Shopify chargeback response template: what to send

A chargeback lands, the money and a fee leave your account, and you have a deadline. This page gives you a response template you can copy, the evidence that matters for each dispute reason, and the rules Shopify sets for the files. Everything here comes from Shopify's Help Center, Stripe's dispute documentation and the card networks' own pages. The links are at the bottom.

Nothing here guarantees a win. Shopify says it plainly: "Banks have the discretion to rule in the customer's favor, even when you provide delivery confirmation or other compelling proof."

First, five checks before you write anything

Is it a chargeback or an inquiry? In a chargeback, "the disputed amount and chargeback fee are withdrawn immediately." In an inquiry, "no money is taken during the investigation." You respond to both the same way.
When is the deadline? It is shown on the order. Shopify says it is usually 7 to 21 days after the dispute is filed, in your store's time zone, and 11:59 PM if no time is shown. After it passes, "there are no exceptions."
Have you already refunded? If you refunded before the dispute, that refund record is your main evidence. You can't refund an open chargeback: Shopify says "the cardholder must first drop the chargeback, and then you can provide a refund."
Is the order covered by Shopify Protect? Shopify says "some Shop Pay orders are automatically covered by Shopify Protect, which reimburses you for eligible fraud-related chargebacks." Check the order before you spend time on it.
Is the customer right? If they are, accepting is the honest answer. In Shopify, the disputed amount goes back to the customer and the chargeback fee is not refunded. Stripe adds that accepting "isn't considered an admission of wrongdoing."

What a chargeback costs on Shopify Payments

The fee depends on your country. Shopify lists, for example, $15 USD in the United States, £10 GBP in the United Kingdom, €15 EUR in most of the EU, $15 CAD or $15 USD in Canada and $25 AUD in Australia. If you win, Shopify's chargeback page says "the disputed amount and chargeback fee are returned", though its overview page adds that the fee refund might depend on your country or region. A decision is final: "there's no appeal process."

One more fact worth knowing before you decide: "Winning a dispute doesn't remove it from your chargeback rate." The rate counts disputes filed, not disputes lost.

The template

Shopify's advice is to put the strongest proof first, because "the reviewing agent might spend only a few minutes on your case." Stripe's advice is the same in other words: keep it short, neutral and in date order, and don't write a long explanation. The template below follows both.

Copy it into the additional information box on the Chargeback response page, then fill every square bracket. Delete any line you can't back with a file.

Summary. [Customer name] ordered [product] on [order date], order [number], for [amount]. We shipped it on [ship date] with [carrier], tracking [number], to the address given at checkout. [The one fact that answers the claim, for example: The carrier shows it delivered to that address on [date].] The claim that [the reason the bank gave] is not supported by the records below.

What happened, in order.
[Date]: order placed. Order confirmation sent to [email]. (Exhibit 1)
[Date]: order shipped, tracking [number]. (Exhibit 2)
[Date]: carrier shows delivered to [street, city, postcode]. (Exhibit 2)
[Date]: [any message from the customer, or: no message from the customer before the dispute]. (Exhibit 3)

Our policy. [Only if it applies to this reason.] The [refund or cancellation] policy shown at checkout says: "[the one relevant sentence]". (Exhibit 4)

Exhibits.
Exhibit 1: order confirmation email sent [date], showing the itemised total of [amount].
Exhibit 2: carrier tracking page for [number], showing delivery on [date] to [address].
Exhibit 3: emails with the customer, [first date] to [last date].
Exhibit 4: checkout page showing the [refund or cancellation] policy, with the relevant sentence marked.

The model sentence comes from Stripe's own example: the customer bought the product on a date, it shipped on a date to the address they gave, it was delivered on a date as the tracking file shows, "so the claim that the product wasn't received isn't true."

Label every file the way Shopify suggests. Not "attached screenshot", but something like "Order confirmation email sent to customer on March 15, 2024, showing itemized total of $127.50."

Which evidence to lead with, by dispute reason

Shopify groups disputes into a handful of reasons. Match your exhibits to the reason the bank gave, not to the story you'd like to tell. Stripe's example: a clearly stated return policy "isn't relevant for a dispute claiming that the customer never received the product."

Product not received

Tracking with the carrier name, number and a delivered status.
Proof of delivery, "ideally with signature or photo."
Proof that the address it went to is the address given at checkout. Stripe asks for "the full delivery address, not just the city and postal code."
For digital products: download, login or access logs.

Shopify adds that for high-value orders you can require a signature at delivery, which "significantly strengthens your position" in these disputes.

Fraudulent or unrecognised

Here the claim is that the cardholder didn't authorise the purchase, so Shopify's list starts with payment checks, not delivery:

AVS and CVV results showing the billing address and security code matched.
Device and IP data consistent with the customer's earlier orders.
3D Secure authentication, if the customer completed it.
Earlier orders from the same customer, email or shipping address that weren't disputed.
Messages where the customer acknowledged the order.
Delivery confirmation to the customer's verified address.

Shopify sums it up: "The strongest evidence includes matching addresses, consistent device or location data, and delivery confirmation to the billing address."

For Visa's card-absent fraud code (10.4), Visa's Compelling Evidence 3.0 rules can apply. Stripe's summary: at least two earlier undisputed payments on the same payment method, 120 to 364 days before the disputed one, that match on two of the listed details, such as the purchase IP address and the device, or one of those plus the shipping address or email. If you have that history, put it first.

Product unacceptable or not as described

The product listing as it was when the customer bought: screenshots or an archived copy.
What you shipped and when, and photos taken before shipping if you have them.
Your return policy and where the customer saw it.
Messages showing you offered a return, replacement or refund.

Shopify notes that customers are expected to contact you first. If they went straight to their bank, include proof that no support request reached you and show your contact and returns process.

Credit not processed

The refund record: date, amount and confirmation number.
Or, if no refund was owed, the policy the customer agreed to at checkout and the reason it doesn't apply, for example the item was never returned.
Return tracking, if the dispute involves a return.

Subscription canceled

The terms the customer accepted, including the billing cycle.
Your cancellation policy.
Proof that no cancellation request was received before the charge.
Renewal reminders or receipts you actually sent.

Duplicate or general

For a duplicate, show that each charge was a separate order, or that one was a temporary authorisation hold, or that the extra charge was already refunded. For an amount dispute, send the itemised receipt and the total shown at checkout.

File rules on Shopify

These come from Shopify's page on managing chargebacks in the admin:

PDF, JPEG or PNG only. PDFs should be PDF/A and under 50 pages.
Each file 2 MB at most, and 4 MB for all files together.
One file per evidence type. Combine several screenshots of emails into one PDF.
No audio, no video, no links, and no "call or email us for more."
High contrast and readable without zooming. Shopify's reason: "many banks receive chargeback evidence through fax machines." Stripe adds: use callouts or arrows, and avoid colour highlighting.
Your response is sent automatically on the due date. If you click Submit now, you can't edit it afterwards.

Shopify also adds some evidence for you when you use Shopify Payments: the order's products, customer details, addresses, IP address, fulfilment and tracking details, refunds and undisputed earlier orders. Spend your time on what only you have: messages with the customer, the policy as shown at checkout, delivery photos and the listing at the time of purchase.

If the customer says they've cancelled the dispute

Submit evidence anyway. Shopify says the dispute "can remain active in your Shopify admin" even after the customer calls their bank. Ask the customer for a withdrawal letter from their bank and upload it. Shopify says a screenshot of a bank statement "isn't sufficient", and the letter must:

be on official bank letterhead and show the case number
confirm the original charge date and amount, and your store's name
confirm the chargeback has been cancelled
confirm the customer has been charged again and the money returned to you

What not to write

Anything you can't show in a file. A claim without an exhibit gives the reviewer a reason to doubt the rest.
Who placed the order, in a fraud dispute, unless your evidence shows it. Say what the records show: the address matched, the IP matched, the customer ordered before.
Your whole terms of service. Stripe: "Upload only the relevant cancellation policy section."
Threats, sarcasm or a story about how unfair this is. Stripe asks for "a neutral and professional tone."

Preventing the next one

Shopify's own list for keeping your chargeback rate low: clear product descriptions, keeping customers updated on shipping, answering messages quickly and showing your refund and return policies clearly. From the evidence lists above, three habits make the next response easier: ship with tracking, keep customer conversations in writing, and keep a screenshot of where your policy appears at checkout.

Sources

All read on 4 October 2026. Payment rules change, so if your dispute page in Shopify says something different, follow the dispute page. This is general information, not legal advice.

A skill that drafts this for you

We make a chargeback response writer: an Agent Skill that turns what you paste from the order into this layout, with every claim tied to an exhibit and a gap list for anything you still need. It is in the Store Ops Pack for Shopify store owners ($29, 6 skills) and is also available as a $5 single. It works in AI assistants that read SKILL.md, such as Claude, Codex or Gemini CLI. We test it on Claude Sonnet and Opus.

Our free skills, including a store policy checker, are here:

Get the free skills sampler (21 skills)

The sources are listed above. Payment rules change: if your dispute page in Shopify says something different, follow it. More guides are on the guides page.