Reason code · Visa
Visa reason code 13.3: not as described or defective
Visa 13.3 means the customer says the goods or service didn’t match what was described at purchase, arrived damaged or defective, or was poor quality. The bank usually has 120 days to file.
Key takeaways
- The quality code. Mismatched, broken or poor-quality goods and services all land here.
- The customer has to try first. They must try to resolve it, and return the goods or cancel the service.
- Restaurants get a pass on food quality. Visa’s rules exclude disputes about the quality of food from eating places.
What Visa 13.3 means
Visa’s rule covers goods or services that didn’t match the description on the receipt or other record at the time of purchase, merchandise that was damaged or defective, and disputes about the quality of goods or services.
Before filing, the cardholder must have tried to resolve it with you and returned, or tried to return, the goods or cancelled the service. The dispute is limited to the unused part of the service or the value of what was returned.
What the customer told their bank
“It wasn’t what they promised,” “It arrived broken,” or “The work was poor.” The bank must explain what wasn’t as described, or what was wrong, and when the customer tried to resolve it.
The time limit
The bank must first wait 15 calendar days after the customer returned or tried to return the goods, or cancelled the service. Then it must file within 120 calendar days of the processing date or of the date the customer received the goods or service. If the customer and merchant were still negotiating, it can be 60 days from the bank’s first notice of the complaint. Either way, never more than 540 days after processing.
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
The description the customer saw when they paid, set beside what they got, plus your answer to their specific complaint. If they never returned the goods, that matters too.
One common mistake
Replying “the product was exactly as described” without showing the description. The bank compares the customer’s claim against the listing, quote or plan they saw at purchase. Internal notes written later don’t replace it.
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.
