Get your money back

What is a chargeback?

A chargeback is a formal dispute you raise through your bank, not with the merchant. Your bank pulls the money back through Visa's or Mastercard's dispute system, and the merchant has to respond with evidence. Because it runs on the card networks' rules, it can work even when the merchant ignores you, has gone out of business, or is in another country.

When can you dispute a card charge?

• Your order never arrived, or a service was never provided
• The item is fake, damaged, or not what was described
• You were charged twice, or for the wrong amount
• A subscription kept billing you after you cancelled
• A promised refund never showed up on your card
• You never made the charge at all (that is fraud: call your bank immediately)

What should you do first?

1. 1

   Contact the merchant and give them a chance to fix it. Most dispute types require this, and an email creates the paper trail banks want to see.

2. 2

   Gather what you have: order confirmation, receipts, tracking, photos, and every message you exchanged with the merchant.

3. 3

   Mind the deadlines. Most disputes must be filed within 120 days, counted from dates that depend on the dispute type. A missed deadline ends a case no matter how good it is.

4. 4

   File with your bank, naming the right dispute reason and attaching your evidence. A precise, factual letter makes the difference.

Read more about the method

What it costs

We tell you when you cannot win

Plenty of disputes feel unfair and still fail under the network rules, because a cancellation notice period was agreed, a return went in long after the merchant's window, or a service was made available and simply went unused. When that is your situation the report says so plainly and points you at what might actually work instead. You will never see an invented percentage chance of winning here.

Guides for the eight most common problems

Each one covers the deadline, the evidence your bank needs, and how the seller will argue back.

• Your order never arrived. Here is how to get your money back
• They kept charging you after you cancelled
• What arrived is not what you paid for
• You paid for the real thing and received a fake
• They promised you a refund and it never arrived
• You were charged twice for the same thing
• They charged your card the wrong amount
• The cash machine debited you and gave you nothing