Holiday order chargebacks: a January checklist

Why the disputes arrive late

Card networks give cardholders a window to dispute a charge that runs long after the purchase; the exact window depends on the network and the reason, so treat any figure you read as a rule of thumb. In practice, a parcel ordered in late November is delivered in December, the statement arrives in January, and the dispute follows.

Shopify gives you a due date for evidence, usually 7 to 21 days after the dispute opens, and sends the basic order details itself on that date. What only you can add is the part to prepare now.

Before they arrive: what to keep in December

• Delivery proof for every high value order: the delivered scan, and the delivery photo or signature if the carrier offers one.
• Customer messages: an email that says the parcel arrived, a chat about sizing, a request to change the address. Keep the date and the sender.
• A copy of your shipping and returns policies as they read during the sale. If you change them in January, the December version is the one that applied.
• The product page as it was at purchase, especially for items that changed price, bundle or description in a sale.
• A note of any order where the customer asked to change the shipping address after checkout, with the message that asked for it.

Gift orders: when billing and shipping do not match

Many honest December orders ship to a different address from the card's billing address. On a fraud or unrecognized dispute, that mismatch is what the bank will look at first.

• Show that the customer has ordered before, and where those earlier orders went.
• Show the address check (AVS) and security code (CVV) results Shopify recorded for the payment.
• Show any message in which the customer mentions the recipient, the gift or the delivery address.
• If the customer picked gift wrapping or a gift note at checkout, say so: it explains the second address.

Late deliveries in peak season

• Find the delivered event in the carrier's tracking, with its date and time. A parcel that arrived late still arrived.
• If the parcel was delayed, keep the carrier's notice and any message you sent the customer about the delay.
• If the customer agreed to wait, keep that message. If they asked for a refund and you refused, keep that too, with the policy that applied.
• If the parcel never arrived, say so and show what you did: a carrier claim, a replacement, a refund.

One page per reason

Each dispute reason asks a different question. Keep this list by the inbox in January:

• Product not received: tracking with a delivered event, the delivery address, earlier orders from the same customer, your shipping policy.
• Fraudulent or unrecognized: AVS and CVV results, earlier paid orders to the same address, device or IP consistency where Shopify shows it, any customer message.
• Not as described: the product page at purchase, photos, your returns policy and the customer's messages.
• Credit not processed: the refund you issued with its date, or the policy that explains why you did not.

What a January routine looks like

RebutCase keeps your listings and policies from the day you install, lists each dispute with its due date, and checks the order's records for the gaps above. This is general guidance, not legal advice.

• Open the dispute in Shopify as soon as the email arrives and note the due date.
• Read what Shopify has already filled in, then add the pieces above that are missing.
• Write a short response: one claim per sentence, each pointing to a document.
• Submit early if everything is there; after an early submit nothing can be added.