What evidence answers a coaching chargeback?

It depends on the allegation on the notice, not on the product. A not-delivered claim (Visa 13.1) is answered with provisioning and access or attendance records; a not-as-described claim (Visa 13.3) with the purchase-time sales page next to the curriculum actually delivered; a cancelled-recurring claim (Visa 13.2) with the signup terms, the renewal notice, and the cancellation log. A signed agreement alone answers none of them — it proves terms were accepted, not that the service happened.

Why is a signed coaching agreement not enough evidence?

An agreement proves what terms the buyer accepted. It does not prove sessions happened, lessons were watched, or access was granted. Banks look for delivery records — account provisioning, dated access logs, session attendance, and delivered work — alongside the agreement, not instead of them.

What replaces a tracking number for a course or coaching sale?

The payment-to-entitlement-to-usage chain: the receipt linking the payment to the buyer account, the provisioning record showing access was granted, and dated access logs, lesson progress, or session attendance for that account. Stripe's dispute evidence fields for this are access_activity_log and service_documentation.

A student says they cancelled but were charged again — what decides it?

The cancellation log against the charge date. If no cancellation request exists before the charge, or the request came after it, the terms, renewal notice, and any usage after the claimed cancellation date answer the claim (Visa 13.2, Mastercard 4853 recurring sub-condition). If a cancellation was received before the charge and no refund was issued, refund first — a pack disputing a charge you already owe will not survive its own ledger.

Does PayPal Seller Protection cover a coaching chargeback?

Only narrowly. For intangible goods and services, PayPal Seller Protection applies only to Unauthorized Transaction claims on transactions PayPal marked eligible, with compelling proof of delivery. Significantly Not as Described claims are not covered, and Item Not Received claims filed as card-issuer chargebacks are not eligible. A card chargeback still needs a representment pack either way.

Coaching Chargeback Evidence Builder

How the router works

The allegation decides the pack — not the product

The same course sale needs a different pack for each claim. A delivery photo wins a “never arrived” dispute and is barely relevant to a “not as described” dispute; a device fingerprint answers a fraud dispute and is irrelevant to a credit dispute. This builder applies that rule to coaching, where the delivery proof is attendance and access, not a parcel:

Allegation	Codes	Core proof (this builder)
Not delivered	Visa 13.1 · Mastercard 4853 (not-provided sub-condition)	Provisioning + dated access log or session attendance for this buyer account.
Not as described	Visa 13.3 · Mastercard 4853 (not-as-described sub-condition)	Purchase-time sales page next to the curriculum and deliverables actually provided.
Cancelled recurring	Visa 13.2 · Mastercard 4853 (recurring sub-condition)	Signup terms, renewal notice, cancellation log, and usage after the claimed date.
Credit not processed	Visa 13.6 · Mastercard 4853 (credit-not-processed sub-condition)	Refund ledger for this exact payment, with the purchase-time refund policy.

The signed-agreement warning, stated plainly

A signed coaching agreement proves the buyer accepted your terms. It does not prove a single session happened, a single lesson was watched, or access was ever granted. Every pack in this builder therefore treats the agreement as context, never as a must-have delivery exhibit — and if the agreement is the only thing you hold, the builder says so and calls the pack a gap. Pair it with provisioning, access, or attendance records, or do not lead with it.

How this differs from the site’s other seller builders

Three existing builders cover adjacent ground, and none of them routes a coaching case by allegation with attendance and access evidence. The Shopify Chargeback Evidence Checker is built around physical fulfilment — carrier tracking, delivery scans, and shipped-product listings. The Square Dispute Response Builder is a generic seller builder framed by Square’s fraud / non-fraud split and its dashboard window. The PayPal Seller Dispute Response Builder is built around PayPal’s own claim types and Seller Protection verdicts. This builder is the coaching-specific one: no tracking number is asked for, session attendance and lesson progress replace delivery scans, and the pack changes with the allegation rather than with the platform. For the buyer’s side of the same dispute, see the generic Evidence Checklist Builder and the not-as-described evidence guide — this page is written for the seller, and its copy is not shared with any consumer page.

Before you submit: the two traps

First, the final-submission trap: on Stripe a submitted dispute response is final and cannot be supplemented, so review the completed packet — including the gap you could not fill — before sending. Second, the deadline trap: your processor notice carries the deadline that governs your case. This page deliberately states no deadline in days, because network maximums and processor deadlines differ and published figures conflict; use the date on your own notice, and treat any guide that gives you a single number for every case as unverified.

Want the full coaching-seller playbook?

Allegation-by-allegation packs, the payment-to-entitlement-to-usage chain, the cancellation-timeline test, the PayPal intangible-goods limits, and the refund-first rule — with the builder above the fold.

Read the coaching seller response guide

Sources (verified November 2, 2026): Visa codes 13.1 / 13.2 / 13.3 / 13.6 — Merchant Fraud Journal, “How to Write a Chargeback Rebuttal Letter” (code-to-evidence rebuttal table) and Sift, “Visa Chargeback Reason Codes”; Mastercard 4853 catch-all and sub-conditions, retired 4855 folded into 4853 — Chargeback Clock’s Mastercard reason-code guide and Chargeflow, “Mastercard Chargeback Reason Codes” (October 2026); Stripe dispute-evidence fields access_activity_log, service_documentation, receipt, customer_communication, cancellation_policy — Stripe DisputeEvidence object reference, and Chargeflow, “Stripe Digital Goods Dispute Evidence” and “What Evidence Do I Need to Win a Stripe Chargeback” (both October 12, 2026); PayPal Seller Protection Program (last updated January 26, 2026, paypal.com) for the intangible-goods limits; Square Support article 7891 service-evidence list (April 23, 2026), as recorded in Chargeback Clock’s Square dispute guide (October 31, 2026). Your processor notice and account agreement govern your case.

General information only — not legal advice. Representment rules change and your processor’s case instructions govern. Verify deadlines and field requirements on your own dispute notice before submitting.

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