or with gross negligence (Article 12); according to the Bank of Italy, a refund is in principle due where the bank did not apply strong authentication.
- If the Italian bank rejects my dispute, where can I turn without high costs?
- The letter also counts as a complaint, which the bank must answer within 15 working days for payment services. If the reply does not satisfy you, or none comes, you can apply to the Arbitro Bancario Finanziario within 12 months of the complaint, online and without representation, for a 20 € fee refunded to you if you win. The ABF website explains the procedure free of charge. A court case on a banking contract first requires an attempt at mediation (Article 5 of Italian Legislative Decree 28/2010).
How you can sign this document
- Print it and sign by hand. The signature lines in the document are left blank on purpose — sign on them in ink.
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