Chargebacks in the Shopify admin
When you view a chargeback or inquiry in your Shopify admin, the status of the chargeback or inquiry explains which part of the process it's in. A chargeback or inquiry can have one of the following statuses:
- open: Shopify hasn't sent the response yet. You can still add evidence to the response.
- submitted: The credit card company is reviewing the evidence and making a decision about the chargeback or inquiry.
- won: You won the chargeback.
- lost: You lost the chargeback.
Refer to the section on chargebacks for more information about the types of chargebacks as well as strategies to prevent them.
On this page
View all chargebacks and inquiries
You can access a list of all the orders with chargebacks or inquiries that haven't been sent to the credit card company yet.
Steps:
From your Shopify admin, go to Orders.
Click the Search and filter button.
Click Add filter.
From the Add filter drop-down menu, select Chargeback and inquiry status.
From the Select a value... drop-down menu, select open.
Add evidence and submit a chargeback
Shopify automatically collects evidence and sends it to the credit card company on the due date. To increase your chances of winning the chargeback, you can add evidence to support your claim.
The type of evidence that you should add depends on the reason for the chargeback.
Assemble and organize your items of evidence using the following guidelines:
- Only PDF, JPEG, or PNG file types are accepted.
- Ensure that PDFs are PDF/A compliant.
- Don't include PDF Portfolios. When necessary, merge multiple PDFs into one PDF file.
- Ensure that each PDF has fewer than 50 pages.
- Ensure that image files are cropped appropriately, are high contrast, and are legible. Use callouts or arrows to draw attention to pertinent information.
- Ensure each evidence file doesn't exceed 2 MB.
- Ensure that your combined evidence files don't exceed 4 MB.
- Submit only one file for each type of evidence. If you have multiple files for one type of evidence, then combine them into a single image or PDF file.
- Don't include audio or video files, links to external resources, or requests to call or email for more information.
Steps:
From your Shopify admin, go to Orders.
Click the order that's being disputed.
In the chargeback banner, click Submit response.
On the Chargeback response page, review the information about the chargeback.
Enter any additional information.
Upload items of evidence.
Click Submit response.
Accept a chargeback
If you agree that a chargeback is valid, then you can accept the chargeback without submitting it for inquiry.
Steps:
From your Shopify admin, go to Orders.
Click the order that's being disputed.
In the chargeback banner, click Submit response.
On the Chargeback response page, click Accept chargeback.
Click Submit response.
Chargeback responses
You have the best chance of recovering lost sales from chargebacks when you use chargeback responses compiled by Shopify for each affected order. You can add additional evidence directly from Shopify, and then Shopify sends it to the credit card company.
You have the best chance of recovering lost sales from chargebacks when you use chargeback responses compiled by Shopify for each affected order. You can add additional evidence directly from Shopify, and then Shopify sends it to the credit card company.
Refunding chargebacks
You can't refund a chargeback after the chargeback process has started. A chargeback happens when a credit card company refunds a charge to the credit card holder at your expense. An order's payment can't be refunded through Shopify after a chargeback process has been started, and the funds are automatically taken from your account by the bank. If the chargeback is only an inquiry and the funds haven't been taken by the credit card company yet, then a refund is possible but not recommended. The credit card company refunds the customer directly if you lose the chargeback inquiry.
Chargeback fees
When a chargeback is filed, Shopify Payments is debited the full amount of the charge fee to help cover the cost of processing the dispute. You can submit evidence to have a dispute resolved in your favor. If you end up winning the dispute, then we return the full amount (including the chargeback fee) to you.
Reversing a chargeback
If your customer has agreed that the chargeback was a mistake, then only your customer can reverse it. If you've talked to your customer and they've agreed to drop the dispute, then you should tell them to contact their bank and say that they want to drop the chargeback. You should also submit evidence to the customer's bank, including the statement where the customer said they would drop the charge. You could include evidence such as:
- The date and time that you fulfilled the order
- The billing information that the customer used
- The IP address and country used for the order
- Shipping and tracking information for the order
Adding evidence after submission
You can submit additional evidence to your response at any time before the chargeback due date. The due date varies from 7 to 21 days after the chargeback or inquiry is filed. For information on viewing and adding evidence to a chargeback, refer to Managing chargebacks and inquiries.
Chargebacks and closed stores
Emails regarding chargebacks are still sent to closed or paused stores.
If your store is closed or paused, and you receive an email about a chargeback, then you need to follow the link in the email to log in and pay for a new plan to reopen the store. After you reopen your store, you can submit the additional evidence for the chargeback.