Reason code · Visa
Visa reason code 13.5: misrepresentation
Visa 13.5 means the customer says the business misrepresented the terms of sale. The classic case is a free trial or intro offer that turned into charges the customer wasn’t clearly told about. The bank usually has 120 days to file.
Key takeaways
- It’s about the deal, not the product. 13.5 says the terms were misrepresented.
- Trials are the big one. Card-not-present trials for merchandise or digital goods must disclose future charges clearly.
- Seven days’ notice. For those card-not-present trials and one-off offers, Visa looks for a reminder at least 7 days before the charge.
What Visa 13.5 means
Visa’s rule: the cardholder claims the merchant misrepresented the terms of sale. Visa’s rules spell out where it applies, including card-not-present purchases of merchandise or digital goods through a trial period, promotional period, introductory offer or one-off purchase where the cardholder wasn’t clearly told about later charges. Debt relief, timeshare resale and similar businesses are also named.
Visa’s rules make a 13.5 invalid when the dispute is only about quality. That belongs under 13.3.
What the customer told their bank
“I signed up for a free trial and they started charging me,” or “That’s not what they said I was paying for.” The bank must explain how what you said doesn’t match the terms of sale the customer agreed to.
The time limit
The bank must file within 120 calendar days of the processing date or of the date the customer received the goods or service, or within 60 days of its first notice if the customer was still negotiating with you. 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 terms exactly as the customer saw them before paying. For card-not-present trials and one-off offers of merchandise or digital goods, Visa looks for two things: the customer expressly agreed to future charges at the first purchase, and you told them about the upcoming charge at least 7 days before it.
One common mistake
Putting the renewal terms in a link nobody clicks, then skipping the reminder email. Clarifying the terms after the customer complains doesn’t fix what they saw at checkout.
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.
