The chargeback evidence checklist,
by reason code.

How to use this checklist

1. Find the reason code. Every dispute is filed under a card-network reason code, like Visa 10.4 or Mastercard 4853. It decides the evidence the bank needs.
2. Lead with a short response letter. It answers the exact claim and cites each record you attach.
3. Attach what's Required, then Recommended. "Also useful" items help when you have them.
4. Submit early, and only once. The deadline on the case is the one that counts: submit at least 2 days early so uploads can be fixed. One response is usually allowed per stage, and you cannot add evidence afterwards.

1. Fraud or unauthorized: "I didn't make this purchase."

Codes: Visa 10.4, Mastercard 4837 and 4863, Amex F24 and F29, Discover UA02, Shopify Payments "fraudulent" and "unrecognized".

Tie the purchase to the cardholder: card checks that passed, a known device or IP, their address, their history.

Required

• Card checks that passed: AVS, CVV and any 3-D Secure.

Recommended

• Checkout IP address and device, the core identity link.
• Delivery to the billing address, or to an address used on earlier undisputed orders.
• Earlier undisputed orders from the same customer and address.
• Carrier delivery to the cardholder's address.
• The product description, as the customer saw it.
• Visa 10.4 only: Compelling Evidence 3.0 (below).

Also useful

• The customer's messages about the order, and the itemized receipt.

Visa 10.4: Compelling Evidence 3.0

Earlier orders on the same card can shift liability back to the issuer.

• The earlier orders: 2 or more, 120 to 364 days old, on the same card, undisputed and settled.
• What each one shares with the disputed sale: 2 main elements (IP address, device ID), or 1 main and 1 secondary element (shipping address, customer email, account ID).
• Plus a product description for every transaction.

CE 3.0 must be in your first response, and Visa 10.1 to 10.3 and 10.5 don't qualify. Paid with 3-D Secure? The dispute may be invalid: raise it at once. See Compelling Evidence 3.0.

Skip these:

• Accusing the cardholder. State the records.
• Delivery as your only proof: it shows where a parcel went, not who paid.
• Earlier orders that were disputed, refunded for fraud or paid with another card.

2. Item not received: "It never arrived."

Codes: Visa 13.1, Mastercard 4855, Amex C08, Discover RG, Shopify Payments "product not received".

Show carrier proof of delivery to the address the customer gave, plus any record that they received it.

Required

• Tracking: the number, carrier and ship date for each shipment.
• Proof of delivery: the carrier's delivery record, showing the full delivery address.

Recommended

• Address match: it went to the address entered at checkout.
• The customer's messages acknowledging receipt or discussing the item.
• Your shipping policy, with the promised delivery window.

Skip this: claiming delivery from a fulfillment status or a tracking number alone.

Timing: Visa 13.1 can't be filed before the expected delivery date (if none was given, 15 days after purchase). Delivered after the dispute? Send that proof too; it remains a valid defense. More in item not received disputes.

3. Not as described: "It's not what I ordered."

Codes: Visa 13.3, 13.4 and 13.5, Mastercard 4853, Amex C31 and C32, Discover RM, Shopify Payments "product unacceptable".

Show the item matched what you advertised, and that your return policy was offered and not used.

Required

• The product description, photos and specifications the customer saw.
• Your return and refund policy in force at the time of purchase.

Recommended

• Policy accepted: proof the customer saw or accepted it.
• Your offers of a return, a replacement or help.
• Return records: requested, received or never sent.
• Counterfeit claim (Visa 13.4)? Proof of authenticity from your supplier.

Skip this: fighting after the item came back. Issue the credit instead.

Timing: for Visa 13.3 the cardholder must first try to return the item, and the issuer waits 15 days after the return before filing.

4. Cancelled order or subscription: "I cancelled."

Cancelled order (Visa 13.7, Amex C05)

• Required: the cancellation and refund policy that applied.
• Recommended: proof the customer accepted that policy, the timeline of any cancellation request, and delivery before or despite the cancellation.

Cancelled subscription (Visa 13.2, Mastercard 4841, Amex C28, Discover AP, Shopify Payments "subscription canceled")

• Required: the subscription terms, charge history and cancellation timing, plus your cancellation policy and renewal terms.
• Recommended: proof they agreed to recurring billing, renewal reminders and any cancellation requests.

Timing: for Visa 13.2 the cardholder must have cancelled, or told you, before the transaction date. More in subscription chargebacks.

5. Credit not processed: "I never got my refund."

Codes: Visa 13.6, Mastercard 4860, Amex C02 and C04, Discover RN2, Shopify Payments "credit not processed".

Prove the refund was issued (a processed refund is a complete defense), or that none was due under the policy the customer accepted.

Required

• The refund or return policy that applied.

Recommended

• The refund record: date, amount and processor reference.
• Policy accepted: proof the customer saw or accepted it.
• Return status: never sent back, received late, or refused.
• The refund conversation with the customer.

Skip these:

• Refunding after the dispute is filed: it can mean a double credit.
• Citing a policy the customer never got to see.

Timing: for Visa 13.6 the cardholder usually waits 15 days after a credit voucher or return before filing. Refunded before the dispute? Show the date.

6. Duplicate charge: "I was charged twice."

Codes: Visa 12.6.1, Mastercard 4834, Amex P08, Discover DP, Shopify Payments "duplicate".

Prove each charge was a separate purchase, or that the duplicate was already refunded.

Required

• Each charge tied to its own order and fulfillment.
• The disputed order record.

Recommended

• The refund of the duplicate, if you issued one.

When to refund instead of fight:

• A true duplicate charge.
• A refund that's owed and not yet issued.
• A valid cancellation received in time.
• A charge billed after a confirmed cancellation.
• An item that came back under your return policy.

Let AI draft it from your records

Verdikx is AI chargeback protection for ecom. Its AI drafts each dispute response from your store's records, following the reason-code playbook. You review it before it's sent, or Autopilot (Growth and up) submits it inside limits you set, where the processor allows it.

• Each dispute gets an evidence packet ordered by its reason code.
• AI checks the customer's claim against your records and cites what contradicts it (every plan; 10 cases a month on Starter, shared with AI drafts).
• Tracking numbers, messages and policies are saved to each order as they happen.

Banks decide disputes, and Verdikx never invents evidence. Every plan has a 7-day free trial; see pricing. Every code in this checklist has its own page in the chargeback reason codes library.