Chargeback disputes: gather evidence and respond on time

Key takeaways

A chargeback happens when a customer disputes a card payment with their bank. Responding means gathering evidence, such as proof of delivery, terms accepted and messages, and submitting it before your payment provider's deadline. The evidence gathering is the same every time, so a routine wins more disputes and shows which causes to fix.

• Every dispute has a deadline set by your payment provider.
• Evidence: order, delivery proof, terms, messages, refund history.
• Log the reason code to find the root causes.
• Many chargebacks start as unanswered customer queries.

Why do chargebacks get lost?

Most chargebacks are lost because nobody responds in time, not because the seller was wrong. Notifications land in a payments inbox, evidence sits in three systems, and the deadline passes. A dedicated routine logs each dispute the day it arrives and builds the evidence pack from a fixed list.

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What evidence should you gather?

Gather what proves the order was genuine and fulfilled as described. The exact requirements depend on the reason code and your provider, so keep a checklist per reason type.

• Order details, IP and billing match where available.
• Proof of delivery or service provided.
• Terms, cancellation and refund policy accepted.
• Customer messages and any refund already issued.

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What do chargebacks cost?

In an illustrative example, a seller with 20 chargebacks a month averaging £70, plus a £15 provider fee each, faces £1,700 a month at risk. Responding to all of them with complete evidence and winning half recovers about £700. These are example figures. Fixing the top cause, often slow delivery replies, cuts the number too.

• Refund processing: fast, fair and correctly recorded

When should disputes stay in-house?

Keep suspected fraud patterns, large disputes and any decision to stop selling to a customer in-house. Card data must stay inside your payment provider's systems: never copy full card numbers into emails or spreadsheets, and give a support team only the dashboard access the task needs.

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What does this look like in practice?

A pattern we see: disputes rise after a delivery delay because customers who cannot get an answer go to their bank. Faster replies on order status reduce chargebacks more than better evidence does.

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Chargeback routine checklist

Use these steps for every dispute.

• Log the dispute and deadline on arrival.
• Use an evidence checklist per reason code.
• Submit at least two days before the deadline.
• Record the outcome.
• Review causes monthly.

• Customer feedback loop: turn complaints into fewer contacts

Next step

Send us your monthly chargebacks and their reasons. We will suggest an evidence routine and the changes most likely to cut disputes.