Disputed charges (chargebacks)

A chargeback is when a member disputes a charge with their card issuer that can unfortunately happen when accepting card payments both online and in person. When you get a chargeback, Stripe refunds the amount paid to the member and deducts a dispute fee (AUD $25) from your account.

Chargebacks can be costly and can harm your business reputation with Stripe. The best way to avoid them is to deliver the services as would reasonably be expected and where a customer is dissatisfied, consider issuing a refund before they potentially raise a dispute.

If you receive a disputed charge, Stripe outlines steps in responding to a dispute through the Stripe dashboard here. In summary, you may wish to:

• review the dispute category and reason in your Stripe dashboard
• contact the customer to better understand the complaint (did they not recognise the charge or were they not happy with the service?)
• if you’re able to satisfy the customer, ask them to contact their card issuer to withdraw the dispute
• regardless of what happens, you still need to submit evidence if you want to win the dispute before the deadline
• decide to accept or challenge the dispute
• submit evidence through the Stripe dashboard (including any emails, messages, transcripts with the member)

Please note that the dispute process tends to be a lengthy one and can take up to 3 months to receive a decision.