Disputed Payments from Customers
A dispute (also known as a chargeback) occurs when a cardholder questions your payment with their card issuer.
To process a chargeback, the issuer creates a formal dispute on the card network, which immediately reverses the payment, pulling the money for the payment, as well as network dispute fees from Instant.
When a dispute is initiated, Instant will notify you of the dispute and relevant information via email. We will also debit the disputed amount, plus a $30 dispute fee, until the dispute is resolved.
Disputes will fall under one of the following dispute category types:
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Credit not processed: The cardholder claims that they were eligible for a refund or credit that was not completed or processed, likely relating to a return of the product or service.
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Duplicate: The cardholder notices multiple charges on their statement for the same transaction, indicating an accidental duplication of charges.
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Fraudulent: The cardholder suspects unauthorised use of their card for a transaction they did not make, indicating potential fraud or identity theft.
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Product not received: The cardholder made a purchase but did not receive the ordered product or service within the expected timeframe.
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Product unacceptable: The cardholder received the purchased item or service but found it to be significantly different from the description or of unsatisfactory quality.
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Subscription canceled: The cardholder claims that they canceled their subscription, but they are still being billed for it.
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Unrecognised: The cardholder does not recognise the transaction on their statement and believes it may be fraudulent or a mistake.
How to Respond to a Dispute
When you receive a notification of a dispute via email from Instant, you will need to decide how to respond. There will be a date you need to respond by which we will advise you.
You can respond by:
- Accepting the dispute. This means that you agree to refund the customer and pay the dispute fee.
- Challenging the dispute. This means that you believe the dispute is in error. You will need to provide evidence to support your claim.
Providing evidence to challenge the dispute
If you choose to challenge the dispute, Instant will require evidence which we will provide to the customer's bank.
The evidence required would vary based on the dispute category type, Instant will advise you the reason for the dispute and best evidence to provide in our email.
Examples of evidence can include:
• Communications with the customer
• Proof of postage/delivery
• Tax invoice/order details
• Confirmation the customer was refunded
• Any document that proves the authenticity of the transaction
• That the legitimate cardholder did in fact make the payment
• Confirmation email sent to cardholder
• That the product wasn’t damaged or defective
• That the customer withdrew the dispute
Dispute Resolution Process
The customer's bank will investigate and make a final decision. The dispute resolution process can take several weeks or even months. We will keep you updated on the status of the dispute along with any additional evidence required. Once the dispute is resolved, we will notify you of the outcome via email.
If Your Challenge is Successful
If you win a dispute, the debited amount and the $30 dispute fee will be returned to you.
If Your Challenge is Unsuccessful
If you lose a dispute, you will be responsible for the customer's refund and the $30 dispute fee. Instant will have already debited the disputed amount and fee so this will not be returned to you.