Skip to main content

Lost a Chargeback: Step by Step

TL;DR
  • Check the case is really lost. An inquiry, or a case still waiting for your response, isn't
  • Card chargeback? Your customer's card issuer decided it, not your processor
  • Closed PayPal claim? An appeal needs new information within 10 days of closure
  • Each step links the section of After a Lost Dispute that has the detail

A delivery app deducted money for a missing or wrong order? Start with its merchant review steps. You don't need to have lost a dispute.

You've lost a dispute. Here's the order to work in, one step at a time. The detail, and the sources, are on After a Lost Dispute.

  1. Check it's really lost. An inquiry, or a case still waiting for your response, isn't lost. Respond by the deadline shown. Read your notice
  2. Find who decided. Go by the notice's label, not the provider's name. A card chargeback: your customer's card issuer. A closed PayPal claim: PayPal. A closed Etsy case: Etsy. Who decided
  3. Put the notice beside your response. Keep the notice, the response you sent and its attachments together, with the case ID, claim, amount, status and outcome date. Start with the notice
    • And name the claim. Write it in one line, then list what each attachment shows. Tracking shows where the parcel went. A fraud claim asks who authorized the card. Which claim did the customer make?
  4. Ask support what's left. Ask for the exact claim, which evidence was received, what decision record they can share, and whether another step is open. The question to send
  5. Check your provider's route. Stripe, Square, Shopify Payments and Toast don't offer an appeal of a lost card chargeback. Read your provider's section for what's left: Stripe, Square, Shopify Payments, PayPal, Toast
    • Or a closed PayPal claim. Appeal within 10 days of closure, with new information. PayPal claim
    • Or a closed Etsy case. For a damaged or not-as-described case, ask Etsy whether a review is available. Etsy case
  6. Check for a special case. Each of these has its own section: a kept deposit or part-used package, a signed no-refund form, a Shopify record you can't find, small claims or a police report
  7. Check the case state before you move money. Find which state the payment's in before another refund or dispute action. Which state are you in?
  8. Keep the record and pick a date to check again. Keep the notice, response and outcome together. Keeping the record
Last updated on