Understanding Your Credit Card Statement

• I don't recognize this charge on my bill. What should I do?
• Why am I seeing a charge for an order or item I've cancelled?
• Why do I see multiple charges for the same amount?
• Why do I see multiple charges for different amounts, when I only placed one order?
• What is this $1.00 charge on my statement?
• Why did my credit card authorization fail?

I don't recognize this charge on my bill. What should I do?

We take charge inquiries seriously and will be happy to work with your bank to resolve this issue. However, before contacting us, please consider the following common scenarios, in case this charge resulted from one of these situations:

• Do you have a child, spouse, friend, relative, or co-worker who has access to your card number and may have placed an order?
• Do you have additional cards associated with the credit or debit account that show the charge?
• Did you place an order in the past for a back-ordered or pre-order item? Or, did you send a gift to someone? Perhaps it was just recently shipped.
• Did you recently place an order for a digital item (Kindle content, Amazon MP3, Amazon Instant Video, or video game download)?
• Did you recently cancel or change an order? Some banks show authorizations as charges or pending charges.

We suggest you check with the other authorized users of the card or visit Your Account to review your complete order history.

If the charge is not explained by any of these situations, please fax (or have your issuing bank fax) the following information to us at 304-522-8017:

• complete credit card number for any cards associated with the account showing the charge
• date of charge
• amount of charge
• your name, e-mail address, and fax number or phone number

Please do not send your credit card number via e-mail, as this is not a secure transmission method.

Why am I seeing a charge for an order or item I've cancelled?

You may be seeing an authorization on your card. Some banks call authorizations pending or processing charges. When you place an order with us, we contact your issuing bank to confirm that your method of payment is valid. This reserves the funds for your order until the transaction processed or the authorization expires. Most US banks hold these authorizations up to 10 business days. International banks usually hold them longer. Please contact your issuing bank for more information on their specific policies regarding authorizations.

Why do I see multiple charges for the same amount?

When you place an order with Amazon.com or an Amazon Marketplace seller, we may contact your credit card's issuing bank to confirm that your credit card has a valid number, and has not been reported as lost or stolen. This is communicated via a full authorization for the amount of the purchase.

However, we do not actually proceed with the charge at that time. This is simply one of the security measures we use to protect our customers.

Occasionally, a bank may hold the extra authorization on a customer's card. Some banks may hold these authorizations for up to 7-10 business days. You will need to contact your bank if you wish to have this authorization removed.

Why do I see multiple charges for different amounts, when I only placed one order?

Even though you placed a single order on our website, your purchase may be split into multiple shipments or even multiple orders. Because we charge for items when they are shipped, this may result in multiple charges; however, the total amount charged should add up to the amount displayed when you placed your order.

We stock items at several different fulfillment centers around the country. When the items you ordered are in stock at different fulfillment centers, we may send your order in separate shipments to make sure you get your items as quickly as possible. If you selected the option to "group my items into as few shipments as possible," there is no extra cost associated with the additional shipments.

Also, our website offers items for sale both by Amazon.com and by registered sellers. If the seller of an item is not Amazon.com, this will be noted in a few different places: on the Shopping Cart summary page, just beneath the item's name, and in the order form, where it lists each item. We offer you the convenience of adding all of these items in your Shopping Cart and placing a single order; however, each seller will ship their items separately.

If you select different shipping addresses for the items in your order, each shipping address will be assigned to a different order number. Although you will receive a single e-mail confirming your purchase, you will receive separate shipping confirmations for each individual order.

The order summary in Your Account will show you the amount charged for each shipment, as well as the total charged per order.

What is this $1.00 charge on my statement?

When you place your first order with us or enter your credit card number in order to view pages inside books, we may contact your credit card's issuing bank to confirm that your credit card is a valid number, and has not been reported as lost or stolen. This is communicated via a $1.00 authorization.

However, we do not actually proceed with the charge. This is simply one of the security measures we use to protect our customers.

Why did my credit card authorization fail?

It is not uncommon for a request for credit card authorization to fail once or twice before the card is finally authorized by the issuing bank. We will send you an e-mail if we experience difficulties in authorizing your credit card.

You are always welcome to submit new credit card information to us for a particular order, provided that the order has not yet entered the shipping process. To do this, visit Your Account and select the link to "Change payment method."