Chargebacks and Inquiries

If you accept credit cards on your store, then you'll have to deal with chargebacks or inquiries. When a cardholder has an issue with a charge on their credit card, they can contact their bank to dispute the charge. The bank will then make a chargeback or inquiry. The cardholder can be one of your customers or someone who believes that their card was used on your store without their permission.

If the cardholder's bank makes a chargeback, then the bank will take the disputed amount from you right away. The cardholder's bank will also take a chargeback fee from you. If the cardholder's bank makes an inquiry, then they won't take the disputed amount or a fee right away.

You can try to resolve the chargeback or inquiry in a few ways. Often, the company that issued the cardholder's credit card will review any evidence and then close the chargeback in either your favor or the cardholder's favor. If you win the chargeback, then you get the disputed amount back, and Stripe will refund the chargeback fee. If the cardholder wins the chargeback, then the disputed amount is returned to the cardholder.

Chargeback process

This is the typical process for a chargeback:

The cardholder disputes a credit card charge with their bank.
The cardholder's bank sends a chargeback request to the credit card company, and takes the disputed amount and a chargeback fee from you.
The credit card company asks you for evidence that the charge was valid.
You and ShipEarly gather evidence to figure out whether the charge was valid.
You send a response to the credit card company.
The credit card company reviews the evidence. The review usually takes between 60 and 120 days after the transaction was made.
The credit card company resolves the chargeback.

If you win the chargeback, then the cardholder's bank will return the disputed amount to you, and Stripe will refund you the chargeback fee. If the chargeback is a partial win, then the cardholder's bank will return some of the disputed amount to you, and Stripe will still refund you the chargeback fee. If the cardholder wins the chargeback, then the disputed amount and the fee won't be returned to you.

Chargeback fee

When a bank sends you a chargeback, they'll also charge you a processing fee. If the chargeback is resolved in your favor, then Stripe will refund this fee. The following list provides a breakdown of the processing fee by country:

15 USD in the United States
15 CAD in Canada

Please follow Stripe's documentation with respect to how to respond to chargebacks.

Inquiry process

This is the typical process for an inquiry:

The cardholder disputes a charge with their bank.
The cardholder's bank sends an inquiry request to the credit card company. The credit card company does not take the disputed amount from you.
The credit card company asks you for evidence that the charge was valid.
You and ShipEarly gather evidence to figure out whether the charge was valid.
You send a response to the credit card company.
The credit card company reviews the evidence. The review usually takes between 60 and 120 days after the transaction was made.
The credit card company resolves the inquiry.

If the inquiry is closed in your favor, then the disputed amount will be returned to you. If the cardholder wins, then the credit card company will take the disputed amount and a fee from you.

Reasons for a chargeback or inquiry

The type of evidence you should send to the credit card company to resolve a chargeback or inquiry depends on the reason that the customer gave for the chargeback or inquiry. A customer might dispute a charge for one of the following reasons:

Fraudulent
Unrecognized
Duplicate
Subscription canceled
Product not received
Product unacceptable
Credit not processed
General

Fraudulent

The chargeback will be marked as Fraudulent if the cardholder didn’t authorize the charge. This is the most common reason for a chargeback and can happen if the card was stolen.

To deal with a fraudulent charge, you can try to contact the customer who placed the order. The customer might have forgotten about the purchase, or the purchase might have been made by a spouse, friend, or family member. If the customer agrees that the charge was justified, then you should tell them to contact their bank and say that they want to drop the chargeback. You should still submit evidence to the credit card company, including the statement where the customer said they would drop the charge.

If you think that the customer is mistaken or not telling the truth, then you should submit the following evidence to the credit card company:

the date and time that the order was fulfilled
the billing information that the customer used
the IP address and country used for the order
shipping and tracking information for the order.

Unrecognized

The chargeback will be marked as Unrecognized if the customer doesn’t recognize the merchant name or location on their credit card statement.

To deal with an unrecognized charge, you should try to contact the customer. Sometimes the customer might have forgotten about the purchase, or the purchase might have been made by a spouse, friend, or family member. If the customer agrees that the charge was justified, then you should tell them to contact their bank and say that they want to drop the chargeback.

You should still submit evidence to the credit card company, including the statement where the customer said they would drop the charge. You could include some of the following pieces of evidence:

the date and time that you fulfilled the order
the billing information that the customer used
the IP address and country used for the order
shipping and tracking information for the order.

Duplicate

The chargeback will be marked as Duplicate if the customer believes that you charged them twice for the same product or service.

If you didn't charge your customer twice, then you should try to get in touch with them. You can show them that the two charges were for separate products or services. If the customer agrees that the charge was justified, then you should tell them to contact their bank and say that they want to drop the chargeback.

If the customer does not drop the chargeback or inquiry after you talk to them, then you'll need to submit evidence that the two charges were for separate products or services. You could include some of the following pieces of evidence:

an explanation of the reason for the two charges
receipts that shows that the two charges were for different products or services
any communication with the customer where you let them know about the two charges.

If you did charge your customer twice for the same product or service, then you'll have to accept the chargeback.

Subscription canceled

The chargeback will be marked as Subscription canceled if the customer believes that you charged them for a subscription after it should have been canceled. It can also mean that the customer expected a reminder before each recurring charge but didn’t receive one.

To resolve the chargeback, you should get in touch with your customer. It's possible that you can explain the misunderstanding, or come to an agreement with the customer. If you come to an agreement, then you should tell the customer to contact their bank and say that they want to drop the chargeback. You should also send evidence of this conversation to the credit card company.

If you think the that customer didn't cancel the subscription before the charge, then you should submit evidence to the credit card company that proves that the customer canceled their subscription after the last charge. You could include some of the following pieces of evidence:

your subscription cancellation policy
any emails or notifications sent to the customer about their cancellation
an explanation of when and where the customer was shown the cancellation policy
if the product or service was digital, an activity log that shows that the customer accessed the product or service after the date when they said they canceled their subscription.

If you did charge your customer after they canceled their subscription, then you'll have to accept the chargeback.

Product not received

The chargeback will be marked as Product not received if the customer believes that they did not receive the goods or services they purchased.

You should try to get in touch with the customer first to figure out the problem. If you can resolve the problem with your customer, then you should tell the customer to contact their bank and say that they want to drop the chargeback. You should also include evidence that the customer agreed to drop the chargeback in the response you send to the credit card company.

If you can't resolve the issue with your customer, then you should submit evidence to the credit card company that proves that the customer received the product or service before the chargeback was made. You could include some of the following pieces of evidence:

the date and time that you fulfilled the order
the billing information that the customer used
shipping and tracking information for the order
if the product or service was digital, an activity log that shows that the customer accessed the product or service.

Product unacceptable

The chargeback will be marked as Product unacceptable if the customer feels that the product was received but was defective, damaged, or not as described.

Start by trying to get in touch with the customer. If you can resolve the problem with the customer, then you should tell the customer to contact their bank and say that they want to drop the chargeback. You should also send evidence to the credit card company that the customer agreed to drop the charge. If the customer didn't try to return the product or cancel the service before the chargeback was made, or if you provided the customer with a replacement product or service, send evidence of that as well.

Whether you resolve the issue with the customer or not, you should still send any relevant evidence to the credit card company. You could include some of the following pieces of evidence:

the date and time that you fulfilled the order
the billing information that the customer used
shipping and tracking information for the order
descriptions or pictures of the products from your store that prove that they were as described.

Credit not processed

The chargeback will be marked as Credit not processed if the customer informed you that the purchased product was returned or that the transaction with you was canceled, but you have not yet refunded or credited the customer.

Start by trying to get in touch with the customer. You can't issue a refund after a chargeback has been made, but you might be able to explain the situation or figure out another way to solve the problem. If the customer asked for an inquiry, then you can issue a refund. If you can resolve the problem with the customer, then you should tell the customer to contact their bank and say that they want to drop the chargeback or inquiry. You should also send evidence to the credit card company that the customer agreed to drop the chargeback.

If you can't resolve the issue, and you think that the chargeback is not valid, then you should send evidence to the credit card company that you either gave the customer a refund before the chargeback or inquiry was made, or that the customer was not entitled to a refund. You could include some of the following pieces of evidence:

your refund and return policies
an explanation of when and where the customer was shown the refund policy
any emails or notifications you sent to the customer about the refund
an explanation of why the customer was not entitled to a refund.

General

A chargeback is marked as General if it doesn't fit into one of the other categories.

To resolve a general chargeback, you should start by trying to contact the customer so you can figure out what the problem is. If you can solve the problem for the customer, then you should tell the customer to contact their bank and say that they want to drop the chargeback. You should also send evidence to the credit card company that the customer agreed to drop the charge.

If the customer doesn't want to drop the chargeback, then you should send evidence to the credit card company that the charge was valid. You could include some of the following pieces of evidence:

details about the products that were ordered
the date and time that the order was fulfilled
the customer's billing information
the customer's IP address and country
emails or other communication you had with the customer
USPS/FedEx/UPS or other online tracking or shipping confirmations
proof of prior refunds or replacement shipments.

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