Credit Card Disputes Best Practices

Best practices for submitting evidence and responding to credit card disputes effectively.

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Responding to Disputes

To respond to disputes effectively and increase your chances of winning a case, you should directly address the specific reason for the dispute.

Each dispute has a reason code associated with it, which tells you the specific grounds for the dispute. Below are the most common dispute reasons:

1. “Fraudulent” - The customer claims they didn't authorize the payment, or the issuer has picked up on the transaction in their fraud reporting. Customers can also simply forget about purchases they've made.

2. “Unrecognized” - The customer does not recognize the transaction on their bank statement. This usually happens because they can’t remember making the purchase, or they don't recognize your billing descriptor.

3. “Canceled recurring payment” - The customer claims that you’ve continued to charge them for a canceled subscription or other recurring payment.

When responding to disputes, communicate with the customer and make sure the evidence you provide is addressing the specific reason for the dispute if you challenge a dispute.

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Contacting the Customer

When a dispute occurs, it's a good idea to contact the customer and discuss the issue before you accept or challenge it. Sometimes, they simply didn’t recognize a legitimate transaction when they looked through their bank statement.

Contacting the customer will help you decide how to respond to the case, and what sort of evidence you might need to defend it successfully.

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Submitting Evidence

If you plan to refute the dispute, you must submit evidence against the dispute.

Only submit evidence that satisfies the defense criteria for the specific dispute reason – less is more.

Below is a list of the evidence categories. Please note that all documents must be PDFs, under 4 MB, and only one file can be submitted for each evidence category. Keep in mind you cannot submit audio or video files, links to third-party websites (a screenshot may be submitted if relevant) or file downloads.

Providing legible, succinct, and relevant evidence makes it easier for the issuer and/or card scheme to assess the situation among thousands of other cases, and increases your chances of winning the dispute. If you have any questions or require further clarification regarding the requested documentation or the dispute itself, please do not hesitate to reach out. We value our partnership and appreciate your attention to this matter.

Evidence Category	Evidence Description
Customer Communication	Communication with the customer regarding the dispute, such as a call transcript or email with the customer.
Invoice showing distinct transactions	Itemized invoice for the goods or service.
Transaction receipt	Receipt for the goods or service. You can download this from your Alternative Payments Portal.
Refund / Cancellation Policy	Internal Guidelines and procedures related to refunds or cancellations that have been shared with the customer. Confirmation that the customer has seen these policies is important.
Recurring Transaction Agreement	If relevant, a recurring transaction agreement / contract that has been executed
Proof of delivery or service	Evidence that the customer received the goods or service

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