The chargeback library
Know more than
the chargeback.
Plain-English guides to how chargebacks work, written from 10 years of fighting them. No fluff, no filler, sources cited.
- Guide · Dispute reasons“I don’t recognize this charge”: disputes after a completed serviceWhen a customer says they don't recognize a charge, the bank usually treats it as fraud: the customer is saying they didn't make the payment. After a completed service, that's often confusion or friendly fraud. Your job is to show the customer, or someone they authorized, was there and paid.Read the guide
- Guide · EvidenceChargeback evidence checklist: the proof banks look forAlmost every winning chargeback response draws on four kinds of records: proof of the transaction, proof the goods or service were delivered, proof the customer agreed to your terms, and your communication with them. Which ones matter, and how much, depends on the reason the cardholder gave.Read the guide
- Guide · CostsChargeback fees: what a dispute really costs youA chargeback fee is what your processor charges for handling a dispute, on top of the disputed amount. In the US, Stripe charges $15 to receive a dispute and $15 more to counter it, PayPal charges $15 to $30, and Square charges nothing. The fee is the smallest part of the bill.Read the guide
- Guide · PreventionChargeback prevention: the basics for service businessesPreventing chargebacks mostly means removing the reasons customers call their bank: a policy they never saw, a charge they don’t recognize, a question nobody answered. Clear policies shown before payment, a receipt for every charge, written consent at booking, a statement name customers know and fast replies prevent many disputes. None of it stops every one.Read the guide
- Guide · Reason codesChargeback reason codes explainedA reason code is the label the cardholder’s bank puts on a chargeback to say why it was filed. Each card network has its own codes: Visa uses numbers like 13.1, Mastercard four digits like 4853, American Express codes like C08. The code decides what the bank will check, so it decides what evidence you need.Read the guide
- Guide · RespondingChargeback rebuttal letter: what it is and what it needsA chargeback rebuttal letter is the short written explanation that sits on top of your evidence when you fight a chargeback. It doesn’t win on its own; it makes the right answer easy for the bank to find.Read the guide
- Guide · DeadlinesChargeback time limits: every deadline that decides your caseMost cardholders have 120 days from the purchase to file a chargeback, and up to 540 days for some services. You usually get only 7 to 21 days to respond, and the due date on your dispute notice is the one that counts. Miss it and you lose automatically.Read the guide
- Guide · BasicsChargeback vs inquiry: what’s the difference and why it mattersAn inquiry, also called a retrieval request or request for information, is the bank asking about a charge before it takes any money back. A chargeback takes the money first. Answer an inquiry well and the chargeback may never come; ignore it and the chargeback that follows can be impossible to fight.Read the guide
- Guide · BasicsChargeback vs refund: what’s the difference?A refund is you returning a customer’s money. A chargeback is the customer’s bank taking it back after the customer disputes the charge. Both put the money back on the card, but a chargeback adds a fee, a deadline, a mark on your dispute rate and a decision you don’t control.Read the guide
- Guide · Dispute reasonsDeposit chargebacks: when “non-refundable” holds upCustomers dispute deposits as cancelled services or services never received, and the clock can run up to 540 days after the payment. A non-refundable deposit holds up when the customer agreed to the terms, including when the right to cancel ran out, before they paid.Read the guide
- Guide · ProcessorsDispute deadlines and fees by processor, side by sideYour processor, not the card network, sets your real deadline. Square gives you 7 days, Toast 15, Stripe and Shopify 7 to 21, and some processors publish no number at all. Fees run from nothing to $20 per dispute, before any network fees.Read the guide
- Guide · FraudFriendly fraud: when the real customer disputes the chargeFriendly fraud, also called first-party fraud, is when the real cardholder makes a purchase and later disputes it, sometimes by mistake and sometimes on purpose. It usually arrives labeled as fraud. You beat it by proving the customer took part in the purchase, not by proving what they intended.Read the guide
- Guide · Fighting chargebacksHow to dispute a chargeback and fight for your moneyYou fight a chargeback by sending one response through your processor before the due date on your notice, usually 7 to 21 days away. That response has to answer the specific reason the cardholder gave, with records the bank can check. Miss the date and the money stays with the cardholder.Read the guide
- Guide · After the decisionLost a chargeback? Here’s what you can still doWhen you lose a chargeback, the bank keeps the money with the cardholder and the decision is usually final. But the customer can still withdraw the dispute, some cases have a second round, and the debt itself may be collectible outside the card system. Most of all, a loss tells you exactly what to fix.Read the guide
- Guide · Dispute reasonsNo-show fee chargebacks: keeping the fee your policy says you earnedA disputed no-show or late-cancellation fee usually comes down to one question: did the customer agree to your policy before the appointment, in a way you can prove? Card rules let you enforce a disclosed policy. A policy on the wall that nobody accepted is hard to defend.Read the guide
- Guide · HealthcarePatient financing disputes: why a lender dispute isn’t a chargebackWhen a patient pays with a lender such as Sunbit, Cherry or Affirm, a complaint goes to the lender, not through the card networks. The lender decides under its own terms and your merchant agreement, often on a shorter clock, and it can take the money back from you directly. Read your agreement before the first dispute arrives.Read the guide
- Guide · ProcessorsPayPal disputes, claims and chargebacks: a seller's guidePayPal runs two different processes. A dispute or claim on a PayPal payment is decided by PayPal under its own rules. A chargeback on a card payment is decided by the cardholder's bank. Each has its own clock, and PayPal charges a fee on both.Read the guide
- Guide · Dispute stagesPre-arbitration: what happens when the bank pushes backPre-arbitration is round two of a chargeback. You responded, and the cardholder’s bank still disagrees, usually because it has new information. You can accept the loss or stand by your case, and if the banks still can’t agree, the card network decides in arbitration.Read the guide
- Guide · Dispute reasonsServices not rendered chargebacks: when a customer says you never did the workA services-not-rendered chargeback says the customer paid and you were unwilling or unable to provide the service. It's one of the most common disputes for service businesses. Under Visa's rules it can only cover the part not provided, and it isn't the right claim for a complaint about quality.Read the guide
- Guide · ProcessorsShopify chargebacks: how to respond to a Shopify Payments disputeWhen a customer disputes a Shopify Payments order, the bank takes the amount plus a chargeback fee, $15 in the US, right away. You usually get 7 to 21 days to add evidence in your Shopify admin. Shopify sends your response automatically on the due date, so whatever is there by then is your case.Read the guide
- Guide · ProcessorsSquare disputes: the seven-day deadline and how to respondSquare gives you seven days to send your information once a dispute arrives, and you get one submission. Square holds the disputed amount, charges no dispute management fee, and the cardholder's bank can take up to 90 days to decide.Read the guide
- Guide · ProcessorsStripe disputes: deadlines, fees and how to respondWhen a customer disputes a Stripe payment, Stripe takes the amount plus a $15 fee right away. You usually get 7 to 21 days to respond, you get exactly one submission, and countering costs another $15 that comes back only if you win.Read the guide
- Guide · BasicsWhat is a chargeback? A plain-English guide for merchantsA chargeback is when a customer disputes a card payment and their bank pulls the money back out of your account. The bank acts first and decides later. Customers usually have 120 days to file, and you usually get 7 to 21 days to answer.Read the guide
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