When you open a dispute, you don't pick a code from a menu: you describe what happened, and your issuer files the chargeback under the matching reason code from the network's list. But your description drives everything downstream — the code determines what evidence the network requires, what the merchant must produce to fight back, and which deadlines apply. Describing the wrong problem ("fraud" for a household purchase, "cancelled" for a subscription you never cancelled) puts your claim in a family whose evidence you cannot produce. This map shows where honest descriptions land. If you received a code on a denial letter and want it decoded instead, use the Reason Code Decoder.
| Your situation | Visa | Mastercard | Amex |
|---|---|---|---|
| A charge you don't recognize at all — someone else used your card (online) | 10.4 — Other Fraud, Card-Absent | 4837 — No Cardholder Authorization (or 4863 — Cardholder Does Not Recognize) | F24 — No Cardmember Authorization |
| You paid. It never arrived / was never provided | 13.1 — Merchandise/Services Not Received | 4853 — Cardholder Dispute (not provided) | C08 — Goods/Services Not Received |
| It arrived, but it's wrong, damaged or defective | 13.3 — Not as Described or Defective | 4853 — Cardholder Dispute | C31 — Not as Described / C32 — Damaged or Defective |
| It's a counterfeit / fake | 13.4 — Counterfeit Merchandise | 4853 — Cardholder Dispute | C31 — Not as Described |
| You cancelled the subscription; they kept charging | 13.2 — Cancelled Recurring | 4841 — Cancelled Recurring (also 4853) | C28 — Cancelled Recurring Billing |
| You cancelled the order inside their policy; charged anyway | 13.7 — Cancelled Merchandise/Services | 4853 — Cardholder Dispute | C05 — Cancelled |
| They promised a refund (or you returned it) — the credit never posted | 13.6 — Credit Not Processed | 4860 — Credit Not Processed | C02 — Credit Not Processed |
| The listing itself lied to get the sale (misrepresentation) | 13.5 — Misrepresentation | 4853 — Cardholder Dispute | Describe the facts — issuer selects |
| Wrong amount charged | 12.5 — Incorrect Amount | 4831 — Transaction Amount Differs | Processing-error category — issuer selects |
| Same charge posted twice | 12.6 — Duplicate Processing | 4834 — Duplicate Processing | Processing-error category — issuer selects |
Not sure which row you're in? The Case Checker walks your answers to the same families and tells you honestly how strong the case is inside them.
Reserved for charges you did not authorize in any way. The moment you recognize the charge — a merchant you know, a household member, a subscription you forgot — it stops being fraud-family, however much you regret it. Filing recognized charges here is the fastest route to a denial.
The merchant must produce delivery or service proof; if they can't, this is among the strongest families. Marketplaces add a wrinkle: run the platform case first, because platforms hold seller leverage (escrow, seller funds) your bank doesn't.
An evidence contest between the listing and the item. Side-by-side photos decide most of these. Continued use after complaining is the classic self-inflicted wound in this family.
Two different families that people constantly merge: 13.2 is a recurring charge after cancellation; 13.7 is a one-time order cancelled inside the merchant's own policy. Both live or die on the dated cancellation proof.
The merchant already agreed the money comes back. Unusually, you don't have to argue about the product at all — just the missing credit, after the promised date (plus normal processing time) has passed.
Wrong amount or duplicate posting. The statement is the evidence; dispute only the difference on a wrong-amount charge, and make sure a "duplicate" isn't just a pending hold that will fall off.
Each family has its own proof logic in the network rulebooks. A 13.1 claim with photos of the (empty) doorstep but no order confirmation gets sent back for documents; a 13.6 claim without the merchant's written refund promise is just an assertion. When you file, the issuer's checklist is generated from the code — which means the time to learn your family's evidence list is before you file, not when the document deadline letter arrives. Our Evidence Checklist Builder generates the list per family.
Formally your issuer assigns it from your description — which makes your description the real choice. State the facts plainly and completely; the families above tell you what your facts will be coded as, and therefore what evidence to attach.
Tell the issuer the full facts and let them select the best-fitting family — a fake is both 13.3 and 13.4 territory. One charge gets one dispute; you cannot file the same charge twice under two codes.
No, on any network. Buyer's remorse is not a billing error, fraud, or merchant failure. Use the return policy or ask for a goodwill refund instead.
Sources (verified October 21, 2026): Visa Core Rules — Dispute Categories 10, 12 and 13 (10.4; 12.5, 12.6; 13.1–13.7); Mastercard Chargeback Guide — reason codes 4831, 4834, 4837, 4841, 4853, 4860, 4863; American Express dispute reason codes F24, C02, C05, C08, C28, C31, C32. Code assignments are made by your issuer under the current network rules; categories and numbering can change.
