When a chargeback arrives, a short cover letter helps the card issuer follow your evidence. This guide gives you a letter template to adapt and lists the evidence the Shopify Help Center recommends for each dispute type. This is a starting point, not legal advice. Check the rules where you sell. No template decides the outcome of a dispute.
How the response works on Shopify
According to the Shopify Help Center, the customer's bank or card company decides the outcome, and Shopify is not involved in that decision. For Shopify Payments, order information from your admin is added to your response automatically, and you can then enter additional information and upload evidence files. For the full process, see how to respond to a chargeback on Shopify.
- Deadline: Shopify says you usually have 7 to 21 days to build your response
- Auto-submit: The response is sent on the due date even if you add nothing
- Submitting early: Once you submit early, you can't edit your evidence
- Files: Only PDF, JPEG or PNG, up to 2 MB per file and 4 MB combined
- Not accepted: Audio or video files, links to external resources, or requests to call or email for more information
The letter template
Keep the letter to one page and stick to facts you can prove with an attached document. Keep the tone neutral: the reader is a reviewer at the card issuer, not your customer.
- Heading: Response to chargeback, order [order number], [dispute reason], [amount], [transaction date]
- Opening: [store name] is disputing this chargeback. The cardholder, [customer name], placed order [order number] on [date] for [items] totaling [amount].
- What happened: The order was [shipped / delivered / made available] on [date] to [shipping address], which [matches the billing address / was the address entered at checkout]. [Carrier] tracking number [tracking number] shows delivery on [date].
- Why the dispute should be reversed: The cardholder claims [reason given]. Our records show [the single strongest fact, for example delivery was confirmed to the verified address on the date above].
- Customer contact: [Summary of any contact with the customer before the dispute, with dates, or a statement that there was none.] Our [return / shipping / cancelation] policy was shown at checkout and is attached.
- Evidence list: Attached: [document one], [document two], [document three].
- Closing: Based on this evidence, we ask that the chargeback be reversed. [your name], [role], [store name]
Evidence to attach by dispute type
Shopify's guidance recommends different evidence for each reason. Attach only what applies to the reason on your dispute. The most common types are below.
| Dispute type | Evidence Shopify recommends |
|---|---|
| Fraudulent | AVS and CVV results, device and IP data, 3D Secure records, order history, delivery confirmation to the verified address, customer communications acknowledging the order |
| Product not received | Tracking information, delivery confirmation, shipping address verification, carrier notifications |
| Product unacceptable | Product listing at time of purchase, order and fulfillment records, pre-shipment photos, customer communications, return policy |
| Credit not processed | Refund transaction record, refund policy, customer communications, return tracking |
| Subscription canceled | Subscription agreement, cancelation policy, cancelation records, billing notifications, customer communications |
Put the strongest evidence first
Shopify recommends leading with your strongest evidence, such as delivery confirmation or refund records, followed by customer acknowledgments, policies and supporting context. Shopify also says to submit only one file for each type of evidence, so combine related pages into one document.
- ✅ One fact per sentence, each backed by an attachment
- ✅ Dates, amounts and tracking numbers that match the order exactly
- ❌ Opinions about the customer
- ❌ Evidence for a different dispute reason than the one filed
When not to fight it
Some disputes are valid. If the order was never shipped, the refund was owed, or you have no proof of delivery, a letter will not change the facts. Shopify states that the decision is final and there is no appeal, so put your time into the disputes where your records are clear. See also winning an item-not-received chargeback.
Doing this at scale
RiskClarity reviews each paid order, explains the risk in plain English with the fraud signals behind it, and recommends allow, verify or hold. You decide with one click, and every decision is logged in an audit log you can export for chargeback disputes. See RiskClarity.