Stripe Disputes

Did a customer dispute a charge for one of your sales? If so, please check out the following article to learn what disputes are and how to manage them! ✅

What does it mean when a transaction has been disputed by my customer?

If you've been notified by Stan that your customer has disputed a charge with you, this means that they have reported the charge to their bank as fraudulent. You can find the dispute in your Income Tab by using the Status filter and selecting Disputed. Here's what you will see on your end:

While Stan notifies you of any disputes, please note that they’re ultimately reviewed and decided by the customer’s bank through Stripe — which means our involvement in the outcome is limited. We know how frustrating this can be, especially when you've delivered a great digital product or service. That said, we're here to support you every step of the way to help you through the dispute process.

If a customer disputes a charge, you may either provide evidence that counters this claim, or you can accept this dispute by not submitting evidence which will refund the cardholder and close the dispute. If you'd like to submit evidence to fight the dispute, please continue reading for submission steps!

How to Submit Evidence to Counter a Dispute

1. First, we recommend reaching out to your customer directly to better understand why they disputed the charge in the first place. Please make sure you reach out in writing so you can submit your correspondence as evidence if need be.
   1. Were they unhappy with the product?
   2. Did they not receive it?
   3. Did they not recognize the charge and accidentally filed the dispute?
2. If they respond, your best option is to try to remedy the situation and ask them to drop the dispute. If they choose to do so, you have a better chance of winning the dispute.
3. Regardless if they are cooperative, be sure to gather ALL evidence of any communications via emails, DMs, text messages, phone transcription, etc. and consolidate into one single PDF file.
4. Submit this evidence, along with a short explanation of why you believe the charge is valid:

What evidence will Stan submit for me?

• Customer Name, Email, and Billing Address
• Product description
• Transaction receipt
• Customer activity logs (showing access & delivery of product)
• Terms and conditions (if enabled in Stan)

Although this evidence is helpful, we recommend that you provide additional compelling evidence like customer communications and any other additional details!

What if I don't have any customer communications to submit?

You're not required to submit customer communications, however this form of evidence is highly recommended as it is considered compelling evidence.

If anything, we recommend submitting a screenshot of your attempt to resolve the dispute with the customer directly — even if they did not respond, this shows that you made an effort! 💪

What type of Customer Communication evidence does Stripe recommend?

If the customer did not reach out to you before disputing the charge, please make sure to state that clearly in your evidence. If you did communicate with them prior to the dispute, or if later conversations shed light on the facts of the case, please submit this with your evidence. This could look like:

• A screenshot of a text conversation.
• A PDF of an email exchange.
• A PDF of your written account of a phone conversation, including dates of contact.
• Any argument invalidating the dispute reason, such as a PDF or screenshot showing:
  • If you already issued the refund to the customer.
  • If the customer used the digital product or service in whole or in part. If they partially used it, indicate whether the dispute amount exceeds the value of the unused portion.
  • If the cardholder withdrew the dispute.

Learn more about compelling evidence here.

How long does the dispute process take?

The dispute process from initiation to decision can take up to 2-3 months. You will have 30 days to submit evidence. Once the evidence has been submitted, the customer's bank has 60-75 days to review and make a decision.

What can I do to protect myself from future disputes?

While a customer may dispute a charge for many reasons, there are a few actions you can take to protect yourself and your business! Here are some precautions you can take:

✍️ Terms & Conditions: You have the option to enable a Terms & Conditions checkbox which requires someone to agree to it before completing a purchase.

• By enabling this feature, you're protecting yourself by providing more evidence to submit when a dispute has been made by a customer. It shows that they "agreed" to your terms & conditions, which may include a no refund policy. We will submit logs of this agreement as evidence, showing that the customer agreed prior to the purchase! You can add and customize your Terms & Conditions in your Settings>Payments tab:

↩️ Refunds: If a customer asks for a refund and you do not provide it, you're at risk of them disputing this with their bank.

• In this situation, it's always best to try and remedy the situation before they dispute it. Be sure to send your Terms & Conditions via email, offer alternative solutions, and take lots of screenshots as evidence just in case!