A dispute, also called a chargeback, happens when a customer contests a charge directly with their bank instead of reaching out to you first. The bank immediately reverses the payment while it investigates.
Dispute Reasons
Each dispute falls into a reason category set by the customer's bank:
Fraudulent: the customer says they didn't authorize the charge
Product not received: the customer says the service wasn't delivered
Product unacceptable: the customer says the service didn't match what was expected
Duplicate: the customer says they were charged twice
Credit not processed: the customer says a refund they were owed was never issued
Subscription canceled: the customer says they were charged after canceling
Unrecognized: the customer doesn't recognize the charge
General: a catch-all when the reason doesn't fit any other category
How to Respond to a Dispute
Click into a dispute from the Disputes report to open its details.
Review the reason given and the "Respond by" deadline.
Gather evidence that directly answers the reason, for example job records or messages showing the work was completed.
Submit the response before the deadline. Evidence can't be edited or added to once it's submitted.
š” Missing the deadline means automatically losing the dispute, with no way to recover the funds.
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š For guidance on preventing disputes and building a strong response, see Stripe's dispute best practices.
How Dispute Fees Work
When a dispute is opened, the disputed amount and a dispute fee are both deducted from your balance immediately. This happens automatically and can't be avoided once a customer's bank opens a dispute.
If you choose to respond to (counter) the dispute, an additional, separate dispute-countered fee applies.
š” Winning a dispute doesn't mean every fee is refunded. If the case is closed in your favor, the disputed amount and the dispute-countered fee are returned to you, but the original dispute fee is not refunded, regardless of the outcome. If you don't counter the dispute at all, you only ever pay the original dispute fee.
How to Access the Disputes Report
Navigate to Reports --> View Stripe Reports, then select the Disputes tab.
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Reading the Disputes Report
This report is particularly useful for:
Seeing which disputes need a response and by when
Checking the status and outcome of past disputes
Exporting dispute activity for accounting or bookkeeping
When there are no active disputes, the report displays "No disputes yet."
Each dispute is listed with:
Respond by: the deadline to submit a response
Disputed on: the date the dispute was filed
Status: such as "Needs response," "Under review," "Won," or "Lost"
Reason: the category the customer's bank assigned to the dispute
From: the customer the charge came from
Source type: the payment method used
Disputed amount: the amount being contested
Exporting Disputes
Click "Export" to download the dispute list currently shown on screen.
