Winning chargebacks

What is a chargeback, really?

A chargeback is a claim the cardholder made to their own bank. The bank takes the money back from you while it asks you to respond, so a chargeback is not a verdict. You win by answering the specific claim with the specific evidence that disproves it, before the deadline.

Three things decide most cases: whether your evidence answers the actual reason code rather than a general defense, whether it arrives on time, and whether your records existed before the dispute. Delivery confirmations, signed receipts, and message threads cannot be created after the fact.

Everything in this chapter maps to how Merchant360 works the case for you. Open the case under Money → Chargebacks and the reason-code panel shows the same evidence list for the exact code you were hit with, plus the response strategy and the issuer's time window. The reason-code library, linked from the Chargebacks page, lets you look any code up before you gather documents.

A retrieval request is not a chargeback. The issuer is asking for a copy of the sales receipt, no money has moved, and uploading the receipt by the due date can stop it from turning into one. Never refund because of a retrieval.

Want this next to the register? The printable one-page checklist carries every family's evidence list as literal checkboxes. Print it, keep it, and hand it to whoever opens the mail.

If you received a chargeback email but see no case on the page, check the Processor chargebacks & reversals list at the bottom for the settled record, and message the chargeback team from any case if something looks wrong.

Read the reason code first

Every chargeback carries a reason code, the cardholder bank's official claim. Visa, Mastercard, Amex, and Discover each have their own codes, but they all fall into a few families: fraud ("I didn't make this charge"), consumer disputes ("I didn't get what I paid for"), processing errors ("I was charged twice or the wrong amount"), and authorization problems.

The reason code decides your entire response. Delivery proof wins a not-received case and does nothing for a cancelled-recurring case; a cancellation log is decisive for recurring and irrelevant to fraud. Answer the claim that was actually made.

Merchant360 decodes the code for you in two places. On the case page, the reason-code panel shows what the bank is claiming, the issuer's time window, the required evidence, and the response strategy. The reason-code library (Chargebacks → Reason-code guide) holds every code so you can look one up before you open the mail, search by code, label, or evidence, and print the checklist.

You are ready when you can say in one sentence what the bank claims and which two or three documents disprove it. If the code on your case is not in the library, message the chargeback team from the case and they will tell you what the issuer wants.

"I didn't make this charge" – fraud (Visa 10.4, MC 4837)

This is the most common family for card-not-present merchants. The cardholder claims the charge was not theirs. Your job is to show the real cardholder made it, or knowingly benefited from it.

Evidence that wins:

- AVS match and CVV match results from the sale. Merchant360 keeps these on the transaction, and the authorization record document type is where they go on the case.

- Proof you shipped to the AVS-matched billing address: tracking plus delivery confirmation, uploaded as delivery proof and tracking number.

- The customer's IP address, device, or account activity tied to the order, uploaded as a transaction log.

- Any communication with the customer about the order (emails, texts, the invoice thread), uploaded as a communication log.

- Prior undisputed purchases from the same customer. Visa's Compelling Evidence 3.0 rule lets two earlier undisputed transactions from the same device, IP, or account defeat a fraud claim outright. This is the strongest card you can play with a repeat customer; export the earlier sales from Transactions and upload them.

For card-present sales, an EMV chip read or signed receipt usually ends the conversation, because a chip transaction shifts fraud liability off you. Upload the signed receipt as a signed authorization.

If none of this exists, for example a keyed sale with no AVS, no shipping record, and no message thread, accepting the case avoids paying the fee on top of the loss.

"I never received it" – not received (Visa 13.1)

The cardholder says the goods or services never arrived. This is the most winnable family if you kept delivery records.

Evidence that wins:

- Tracking showing delivery to the verified address. Signature confirmation is the gold standard. Upload it as delivery proof and add the tracking number.

- For services: completion records such as appointment logs, timestamps, before and after photos, and the signed work order. Upload photos and logs as delivery proof and the work order as a signed authorization.

- The communication trail. A customer who emailed you about using the product has conceded receipt; upload the thread as a communication log.

If the item genuinely did not arrive because the carrier lost it, refund promptly instead of fighting. A lost representment costs the amount and the fee. Do the refund from Transactions, then accept the case so the customer is not credited twice.

"I cancelled that subscription" – cancelled recurring (Visa 13.2, MC 4841)

The cardholder says a recurring charge continued after they cancelled. Timing is the whole case.

Evidence that wins:

- Your cancellation log showing no cancellation request existed before the billing date, or that it arrived after. Upload it as a cancellation log.

- The terms the customer agreed to at signup (billing cycle, cancellation window). Merchant360 subscriptions record the enrollment, and the plan's terms are stored with it; upload them as terms & conditions.

- The communication trail around any cancellation conversation, uploaded as a communication log.

If they did cancel before the charge and it billed anyway, refund it; that case is lost on arrival. Prevention: make cancelling easy and confirm it by email. A customer who cannot reach you calls their bank instead. In Merchant360, cancel or pause the subscription under Recurring so the next cycle does not bill.

"It's not what was described" – quality disputes (Visa 13.3, MC 4853)

The cardholder says the product or service was defective or not as advertised. These turn on your own listings and policies.

Evidence that wins:

- Your product description or service scope as advertised, matched against what was delivered. Upload it as a product description.

- The receipt and any inspection or condition records, uploaded as an itemized receipt.

- Your return policy, and whether the customer attempted a return or gave you a chance to resolve it. A cardholder who never contacted you or returned the item weakens their own claim substantially. Upload the policy as terms & conditions.

- The communication trail, always, as a communication log.

If the customer did contact you and you offered a fix they refused, say so in the response letter; the drafter uses your documents, so upload the offer email too.

"Where's my refund?" and "I was charged twice" (Visa 13.6, 12.6.1)

Credit not processed: the customer says you promised a refund that never came. If you did refund, the processing record with date, amount, and the ARN (the network's reference number) ends the case; find the refund in Transactions, download its receipt, and upload it as a refund receipt. Support can pull the ARN if you need it. If no refund was promised, submit your return policy and the communication showing why.

Duplicate processing: the bank sees two similar charges. Either prove they were two real, separate purchases with two receipts and two authorization codes, both visible in Transactions, or refund the duplicate the moment you spot it. Fighting a genuine duplicate only adds a fee to the loss.

Authorization-family codes (like Visa 11.3, "no authorization") are the one family that is usually unwinnable: if no valid authorization exists for the settled amount, the case is effectively conceded. These almost never occur on Merchant360 because every sale runs a real-time authorization.

If you refund the duplicate after the chargeback arrived, tell the chargeback team the date and amount in the case chat so the customer is not credited twice.

The clock is part of the case

Cardholders generally have up to 120 days to dispute (75 for some authorization codes). Your window to respond is much shorter and it is printed on the case: the Due column on the Chargebacks page and the Response Due date in Dispute Details are the single most important numbers there.

Respond early, not at the buzzer. Evidence that arrives after the window is evidence that does not exist, no matter how good it is. Awaiting evidence is the one status that is on you, and if we do not hear from you by the due date the case is accepted in the cardholder's favor.

The chargeback and retrieval alert email is the earliest warning you get. Keep it turned on under Account → Settings → Automated email reports, and add whoever opens your mail to its recipients.

If a due date is close and you are still gathering documents, upload what you have now and message the team; partial evidence on time beats complete evidence late.

Fighting the case in Merchant360, step by step

The case page holds everything: the claim, the evidence list, the upload box, the letter drafter, the chat, and the accept option. Work it top to bottom.

You need the documents on the reason-code checklist as PDFs, images, or email exports. Each upload is one file under one document type, and every upload notifies the chargeback team.

The AI Response Drafter is a head start. It reads the case and your uploads, drafts the letter for the exact reason code, tells you how complete the case looks, and lists what to upload for a stronger case. You edit, save, preview the packet, and approve. Our team submits it to the bank.

Done looks like Responded, then Won or Lost. Won returns your money; Lost means the reversal stands. If you approve and then find another document, upload it and message the team right away.

1. 1Open the case from the banner or Money → Chargebacks. Read the reason-code panel; it tells you the claim and the exact evidence checklist for that code.
2. 2Gather the items on the checklist and upload them one at a time under Upload Evidence, picking the matching Document type. PDFs, images, and email exports all work.
3. 3Click Generate AI Response. It assembles your documents and the transaction facts into a rebuttal letter aimed at the specific reason code. Read it, edit it, and click Save edits.
4. 4Click Preview submission packet and check the PDF, then click Approve & send to EPI. The case moves to Responded; Won returns your money, Lost means the reversal stands.

When to fight and when to accept

Fighting is not always the right business decision. Weigh the disputed amount against the chargeback fee, your time, and your odds, which are excellent when you hold the specific evidence and poor when you do not.

Accept when the customer is right, when the evidence does not exist, or when the amount is smaller than the effort. Accepting an occasional loss is normal; fighting everything on weak evidence just adds fees to losses.

In Merchant360, accepting is done on the case with Accept the chargeback. It asks Are you sure?, explains that the case closes, the amount stays with the cardholder, and it cannot be undone, and then asks for the code texted to your phone when the 2FA setting on the Chargebacks page is on. The case ends as Accepted. Do not also refund the customer; they were already credited by the chargeback.

Watch your ratio, not just each case. Card brands monitor chargeback rates, and a rising count is a signal to fix the cause (descriptor, fulfillment, cancellation flow), not just to win more fights. The Processor chargebacks & reversals list gives you the count per year.

If you accepted by mistake, the case cannot be reopened; message the chargeback team from the case so they know.

The prevention playbook

Every prevented chargeback is worth more than a won one: no fee, no time, no ratio impact.

- Clear receipt descriptor: most "fraud" disputes are really "I didn't recognize the name on my statement." Your business name on receipts comes from your business profile.

- Answer messages fast: cardholders call their bank when the merchant goes quiet.

- Refund fast when something goes wrong. A refund costs the sale; a chargeback costs the sale plus the fee plus the ratio. Refund from Transactions in one click.

- Delivery confirmation on everything shipped, with signature over a threshold you choose.

- Recurring: easy cancellation, an email confirmation when it happens, and a reminder before renewal. Manage subscriptions under Recurring.

- Keyed and online sales: let AVS and CVV do their job; they are also your evidence later. Fraud Tools under Billing Tools lets you set the checks that decline risky sales before they become disputes.

If your chargeback count is rising, look at which reason family repeats in the Closed list; the family tells you which habit above to fix.