Guide · Processors
Stripe disputes: deadlines, fees and how to respond
When 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.
Key takeaways
- The money leaves first. Stripe debits the disputed amount plus a $15 fee the moment the dispute arrives.
- Your deadline is on the dispute. Usually 7 to 21 days. Miss it and you lose automatically.
- One shot. Stripe sends your response to the bank immediately. No edits, no second upload.
- Check Smart Disputes. If it’s on, Stripe may submit for you just before the deadline, and that becomes your one shot.
What happens when a Stripe dispute lands
A customer called their bank and disputed a payment. The bank pulled the money back through the card network, and Stripe passed the bill to you. Here’s what Stripe does that day:
- Tells you. By email, in the Dashboard, through a webhook event if your integration listens for one, and by push notification if you subscribed.
- Takes the money. The disputed amount plus a dispute fee comes out of your Stripe balance and stays held until the case ends.
- Locks refunds. You can’t issue a refund outside the dispute process while it’s open. Your choices are accept or counter.
Every dispute sits on the Disputes tab in your Stripe Dashboard. Open one and you’ll see the reason, the amount, the due date and, often, a copy of what the cardholder told their bank. Read that first. It’s the actual complaint you need to answer.
Inquiries are different. An inquiry is a pre-dispute question from the bank, usually on American Express or Discover. Stripe says ignoring one can lead to a formal chargeback that’s likely unwinnable. Answer inquiries fast.
How long you have to respond on Stripe
Stripe says you usually get 7 to 21 days, depending on the card network. The exact date and time sit on the dispute itself. That’s the only deadline that matters.
Miss it and you lose. Stripe is blunt: no response before the deadline means you automatically lose the dispute and can’t get the money back.
After you submit, the cardholder’s bank decides, usually within 60 to 75 days. Start to finish, expect two to three months. Stripe passes along the decision. It doesn’t make it.
Stripe dispute fees in the US
| Fee | Amount | Comes back if you win? |
|---|---|---|
| Dispute received | $15 per dispute | No |
| Dispute countered | $15 per dispute you respond to manually | Yes |
| Visa or Mastercard compliance dispute | $500 network fee if you contest | Yes |
| Smart Disputes (optional) | 30% of the disputed amount | Charged only on disputes you win |
So a contested dispute costs you $30 up front. Win, and $15 comes back with the disputed amount. Lose, and both fees stay gone.
Stripe’s dispute reasons in plain English
Card networks have hundreds of reason codes. Stripe sorts them into a handful of categories. Here’s what each one means, with the Visa codes Stripe puts there.
| Stripe shows | The customer is saying | Visa codes |
|---|---|---|
| Fraudulent | “I didn’t make this payment.” | 10.1 to 10.5 |
| Unrecognized | “I don’t know what this charge is.” | None (used for other networks) |
| Product not received | “I paid and never got it.” | 13.1 |
| Product unacceptable | “It wasn’t what I was promised.” | 13.3, 13.4, 13.5 |
| Credit not processed | “I cancelled or returned and wasn’t refunded.” | 13.6, 13.7 |
| Subscription canceled | “I cancelled and you kept billing me.” | 13.2 |
| Duplicate | “I was charged twice” or “I paid another way.” | 12.6.1, 12.6.2 |
| General | Everything else, including a wrong amount. | 12.5 and others |
Watch this one: Visa’s “cancelled services” code, 13.7, shows up in Stripe as Credit not processed. So a disputed no-show fee or cancelled deposit can arrive under a label that sounds like a refund mix-up. Read the network code on the dispute, not just the category.
One submission: what Stripe’s rules mean for you
When you click Counter dispute, Stripe walks you through a form and a file upload. A few rules decide how much you can say:
- One file per evidence type. Several documents of the same kind get combined into one multi-page file.
- 4.5 MB total across all files, and no more than 19 pages for Mastercard.
- No links, audio or video. Stripe says banks won’t review outside content, so a link to a tracking page or a recording does nothing.
- Final means final. Once you tick the box and submit, you can’t amend or add anything.
The Smart Disputes trap. Stripe’s Smart Disputes builds a response from data Stripe already has and, if you do nothing, submits it just before the deadline. That can be useful. But it only knows what Stripe knows, not your signed agreement or your appointment notes. If you plan to respond with your own records, counter before the deadline or turn off auto-submit in your Dashboard settings. Remember: you only get one submission.
Mistakes that lose Stripe disputes
- Waiting. Seven days goes fast when the evidence lives in three systems.
- Ignoring inquiries. Silence can turn a question into a chargeback you can’t win.
- Answering the wrong claim. Proof of delivery won’t help if the customer says they cancelled. Answer the reason they actually gave.
- Fighting a case your own records lose. If your email promised a refund you never sent, accept and move on.
The proof that matters is short and specific: what the customer agreed to, dated proof you delivered it, and your messages with them. See what evidence banks look for.
Dispute Daddy never connects to your Stripe account. You upload what Stripe shows you and your own records, Dispute Daddy builds the response, and you review it and submit it in Stripe yourself. See how Dispute Daddy builds it for you.
