How to Handle Chargeback Requests: A Merchant Intake Guide

Handling a chargeback request starts with identifying what you received: a customer complaint, an inquiry, a pre-dispute notification, or a formal chargeback. Each requires a different workflow. Confirm the payment, case status, allegation, and deadline before sending evidence or moving money.

Identify the Request Before Taking Action

Customers sometimes use chargeback to describe a refund request sent to your support team. That message alone does not establish that a bank dispute exists. Check the payment provider’s authenticated case record and use the order and payment identifiers to match the transaction.

For Stripe, the official lifecycle guide distinguishes inquiries from formal disputes and explains that the disputed amount can be debited while the case remains unresolved. Do not describe that initial debit as the final decision.

Keep the chargeback life cycle available to support staff so they route notifications to the correct owner instead of promising an action the case status does not allow.

Create a Complete Intake Record

Capture the processor account, dispute ID, original payment ID, order ID, reason code, customer allegation, amount, currency, and response deadline. Record when your team received the notice and who owns the next action. Link the support ticket without copying unrelated personal information into the case.

• Verify the payment and disputed amount against the provider record.
• Check for refunds, cancellations, earlier disputes, and split shipments.
• Assign an internal evidence deadline ahead of the actual submission cutoff.
• Name a backup owner for absences and missing approvals.

An apparent duplicate notification may refer to an update, another case on the same payment, or a different disputed amount. Match case identifiers before merging records. Use the multi-processor dispute workflow when multiple accounts share the same storefront.

Investigate the Specific Allegation

Read the case narrative as well as its category. Identify whether the customer disputes authorization, receipt, product quality, cancellation, a missing credit, or a duplicate charge. The amount and affected items matter as much as the label.

For a delivery complaint, locate the relevant parcel and destination. For a renewal, compare the cancellation request with billing and accepted terms. For a refund complaint, check the credit’s actual status. The evidence-by-reason-code guide explains which records answer each issue.

Do not infer fraud from a first purchase or an international address alone. A complaint about unauthorized payment can be valid even when goods shipped. Use the false-claims investigation framework to distinguish facts from assumptions about customer intent.

Choose a Supported Response

If your records support the customer’s complaint, document the problem and follow the appropriate acceptance or resolution route. If they support a challenge, prepare relevant evidence while evaluating the additional work and cost. If records are missing, assign a collection owner and a cutoff before the deadline.

The decision guide for contesting chargebacks can help standardize this choice. Do not substitute a general merchant policy for case-specific requirements, or assume an external mediation conversation replaces the provider’s formal process.

Submit through the authorized provider or supported dispute-management workflow. Preserve an acknowledgment of the final submission. A saved draft, uploaded attachment, or internal task marked done is not sufficient proof that the response reached the destination.

Coordinate Customer Communication and Refunds

Acknowledge the concern factually, explain which order you are reviewing, and ask for clarification where needed. Do not threaten the customer or promise the issuer’s decision. Keep a record of the relevant exchange and continue preparing the formal response.

If the customer says they withdrew the case, verify the status and continue to meet applicable requirements. Stripe’s withdrawal instructions state that a withdrawal request does not guarantee a win or replace evidence submission when contesting the dispute.

Before promising another credit, coordinate with the payment owner. The double-refund workflow helps avoid reimbursement through two separate routes. A support promise and a completed refund should have different statuses and records.

Close the Case Financially and Operationally

After the decision, reconcile principal, fees, and any later adjustments to actual statement entries. Keep a won but unsettled case visible to finance. The dispute-fee guide explains why the outcome alone does not establish net recovery.

Record the root cause and corrective action separately from the win or loss. A missed cancellation may require a billing fix; a delivery complaint may require a carrier investigation; missing evidence may require better record capture. Assign the follow-up to the team able to change the process.

Review intake accuracy, missed deadlines, incomplete submissions, unresolved refunds, and settlement mismatches. The internal workflow audit can identify handoffs that repeatedly fail. Chargeflow’s automated recovery supports evidence organization and submission across supported connections, with clear ownership for exceptions.

Perguntas frequentes

Can a merchant issue a chargeback for a customer?

A chargeback is initiated through the cardholder’s issuer, while a merchant processes refunds through its payment workflow. First determine whether the customer wants a refund or an issuer dispute already exists.

How many days does a merchant have to respond?

A merchant should follow the deadline shown in the specific case. Generic network day ranges may not reflect the deadline available through the processor or the type of request received.

Does replying to the customer answer the chargeback?

A customer reply does not replace a required formal chargeback response. Submit the relevant information through the authorized case workflow and retain the acknowledgment.

Explore Chargeflow’s automated chargeback recovery to organize evidence and manage supported responses.