Customer raised a chargeback: reply templates
A chargeback often means the customer could not reach you, or did not recognise the payment. Contacting them calmly can resolve it faster than the bank can. These replies open that conversation without accusing anyone. You still need to respond to the bank separately, with evidence, before the deadline.
Template
Subject: About the payment for order {order_number}
Subject: Payment dispute for order {order_number}
Subject: Order {order_number}: payment disputed
- {first_name}
- The customer's first name.
- {order_number}
- The disputed order.
- {order_date}
- The date the order was placed, as it appears on their statement.
- {tracking_number}
- The tracking number for the shipment.
- {tracking_url}
- The tracking link showing delivery.
- {agent_first_name}
- The first name of the teammate sending the reply.
- {workspace}
- Your shop name.
When to use it
- Shopify Payments or your payment provider tells you a customer has disputed a charge.
- The customer has not contacted you first, or you missed their messages.
- You want to resolve the problem directly and ask the customer to withdraw the dispute.
UK consumer law
Chargebacks are run under card scheme rules (Visa, Mastercard and others), not by law, and apply to debit and credit cards. Separately, Section 75 of the Consumer Credit Act 1974 makes the credit card provider jointly liable for credit card purchases over £100 and up to £30,000. Either way, the bank decides on the evidence both sides provide. This is a general guide, not legal advice.
How to use it
- 1
Note the deadline
Check the evidence deadline in Shopify Payments or your provider. Missing it usually means losing the dispute automatically.
- 2
Contact the customer
Send this reply the same day. Many disputes come from an unrecognised statement name or a parcel that went missing.
- 3
Gather evidence for the bank
Submit the order details, proof of delivery with tracking, your customer messages and the refund or returns policy they agreed to.
- 4
Do not refund twice
If you refund while a dispute is open, tell the bank. Otherwise the customer can end up with the refund and the chargeback.
Common mistakes
- Accusing the customer of fraud in the first email. Most disputes are confusion or a delivery problem.
- Ignoring the dispute because you have tracking. The bank only sees the evidence you submit.
- Issuing a refund while the chargeback is still open, so you pay twice.
- Not checking your statement descriptor. If your bank statement name does not match your shop name, customers will not recognise the charge.
What they usually ask next
If the dispute was about a parcel that never arrived, the customer will want to know where it is. Where is my order?
Related templates
All payments and billing templates- Where is my order?Copy-ready replies for "where is my order" emails and chats: tracking link, carrier, expected date and what happens next. Friendly, formal and brief versions.
- Refund outside the return windowPolite reply templates for refund requests after your return window has closed: explain the policy, offer store credit or an exchange, and check for a fault first.
- Complaint escalationReply templates for escalated complaints: a named senior person takes over, sums up what went wrong, owns it and sets out the fix with a date. No scripted apologies.