A charge labeled “RFS Sarasota” on your credit card statement is a merchant descriptor — the short name a business registers with its payment processor — tied to a company operating in or around Sarasota, Florida. The initials don’t point to a single business. “RFS” is used by Reinhart FoodService, a national food distributor,1Restaurant Business. Reinhart FoodService Buy Conco Food Service Consolidated Cos and separately by Retail Finance Servicing, LLC, a Synchrony Financial subsidiary that handles processing and servicing contracts.2FDIC. Synchrony Bank 2025 IDI Resolution Plan Public Section It could also be a Sarasota-area restaurant, retailer, or service provider that bills under an abbreviated legal name different from its storefront or website.
Processing delays can make the mystery worse. A charge may not post for 72 hours or more after you actually pay, so the date on your statement might not match the day of the purchase.
How to Trace the Charge Yourself
Before treating it as fraud, work through a few checks. Most unfamiliar descriptors turn out to be legitimate purchases billed under an unexpected name.
- Search “RFS Sarasota” in quotation marks online. Consumer forums and merchant-descriptor databases often collect reports from others who identified the same code.
- Search every email account you use, including spam and junk folders, for the exact dollar amount of the charge with cents. Receipts frequently land in filtered folders.
- Look back three or four days before the posting date, not just the day it appeared.
- Ask anyone else authorized on the account whether they made the purchase.
- Call your card issuer. The bank can usually pull the merchant’s full legal name, address, and industry category code from the transaction record.
If any phone number or partial URL appears alongside the descriptor, call or visit the merchant directly. Customer service can typically pull the transaction using the last four digits of your card.
How to Dispute It
If you still can’t identify the charge, or you’re sure it wasn’t yours, the Fair Credit Billing Act gives you a formal dispute process.3Federal Trade Commission. Using Credit Cards and Disputing Charges Call your card issuer first to flag the charge and stop any repeat billing. Then put the dispute in writing.
Send your written notice to the billing-inquiries address your issuer designates, which is not the same as the payment address. Include your name, account number, the dollar amount and date of the charge, and why you believe it’s wrong. Attach copies of any supporting documents, keep the originals, and mail it by certified mail with a return receipt.4Consumer Financial Protection Bureau. How Do I Dispute a Charge on My Credit Card Bill
Timing matters. Your written notice must reach the issuer within 60 days after the first statement showing the charge was sent to you.5Consumer Financial Protection Bureau. Regulation Z, 12 CFR § 1026.13 The issuer then has 30 days to acknowledge the dispute in writing and must complete its investigation within two billing cycles, up to a 90-day outer limit.3Federal Trade Commission. Using Credit Cards and Disputing Charges
What Protections You Have While the Dispute Is Open
You don’t have to pay the disputed amount or the finance charges tied to it while the investigation runs. You do still have to pay the rest of your bill. During that time, your issuer cannot try to collect the disputed amount, close or restrict the account because of the dispute, or report the amount as delinquent to the credit bureaus.5Consumer Financial Protection Bureau. Regulation Z, 12 CFR § 1026.13
Federal law caps your personal liability for unauthorized credit card charges at $50.3Federal Trade Commission. Using Credit Cards and Disputing Charges If you think your card information was stolen, start a recovery plan at IdentityTheft.gov and consider a fraud alert with Equifax, Experian, or TransUnion. The alert lasts one year and requires lenders to verify your identity before opening new credit.6Office of the Comptroller of the Currency. Credit Card and Debit Card Fraud
Where to Escalate
If your issuer doesn’t resolve the dispute to your satisfaction, file a complaint with the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau at consumerfinance.gov/complaint or (855) 411-2372.7Federal Trade Commission. Disputing Credit Card Charges Fraud or unfair business practices can also be reported to the Federal Trade Commission at ReportFraud.ftc.gov.8Federal Trade Commission. What to Do if You Were Scammed If the issuer fails to follow the required settlement procedures, it forfeits the right to collect up to $50 of the disputed amount, even if the charge is ultimately found to be valid.3Federal Trade Commission. Using Credit Cards and Disputing Charges