Reason code · Visa
Visa reason code 13.1: merchandise or services not received
Visa 13.1 means the customer says they paid but never received the goods or service, because the business was unwilling or unable to provide it. The bank usually has 120 days to file, and up to 540 days for goods or services expected later.
Key takeaways
- “I never got it.” 13.1 is the not-received code, for goods and for services.
- Future services stretch the clock. The 120 days can start on the date the customer expected the service, up to 540 days after the sale.
- Buyer’s remorse isn’t 13.1. A customer who cancelled before the delivery or service date can’t use this code.
What Visa 13.1 means
Visa’s rule: the cardholder took part in the transaction but didn’t receive the goods or services, because the merchant was unwilling or unable to provide them. That covers a package that never came, a class that never happened and a treatment that was never done.
It doesn’t cover everything. Visa’s rules make a 13.1 invalid when the cardholder cancelled before the expected delivery or service date, when the complaint is really about quality, or when the cardholder says the charge was fraud.
What the customer told their bank
“I paid and never got it,” or “The service never happened.” The cardholder must have tried to resolve it with you first, and the bank must describe what was bought and certify the date it was expected.
The time limit
The bank must file within 120 calendar days of either the processing date or the last date the cardholder expected the goods or services, but never more than 540 days after processing. When no date was set, the bank usually has to wait 15 days after the purchase before filing.
Your own deadline is much shorter. Visa gives your bank (the acquirer) 30 calendar days from the dispute to respond. Your processor keeps part of that time, so the due date on your notice is the one that counts.
What kind of proof matters
Dated proof the goods or service actually reached this customer: delivery to the agreed address, or a record that the service happened on the agreed date. For a future service, proof it was still available and you didn’t cancel it.
One common mistake
Sending a tracking page that shows only a city and ZIP code. Visa’s rules ask for proof of delivery with the full delivery address. A partial address doesn’t do the job.
Dispute Daddy reads your notice, lines up the reason the customer gave against your own records, and builds the response. You review it, approve it and submit it. See how the Dispute Daddy Method works.
