How to answer a chargeback when the customer kept the item
- Read the reason codeNot-as-described and cancelled-goods codes expect a return; fraud and not-received codes don't. Check yours in the reason code lookup.
- Check your return recordsWas a return requested, sent or received? Note every date.
- Gather the product evidenceThe product page, photos and specifications as the customer saw them, plus the return policy shown at checkout.
- Show what you offeredMessages where you offered a return, exchange or repair.
- Credit it if the item came backIf the return arrived, issue the credit or accept: the playbooks advise against fighting a return you received.
Where a return is expected
- Visa 13.3 Not as Described or Defective: the cardholder generally must have tried to return the goods first, and the issuer waits 15 days after the return or attempted return before filing, unless the merchant refused the return.
- Visa 13.7 Cancelled Merchandise/Services: the cardholder says they returned the goods or cancelled and no credit appeared; the issuer generally waits 15 days.
- Mastercard 4853: the cardholder must have tried to resolve it with the merchant, so show your reply to them.
Where it isn't
- Fraud (Visa 10.4, Mastercard 4837): the cardholder says they didn't make the purchase, so no return applies. The evidence is proof they took part.
- Not received (Visa 13.1): the claim is that nothing arrived. A carrier delivery scan to the address on the order is the evidence, together with any message where the customer mentions the item.
Example: a jacket kept and disputed
A customer disputes a $180 jacket as not as described (Visa 13.3) and never sends it back. The return records show no return request and no return parcel. The response leads with the product page as the customer saw it, the photos and size guide, the return policy shown at checkout and the note that no return was requested or received. Visa says the return policy alone has no bearing on 13.3, so the product evidence carries the case.
Reason codes this answer covers
- Visa 13.3: Not as Described or Defective Merchandise/Services: sometimes winnable
- Visa 13.7: Cancelled Merchandise/Services: sometimes winnable
- Mastercard 4853: Cardholder Dispute: sometimes winnable
- Visa 13.1: Merchandise/Services Not Received: often winnable
- Visa 10.4: Other Fraud: Card-Absent Environment: sometimes winnable
More questions
Can a customer keep the item and still win the chargeback?
Sometimes, yes. If the bank sides with the cardholder on a not-received or fraud claim, there was no return to make. That is why the evidence for those claims matters: a carrier delivery scan to the address on the order for not-received, and proof the cardholder took part for fraud.
Does refusing a return hurt my chargeback case?
It can. For Visa 13.3 the issuer normally waits 15 days after the cardholder returned or tried to return the goods, but that wait doesn't apply when the merchant refused the return. If the return fell outside a policy the customer accepted at checkout, show the policy and the dates.
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Sources
- Visa Core Rules and Visa Product and Service Rules (18 April 2026), Chapter 11 Dispute Resolution (checked October 5, 2026)
- Visa: Dispute Management Guidelines for Visa Merchants (June 2024) (checked October 5, 2026)
- Mastercard Chargeback Guide, Merchant Edition (13 May 2025) (checked October 5, 2026)
Last reviewed by Verdikx Research.