When you file a chargeback, your bank's reviewer doesn't watch a courtroom drama — they read a file. Usually a thin one, on a tight schedule, with the merchant's side arriving separately. What that reviewer looks for changes how you build your case: it turns "collect everything" into "prove three specific things."
Pick what your dispute is about and get a prioritized evidence checklist — what each document is and how to get it.
A chargeback review is closer to paperwork triage than to a trial. The reviewer typically has many files, limited minutes per file, and one practical question: does this documentation support the dispute reason the cardholder filed under? They are not detectives — they generally don't call the merchant's warehouse or subpoena tracking logs. They decide on paper.
Two more things shape the decision. First, the merchant usually gets a turn: after your issuer files the chargeback, the merchant can submit their own evidence in response, and the reviewer compares both sides. Your evidence needs to survive a counter-story, not just state yours. Second, the reviewer applies the card network's rules for the reason code — time limits and required attempts to resolve with the merchant. A sympathetic file can still lose if a rule blocks it, which is why checking your filing deadline matters as much as your documents.
The single most useful idea in dispute evidence is the matching principle: every document in your file should answer the specific question your dispute reason raises. Before attaching anything, check which of these three questions it answers:
A document that answers none of these — an unrelated invoice, a long complaint about customer service — adds pages without adding weight. Reviewers under time pressure often skim; a short file where every page earns its place is generally easier to decide in your favor than a thick one they have to mine.
Different reasons raise different questions, so the must-have documents differ. The shape of a strong file for each common reason:
For a tailored version of these lists, use the evidence checklist builder.
A short cover letter — half a page to a page — gives the reviewer a map of your file. A structure that tends to work:
Our dispute letter generator produces exactly this shape. Keep the letter factual and calm: reviewers decide on documents, and a measured tone generally reads more credibly than an angry one.
Keep your full evidence file — receipts, screenshots, correspondence, the dispute letter, and the bank's decision — for at least 13 months from the transaction date, and treat 18 months as the safer habit for non-receipt cases. The reason: some dispute windows stretch far longer than people expect. Under Visa's goods-not-received rules, for example, issuers may file up to 120 days from the date you expected delivery, capped at 540 days from the original transaction. If a case reopens months later, the documents you threw away are the ones you'll need.
Practical tips: save emails as PDFs rather than relying on inbox search; screenshot tracking pages before carrier records age out; and store everything in one folder named for the dispute.
Answer one question and get your prioritized, printable evidence checklist — must-have vs nice-to-have, with "how to get it" for each item.
What generally matters is coverage: one document proving the purchase, one proving what was promised, and one proving what actually happened. A small, on-point file usually beats a thick, unfocused one.
Typically yes — the merchant gets to respond with their own evidence (often called representment), and the reviewer compares both sides. This is why your evidence needs to stand up against a counter-story, not just state your side.
Usually, yes — order confirmations, chat threads, tracking pages, and listing pages are routinely submitted as screenshots. Unedited, complete captures with dates visible are generally the most credible.
A practical rule of thumb is at least 13 months from the transaction date — and up to 18 months for non-receipt cases, since some dispute windows can stretch to 540 days. Keep everything while a case is open, and a while after it closes.
Filing with only their own statement and no documents. A dispute file that says "the item never arrived" with no tracking record, no receipt, and no merchant correspondence asks the reviewer to take everything on trust — and reviewers generally decide on paper, not on trust.
