Shopify Chargeback Evidence: the Exact Pack for Each Reason

Answer the reason's question, nothing else

Shopify does not decide chargeback outcomes — the customer's bank and the card company do, on the evidence you submit. That is why the reason matters more than the volume of evidence: a Fraudulent charge asks whether the real cardholder made the purchase, so delivery proof alone does not answer it; a Product not received charge asks whether the customer got the order, so billing information alone does not answer it. The packs below follow Shopify Help Center, "Reasons for a chargeback or inquiry" (checked October 29, 2026) item for item. Where Shopify lists an item, it is in the pack; where it does not, it is not — this guide invents nothing.

One step comes before every pack: contact the customer. Shopify repeats it for nearly every reason, and for good reason — the customer may have forgotten the purchase, a family member may have made it, or the problem may be a misunderstanding you can resolve. If they agree the charge was justified, tell them to contact their bank to drop the chargeback, and still submit their statement saying so as evidence. For a General chargeback, ask them to give you a copy of the chargeback withdrawal letter from their bank and submit that letter in the chargeback response form.

Fraudulent — did the real cardholder make this purchase?

Shopify calls this the most common reason for a chargeback: the cardholder did not authorize the charge, often because the card was stolen. Send: the date and time the order was fulfilled; the billing information the customer used; the IP address and country used for the order; and shipping and tracking information. Note what is absent: a delivery photo alone does not prove authorization. If the IP and country match the customer's earlier orders and delivery went to the verified address, say so — that is the comparison the bank is making. And remember Shopify's warning: credit card companies can reverse funds for stolen cards after orders are fulfilled, and Shopify does not cover charge reversals from banks.

Unrecognized — does the customer recognise this charge?

The customer does not recognise the merchant name or location on their statement. The pack is the same four items as Fraudulent: fulfillment date and time, billing information, IP address and country, and shipping and tracking information. The first step matters most here — a forgotten purchase or a purchase by a spouse, friend, or family member is the most common resolution, and if the customer agrees the charge was justified, their statement plus their bank contact is the evidence.

Duplicate — two charges for two things, or one thing billed twice?

Send: an explanation of the reason for the two charges; receipts proving the two charges were for different products or services; and any communication where you told the customer about the two charges. But check first: if you did charge the customer twice for the same product or service, accept the chargeback — that is Shopify's stated rule, and fighting it wastes the window and the fee.

Subscription canceled — did they cancel before this charge?

This also covers the customer who expected a reminder before each recurring charge and did not receive one. Send: your subscription cancellation policy; any emails or notifications sent to the customer about their cancellation; an explanation of when and where the customer was informed of the cancellation policy; and, for a digital product or service, an activity log proving the customer accessed it after the date they say they canceled. And the second accept rule: if you charged the customer after they canceled, accept the chargeback.

Product not received — did the customer get the order?

Send: the date and time the order was fulfilled; the billing information used; shipping and tracking information; and, for a digital product or service, an activity log proving the customer accessed it. The core is delivery: a delivery scan to the checkout address answers the question, while tracking that stops at "label created" or "in transit" does not prove receipt. Shopify also uploads a PDF of your fulfillment events automatically — your added evidence should complete the picture, not duplicate it.

Product unacceptable — does what arrived match what you sold?

The product arrived but was defective, damaged, or not as described. Send: fulfillment date and time; billing information; shipping and tracking information; and descriptions or pictures of the products from your store proving they were as described — the listing as it appeared at purchase, next to what was shipped. Also send evidence if the customer never tried to return the product or cancel the service before the chargeback, or if you already provided a replacement.

Credit not processed — was a refund promised, given, or owed?

The customer says they returned the product or you canceled the transaction, but received no refund or credit. Send: your refund and return policies; an explanation of when and where the customer was informed of the refund policy; any emails or notifications you sent about the refund; and an explanation of why the customer was not entitled to a refund, if that is genuinely your position. If you did refund before the chargeback was made, send that proof instead — a refund given before the chargeback started is valid evidence; a refund promised after it started is not a refund at all (see the refund rule below).

General — find out what the problem actually is

General fits no other category, so the first step is the whole case: contact the customer and find out the specific problem. Then send: details about the products ordered; fulfillment date and time; customer billing information; IP address and country; emails or other communication with the customer; tracking or shipping confirmations; and proof of prior refunds or replacement shipments. If the customer agrees to cancel, get the withdrawal letter from their bank and submit it as evidence.

7–21 days, and your case date governs

From Shopify Help Center, "Managing chargebacks in the Shopify admin" (checked October 29, 2026): the due date varies from 7 to 21 days after the chargeback or inquiry is filed, shown per case in your store's timezone — 11:59 PM if no time is shown. Shopify publishes no per-network split, so any tool that gives you a single Shopify due date without your case date is inventing one. Plan to the 7-day safe end. After you submit, bank review can take up to 75 days. For the network windows behind Shopify's range, see our Merchant Response Deadline Calculator.

Chargeback: no refund. Inquiry: a full refund can still close it

Shopify's rule, verbatim in substance: you cannot refund a chargeback after the chargeback process has started — the order's payment cannot be refunded through Shopify, and the funds are automatically taken from your account by the bank. If the customer agrees the chargeback was a mistake, only the customer can reverse it, by contacting their bank; you then submit their statement as evidence. The inquiry is different: if the chargeback is only an inquiry and the funds have not been taken yet, a refund is possible but not recommended as a default — and a full refund on an inquiry stops a chargeback from forming, while a partial refund does not. Never promise a customer a refund on an open chargeback; the route is withdrawal, not refund.

Submit now means no more edits — and silence means auto-submission

You can edit your evidence response at any time before the due date, and your progress saves automatically. But after you click Submit now, you cannot make any further edits — and if you do not submit early, Shopify sends your saved evidence on the due date whether it is complete or not. Review the whole pack before either event. Stripe's own support page corroborates the one-shot nature of dispute submissions generally: once evidence is submitted it cannot be resubmitted, and Stripe cannot manually adjust it on your behalf. Shopify's own rule is what governs your case; the Stripe rule is consistent with it.

File constraints, from the same Shopify admin page: only PDF, JPEG, or PNG files; PDFs must be PDF/A-compliant and under 50 pages; no PDF portfolios; each file at most 2 MB and all files combined at most 4 MB; one file per evidence type (combine multiple files of one type into a single image or PDF); no audio, video, links, or requests to call or email. A pack that cannot be uploaded is a pack that was never filed — check sizes before the due date, not on it.

Statuses, and why there is no appeal

Your case moves through open (not yet sent — you can still add evidence), submitted (under review), won, lost, or resolved (automatically resolved through a network dispute resolution program, with the full amount reimbursed). If you win, the disputed amount and the chargeback fee are returned. If you lose, the bank's decision is final: Shopify states there is no appeal process and it cannot overturn the decision. If your store is enrolled in a network dispute resolution program, some disputes resolve automatically with no evidence window at all — that outcome is likewise final. Check the issuer claim on the order page where available: it explains why the buyer opened the case, and it is the best guide to what your next pack should have contained.

Guide questions

Sources (checked October 29, 2026): Shopify Help Center, "Reasons for a chargeback or inquiry" (help.shopify.com/en/manual/payments/chargebacks/chargeback-reasons) — eight reason categories, per-reason evidence lists, accept rules for Duplicate and Subscription canceled, withdrawal-letter process; Shopify Help Center, "Managing chargebacks in the Shopify admin" (help.shopify.com/en/manual/payments/chargebacks/chargebacks-in-admin) — 7–21 day range, store timezone, 11:59 PM default, edit-before-due-date and no-edits-after-Submit-now rules, automatic submission on the due date, file constraints, statuses, no-refund rule with inquiry exception, fee return on a win; Shopify Help Center, "Resolving a chargeback or inquiry" (help.shopify.com/en/manual/payments/chargebacks/resolve-chargeback) — inquiry refund handling, full-vs-partial refund distinction, customer-withdrawal process; Shopify Help Center, "Responding to chargebacks and inquiries" (help.shopify.com/en/manual/payments/chargebacks/chargeback-process) — up to 75 days bank review, final non-appealable decisions; Stripe Support, "Add additional dispute evidence after submission" (support.stripe.com/questions/add-additional-dispute-evidence-after-submission) — corroboration that submitted evidence cannot be resubmitted or manually adjusted.

Last updated October 29, 2026. If Shopify's help pages change, the pages govern — re-check the reason list on your own case before submitting.

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