Chargeback Request Letter
Asks your card issuer to reverse a payment when the seller has failed you.
Details
chargeback request letterUploads
Your logo
A photo or picture
Goes on this page only. Drag it anywhere and pull its corner to resize it.
Your signature
Draw it with a finger, a mouse or a trackpad, and it goes on the page like a picture.
Pictures and signatures stay on this device. Nothing is uploaded to a server.
Red highlights mark what is still blank. Click anything on the page to change it. Your draft is kept on this device as you work.
I am disputing a transaction of $ [amount] to [merchant] on [date], on my card ending [last four digits].
The reason is that the goods never arrived.
What I did first: what you did before coming to the card issuer
I am asking you to raise a chargeback and credit my account while it is investigated.
I also rely on my rights under the Fair Credit Billing Act where they apply to this transaction.
I can supply the order confirmation, my correspondence with the merchant and proof of non-delivery. Please tell me what you need and by when.
What is a Chargeback Request Letter?
A chargeback request asks your card issuer to reverse a payment when the merchant has not delivered, has delivered something faulty, has charged twice, or has kept billing after a cancellation. The point is that you ask the issuer, not the seller. Chargebacks run through card scheme rules with firm deadlines, and sending your complaint to the wrong place while that clock runs is the commonest way people lose the money.
Cardholders raise these after trying and failing to get the seller to put things right: goods that never arrived, a company that has ceased trading, a subscription that keeps billing after cancellation, a duplicate charge, a holiday or event cancelled by the provider, or a transaction on the statement that nobody in the household recognises. Businesses raise them too, on company cards, usually through the same route their issuer publishes for consumer disputes.
Chargeback is a card scheme process rather than a statutory right, and Visa, Mastercard, American Express and domestic schemes each set their own reason codes and time limits, commonly counted from the transaction date or from the date delivery was due. Separate legal routes may run alongside and sometimes give longer or stronger protection: section 75 of the Consumer Credit Act for UK credit card purchases within a value band, Regulation Z and Regulation E in the US for credit and debit disputes, and consumer directives across the EU. Check your issuer's stated deadline and do not assume the longest one applies to you.
A chargeback is not a guaranteed refund. The merchant can defend it with evidence, and a provisional credit can be reversed months later. It is not a way to escape a purchase you have changed your mind about, and issuers do close accounts of customers who misuse it. It is not the route for a stolen card, which has a faster fraud process, and it does not cancel a subscription — you still have to cancel it yourself.
What to put in a Chargeback Request Letter
These are the details this template asks for. Anything left blank is marked in red on the preview so you can see what is still missing.
| Field | What goes in it |
|---|---|
| Issued to (full name) | For example: James Whitfield |
| Home address | For example: 588 Kinnear Road |
| Card issuer | For example: First Commerce Bank |
| Organisation address | For example: 1420 Kinnear Road, Columbus, OH 43212 |
| Card ending | For example: 4418 |
| Merchant | For example: Halbrook Home Ltd |
| Amount | For example: 318.00 |
| Date of the transaction | Free text |
| What went wrong | Free text |
| What you did first | For example: Emailed the merchant on 2 and 9 September and called twice. No reply to any of it. |
| Currency | Free text |
How to write a Chargeback Request Letter
Identify the transaction exactly
Give the date, the amount and currency, the merchant name exactly as it appears on your statement rather than the trading name on the website, the last four digits of the card, and the authorisation or reference code if your statement shows one. Issuers search on the statement descriptor, and a claim naming only the shop's brand can take days to locate.
State the reason you are claiming under
Match your facts to a recognised reason. 'Goods not received: ordered 3 March, promised delivery by 17 March, tracking shows no despatch, nothing has arrived' is a claim. 'The company were unhelpful' is a complaint, and it will be coded wrongly or rejected. If two reasons apply, lead with the one you can evidence best.
Show what you did to resolve it first
Set out the dates you contacted the merchant, by what channel, and what they said or failed to say. Attach the email thread, chat transcript or ticket number. Most issuers require evidence of an attempt to resolve before they will process a claim, and a claim without it is bounced back to you with the deadline still running.
Attach labelled evidence to the claim
Include the order confirmation, the merchant's terms and cancellation policy as they stood, delivery tracking, photographs of a faulty or wrong item, the cancellation confirmation, and any advertised promise you relied on. Label each attachment and refer to it by that label in the letter. An assessor working through a queue will not reconstruct your case from unlabelled screenshots.
State the amount claimed and ask for acknowledgement
Say precisely how much you are claiming — the whole transaction or a stated part of it — and confirm you have not received a refund, replacement or credit for it elsewhere. Ask for written acknowledgement with a case reference and the expected timescale, and note the scheme deadline you are working to in your own diary.
Common mistakes
- Filing before contacting the merchant gets most claims rejected outright, because issuers require evidence that you tried to resolve it first.
- Waiting for a seller to keep promising a refund can push you past the scheme deadline, at which point a strong claim fails on timing alone.
- Describing dissatisfaction rather than a recognised scheme reason gets the claim coded wrongly and defended successfully by the merchant.
- Accepting a partial refund from the merchant while a chargeback is running can produce a double recovery that the issuer will later reverse.
- Continuing to use the service or subscription after claiming hands the merchant the strongest possible defence, that you accepted what was supplied.
Frequently asked questions
What is a chargeback?
A reversal of a card payment initiated through the card scheme by your bank or card issuer rather than by the merchant. Your issuer takes the funds back from the merchant's bank under a scheme reason code, and the merchant can defend the claim with evidence. It exists because the card networks needed a dispute mechanism that works when the seller will not cooperate.
How long do I have to request a chargeback?
The limit is set by the card scheme and counted from the transaction date or from when delivery or service was due, depending on the reason code. Issuers also set their own internal cut-offs, which can be shorter. Ask your issuer for the deadline applying to your specific claim as soon as the problem appears, and do not rely on a figure you read elsewhere.
What is the difference between a chargeback and a refund?
A refund is the merchant voluntarily returning your money. A chargeback is your issuer taking it back through the card scheme without the merchant's agreement. A refund is faster and simpler when the merchant will give one, which is why issuers expect you to ask for it first. The chargeback exists for when that route has failed or the merchant has vanished.
Can I get a chargeback on a debit card?
Debit card transactions on the major schemes are generally covered by the same chargeback process, though the reason codes, timescales and protections can differ from credit cards, and some statutory protections attach only to credit. That difference matters for large purchases. Ask your issuer what applies to your card, and check the consumer rules for your country alongside the scheme rules.
What happens if the merchant disputes my chargeback?
The merchant supplies evidence — delivery confirmation, your signature, the terms you agreed — and the issuer weighs it against yours. A provisional credit already paid to you can be taken back. Some schemes allow a further round after that. Keep every document, respond within the deadlines your issuer sets, and add anything new that answers the merchant's evidence directly.
This page explains general practice and is not legal advice. Requirements differ between countries and, in some cases, between states — check what applies where the document will be used.