Chargebacks, Nov 10, 2026
By Alex Burgin, Founder and CEO, Canyon Payments. A 17-year payments veteran whose career spans Visa and CyberSource.
You opened a notification, and a sale you already made is being pulled back. The money is gone from your account, there is a fee on top of it, and the deadline is short. Most merchants in your position do nothing. Merchants responded to only 43% of chargebacks, and recovered in just 12% of cases, according to Chargebacks911. More than half go completely unanswered, and an unanswered dispute is an automatic loss.
This guide is the deep version of how to fight, after our first-steps post on what to do the hour a notification lands. This post covers the fight itself: the decision, the reason code, the evidence, the letter, the deadline that actually binds you, and what happens after.
Start with two questions: was the transaction legitimate, and do you have the evidence to prove it? If the answer to both is yes, fight. If the answer to either is no, accept the chargeback and move on.
Accept the chargeback when the goods never arrived, when the billing error was yours, when the transaction was genuinely fraudulent and you cannot prove otherwise, or when the amount is so small that the fees cost more than the sale.
Fight when the transaction was legitimate, when you can show the customer received what they paid for or authorized the payment, or when the dispute looks like friendly fraud. Friendly fraud can account for up to 75% of chargebacks, per Visa internal reporting published by Verifi. That covers customers who forget a purchase or skip the return process and file with their bank instead.
The decision is also arithmetic. The average chargeback costs a merchant $128 before the lost goods, according to Mastercard and Javelin research from 2025. Stripe charges $15 when the chargeback arrives and another $15 if you counter it. Shopify charges $15 and returns it if you win. Square charges no fee. Admin fees from acquirers typically run $20 to $100.
Here is the math on a $120 order processed through Stripe. Accept the chargeback and $135 is gone: the $120 sale plus the $15 fee. Fight and win and you keep the $120; your cost is the $15 letter plus the $15 fee, or $30. Fight and lose and $165 is gone: the sale, both fees, and the letter. So the question is whether your evidence justifies risking $30 more to save $120. On a $20 order the answer is usually no. On a $200 order with delivery proof in hand, it is usually yes.
One more factor belongs in the decision: your chargeback ratio. Every chargeback counts toward your ratio whether you win or lose. Visa runs a monitoring program called VAMP, and its excessive level sits at 1.5% from April 1, 2026. That threshold comes with a volume gate of 1,500 fraud reports and disputes a month, so most small merchants will feel their own acquirer's stricter limit first.
Every chargeback carries a reason code from the card network. The code is the accusation, and your response has to answer that accusation alone.
Visa 10.4: the cardholder says the transaction was fraud in a card-not-present environment, and nobody authorized the payment.
Visa 13.1: the merchandise or services were not received.
Visa 13.2: a recurring transaction was cancelled, but you kept billing.
Visa 13.3: the merchandise was not as described or was defective.
Mastercard 4837: no authorization, Mastercard's version of Visa 10.4.
Mastercard 4853: the broad cardholder dispute code, where the sub-condition decides the argument: not provided, not as described, credit not processed, or cancelled recurring.
Each of these six codes has its own guide on this site. If your code is not one of them, the method is the same.
Evidence only works when it answers the claim in the code. Delivery proof does not answer a fraud dispute. Authorization proof does not answer a not-received dispute. A short packet that answers the claim beats a thick one that does not.
For Visa 10.4 and Mastercard 4837, build an authorization packet. You need the AVS and CVV match results, 3-D Secure authentication data from checkout, and the IP address and device data from the order. Visa's Compelling Evidence 3.0 rule lets two prior undisputed transactions support your case when they are 120 to 365 days old and share at least two matching elements with the disputed transaction, including the IP address or device ID. What does not answer either code is proof the order shipped. Shipping proves delivery. It does not prove authorization.
For Visa 13.1, build a delivery packet. You need carrier tracking with an actual delivery scan, the delivery address matched to the order, and a signature capture where you have one. Add the expected delivery date from the order confirmation and proof of any credit or refund you issued.
For Visa 13.2, build a cancellation packet. You need the log showing when the customer cancelled, the terms they accepted when they signed up, and the renewal notices you sent before each billing. A timestamped record matters: a cancellation dated after the renewal defeats this dispute.
For Visa 13.3, build a product packet. You need the product page and images as they stood on the purchase date, not today's listing, the exact variant ordered, the invoice detail, and any repair or replacement records. Photos of the box contents before shipping beat delivery proof here.
For Mastercard 4853, the sub-condition picks the packet. Not provided means the delivery packet. Not as described means the product packet. Cancelled recurring means the cancellation packet. Credit not processed means proof the credit was issued, with the date, amount, and reference number.
Keep the packet tight: originals or clear copies, in English, as one PDF, readable in under a minute. Gathering the evidence takes 20 to 30 minutes per case, according to Riskified and Glenbrook Partners. Doing the whole job yourself, evidence to filing, takes hours. The letter is the part that should take minutes, not the whole job.
The letter is a structured argument addressed to the dispute review team, not a customer service email. Keep it to one page and keep the tone factual. It has five parts.
First, the header: your merchant ID, the case number, the ARN, the transaction date and amount, and the reason code. A letter without the case number is easy to lose.
Second, one paragraph that states the dispute in plain terms and names the reason code. This is the case in miniature.
Third, the facts, each tied to a named exhibit. State what happened in order, and after each fact, name the exhibit that proves it. Keep the facts short and dated.
Fourth, an exhibit index: every document attached, in order, one line each.
Fifth, a clear request: reverse the chargeback in your favor.
Here is a worked example for a Visa 13.1 dispute: an $86 pair of running shoes the customer claimed never arrived. The tracking record shows a delivery scan at the address on the order, two days after purchase.
Re: Case 88421093, Visa reason code 13.1, transaction March 4, 2026, $86.00. The cardholder states the merchandise was not received. The order was delivered to the address on the order on March 6, 2026, as shown in Exhibit B. The delivery address matches the billing address on the order, Exhibit A. No refund or credit was requested before this dispute. We request that the chargeback be reversed in our favor. Exhibits: A, order confirmation and invoice. B, carrier tracking record with delivery scan. C, delivery address confirmation.
That is the whole letter: it names the code, states the facts, ties each fact to an exhibit, and asks for the reversal. It does not argue or apologize. Let the exhibits do the work.
Three mistakes lose letters that should win. A generic letter that does not name the code or the case number reads like a template and gets treated like one. Evidence that answers a different accusation wastes the reviewer's minute. Emotional language, however justified, makes the merchant look like the problem. Stick to dates, amounts, and exhibits.
The network deadlines are not the deadlines that bind you. Visa allows 30 days and Mastercard allows 45 days at the network level. Your processor gives you less, and the date on your notification governs. Stripe and Shopify usually give 7 to 21 days. Square gives 7 days. Once that date passes, your right to respond is gone and the loss is permanent.
Set your own cutoff two days before the stated date. Submit to your acquiring bank, not to your gateway, unless your processor's instructions say otherwise. Keep a copy of everything you submit, with the date and the confirmation of receipt.
The cardholder, meanwhile, has far longer to file. Visa allows filing up to 120 days from the transaction, capped at 540 days for some codes. That is why a dispute can arrive months after the sale, and why keeping order records for at least 18 months is worth the effort.
After you submit, the issuer reviews both sides and decides. That takes 60 to 75 days, and the whole process takes up to about 120 days.
If you win, the funds come back to your account. The fee treatment depends on your processor. Stripe keeps the $15 fee even when you win, and returns the $15 counter fee. Shopify returns the $15 fee when you win. Winning gets the money back. It does not erase the chargeback from your ratio.
If you lose, the issuer may re-file the dispute. That step is called pre-arbitration. Visa allows one round of it, and Mastercard generally allows two. If the case goes to arbitration, the loser pays the fee. Visa charges $600, so do not risk it to recover a small order: risking $600 to recover a $180 order is a bad trade.
Losing a dispute you fought well is still better than not responding at all: an unanswered chargeback is an automatic loss with no evidence on the record.
Fighting a chargeback does not require an attorney, a managed service, or weeks of your time. It requires a response letter that directly addresses your specific reason code, paired with the right evidence. FightMyChargeback builds that letter in about five minutes. Free to start, $15 flat at checkout. No subscription. No success tax.
Should I fight every chargeback? No. Fight when the transaction was legitimate and you have the evidence to prove it. Accept when the goods never arrived, when the error was yours, or when the fees cost more than the sale.
What if the order was only $20? Do the math first. The letter costs $15, and your processor fee is on top of that. On a $20 order, accepting is usually the right call.
What if I already refunded the customer? Do not refund again. Respond with proof the credit was issued, including the date and amount.
How long until I get an answer? The issuer decision takes 60 to 75 days, and the whole process takes up to about 120 days.
Does winning clear my chargeback ratio? No. The chargeback still counts toward your ratio even when you win. Winning gets the money back, but it does not erase the dispute.
What if I lose? The issuer may re-file the dispute as a pre-arbitration, and after that comes arbitration, where the loser pays the fee. Visa charges $600, so weigh the amount at stake before you push a lost case further.
Powered by the payments experts at Canyon Payments. FightMyChargeback.com is a self-serve dispute response tool. We do not provide legal advice. Chargeback outcomes depend on the specific facts of each dispute and the evidence available.