How to ask a customer to withdraw a chargeback
- Check it could be a mistakeUnrecognized charges, gifts, family purchases and parcels that turned up late are the usual cases.
- Email the factsOrder number, date, items, amount and how the charge appears on their statement. The chargeback email templates are written for this.
- Ask them to call their bankIf they recognize the purchase now, they contact their card issuer and ask to withdraw the dispute.
- Keep every messageTheir reply is evidence. Stripe suggests asking for the bank's confirmation too, such as a confirmation email.
- Submit your evidence anywayBefore the deadline, whether or not they say they withdrew it.
What a withdrawal does and doesn't do
- Only the cardholder can do it, through their card issuer, and the process varies by issuer.
- It isn't a win on its own. Stripe says a withdrawn dispute can still resolve as a loss if you haven't submitted evidence, because many issuers treat no response as acceptance.
- It isn't faster, and it still counts toward your dispute rate with the card network.
- Inquiries and early fraud warnings can't be withdrawn; the cardholder can only decline to escalate them.
- Late withdrawals happen, even after a loss, but they run outside the network rules and can take weeks or months to show up.
Example: the gift the customer forgot about
A customer disputes a $64 order as unrecognized. You email the order details and the name that appears on their statement, and they reply that their partner placed it as a gift. They call their bank to withdraw. You still submit your response before the deadline, with their email (and the bank's confirmation, if they share it) attached as evidence.
How to ask
Be factual and friendly: say what you see, offer help and ask them to contact their bank if they now recognize it. Don't accuse them of fraud, don't threaten and don't promise a refund on top of the chargeback: Stripe says you can't refund a disputed charge until the issuer decides in your favor. A replacement or store credit, which Stripe suggests as options, avoids paying twice.
Reason codes this answer covers
- Visa 10.4: Other Fraud: Card-Absent Environment: sometimes winnable
More questions
Does a withdrawn chargeback still count against my ratio?
Yes. Stripe says a withdrawn dispute still counts toward your dispute rate with the card network, just as a won one does. Prevention is what keeps the ratio down: processors and card networks start flagging stores at around 1% of orders disputed.
Can I refund a customer who agrees to withdraw their chargeback?
Not straight away on Stripe: you can't refund a disputed charge until the issuer decides in your favor, and a withdrawal doesn't speed that up, so a promised refund can take weeks or months. Agree the timing with the customer, or offer a replacement or store credit instead.
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Sources
- Stripe Docs: Dispute withdrawals (checked October 16, 2026)
- Stripe Docs: Respond to disputes (checked October 16, 2026)
- Stripe Docs: How disputes work (inquiries, timing, unchallengeable disputes) (checked October 5, 2026)
Last reviewed by Verdikx Research.