What do I do when a customer disputes a charge?

The short version

• A dispute is the customer asking their bank for the money back. The bank usually takes it from you straight away, plus a fee.
• The deadline is short. Stripe says it’s usually 7 to 21 days, and missing it means you lose.
• Read the reason code first. “Product not received” needs different proof from “fraudulent.”
• Talk to the customer. Many disputes are a misunderstanding or a charge they didn’t recognize.
• You get one chance to submit evidence. Gather it all first.

How do I respond to a dispute?

These steps follow Stripe’s guide to responding to disputes, checked on October 31, 2026. Shopify Payments, PayPal and Square have similar steps in their own dashboards.

1. Open the dispute. Stripe emails you and lists it on the Disputes page of the Dashboard. Note the response deadline.
2. Read the reason and the bank’s documents. Stripe sometimes shows the customer’s own description of the problem. Select Review the claim details where it’s offered.
3. Find the order in your store. Pull up the order, the shipping tracking, any emails with the customer, and your refund policy as it read on the day of purchase.
4. Contact the customer, politely, and keep a record. Often they didn’t recognize the charge name on their statement, or a parcel arrived late. If you can fix it, ask them to withdraw the dispute with their bank.
5. Decide. Select Accept dispute if the customer is right, or Counter dispute to send evidence.
6. Assemble your evidence to match the reason. Stripe’s form suggests what’s relevant. Combine files of the same type into one file. Banks won’t open links, audio or video, so attach the proof itself, such as a tracking page saved as a PDF.
7. Submit once. Stripe forwards everything to the customer’s bank immediately, and you can’t add to it or change it afterward.
8. Wait for the decision. Stripe says the bank’s review can take up to 3 months. You’ll get an email with the result.

Is it an inquiry or a chargeback?

Stripe and Shopify both describe an earlier stage, called an inquiry, when the cardholder doesn’t recognize a payment. No money is taken yet. Answer it properly, because a good reply can stop it becoming a full chargeback. If it escalates anyway, you have to respond again.

What evidence helps?

Stripe notes that when the customer confirmed the payment with their bank through 3D Secure, fraud disputes can fall under a liability shift, and Stripe fills in that evidence for you.

Why does it matter?

Each dispute costs you the sale, the goods and a fee, whatever the outcome. Stripe says its dispute fee isn’t returned even if you win, unless your contract says otherwise, while Shopify says its fee may be returned depending on your country. Card networks also watch how many disputes a business gets. A high rate can lead to more declines for honest customers.

What are the common mistakes and edge cases?

• Refunding after the dispute opens. The bank has already given the customer their money back. A refund on top pays them twice. Stripe recommends answering the dispute instead.
• Missing the deadline because the dispute email went to a former employee or the junk folder.
• Sending a pile of everything. Answer the specific reason clearly and briefly.
• Arguing with the customer. The bank reads your messages. Calm and factual wins.
• A confusing statement name. If customers keep saying they don’t recognize the charge, change the statement descriptor in your provider’s settings to your shop’s name.
• A wave of fraud disputes after lots of tiny orders. That’s often fallout from card testing.

How do I prevent the next one?

• Reply to customer emails quickly. A customer who hears back rarely calls their bank.
• Show your refund and return policy at checkout and in the order email.
• Ship with tracking, and use signature confirmation for expensive items.
• Describe products honestly, with real photos and measurements.
• Refund promptly when you’ve agreed to. Our guide on how to refund an order shows the steps.
• Watch for orders that don’t look right, such as a new customer, a large order and rushed shipping to a different address, and check before you ship.

What if this didn’t work?

• You lost. The money stays with the customer. Stripe says a lost dispute is final. Look at what evidence was missing, and fix that for next time.
• You can’t find the order. The payment may not have come through your store at all. Check whether it’s linked to an order in your provider’s dashboard.
• You get several at once. Pause and look for a pattern, such as one product, one shipping method or one bad batch.

How much does it cost, and how long does it take?

Each provider sets its own dispute fees, so read your provider’s pricing page. A well-prepared response takes 30 to 60 minutes when your records are in order. Decisions can take weeks or months.

How does E-3 handle this?

Disputes are between you, your customer and your payment provider, and the decision is the bank’s. What we do is make the evidence easy to find. For stores in our website care, we keep order emails sending properly, keep the payment extension updated, and can pull order details and logs for you when a dispute arrives. Send us the order number and the dispute reason; never card numbers. Call 814-399-4655 or email support@e3help.me.

Related questions

• How do I refund an order?
• Why am I getting lots of small failed orders?
• Which payment provider should my store use?
• What’s the best way to charge for shipping?
• Back to the complete online store guide

Sources

1. Respond to disputes (Stripe documentation)
2. Chargebacks (Shopify Help Center)
3. Refund and cancel payments (Stripe documentation)
4. 3D Secure authentication (Stripe documentation)