What is a dispute?
A dispute occurs when a customer contests a payment—typically through their bank or card issuer. Common reasons include:
The item never arrived
A return wasn’t processed
The discount wasn’t applied or pricing was incorrect
The charge is unrecognized or suspected fraud
Note: For Klarna disputes, the enquiry stage lasts for 35 days. During this time, no financial actions are taken, providing an opportunity to resolve the issue before escalation into an open dispute.
Kustoms role during disputes
Kustom helps you stay on top of disputes, regardless of payment method. Since disputes are handled by the relevant payment method, Kustom is not involved in dispute decisions.
Instead, Kustom helps facilitate the dispute process by providing:
A centralized view of disputes across payment methods
Visibility into dispute statuses, timelines, and outcomes
Tools to track warnings, enquiries, and disputes as they move forward
A structured way to keep all dispute-related information in one place
Some providers start issues as warnings or enquiries (for example, Klarna returns), which may escalate into formal disputes if they aren’t resolved. Others may open disputes directly. Kustom helps you track these differences so nothing slips through the cracks.
Managing disputes in the Kustom Portal
Managing disputes in the Kustom Portal
Disputes needs to be handled in the Kustom Portal. To find disputes in the Kustom Portal follow the steps below:
Open the Kustom Portal and navigate to the Disputes section in the menu on the left hand side.
Ensure the correct store ID (MID) is selected, particularly if managing multiple stores.
Under the tab Response required you will find all disputes requiring action.
To find a specific dispute you can search for it using order-ID, merchant reference or dispute-ID.
Dispute categories
Response required: These are disputes that need your immediate action.
Under review: Disputes where you have already submitted evidence or information to the card issuer. No further action is needed from you, but you can track which cases you have already responded to.
Does not need response: Enquiries that do not require action, however monitoring is needed. Most of these are return-related enquiries. If a refund on the order is required, you can handle the refund directly from the dispute, the order page or by API.
Closed: Disputes that are resolved (won or lost) as well as enquiries that never escalated into a formal dispute.
All: A complete view of all disputes in the Kustom Portal, regardless of status.
You can view and handle all relevant disputes directly in the Kustom Portal—unless the order predates the Klarna upgrade.
Before Kustom upgrade: Disputes are handled in Klarna’s Merchant Portal. A redirect link is shown on the homepage if applicable.
After Kustom upgrade: All disputes are handled directly in the Kustom Portal. Everything is displayed in chronological order, making it easier for you to manage your disputes.
How to view and find both Klarna and Kustom disputes in the Kustom Portal
Filtering the dispute page
Filtering the dispute page
You can refine your view using various views and filter options.
Start with the dispute status in the middle of the page, choose to display Response required, Under review, Does not need response, Closed or All disputes.
Filtering options: Use the dropdown menus to narrow your results:
Stores: Filter by the store where the dispute is located.
Reason: Find specific reasons for the dispute. Reasons stem from Klarna, American Express, Mastercard and Visa.
Status: If you are on the Closed or All view you can filter on status.
Date range: Select a time period to view disputes within that range.
If you're unsure when the dispute was created, leave this unselected to find all disputes.
Search bar: Click the magnifying glass icon to the right to search for disputes using:
Dispute ID
Merchant reference
Order ID
Customer details
These options help you quickly find and manage the disputes that matter most.
Dispute types and statuses
Dispute types and statuses
Kustom uses status labels to indicate the current stage of a dispute. Below are the key statuses and their meanings:
No response required: The formal dispute has not yet been opened, it's a enquiry dispute. At this stage, no action is needed, though it’s advisable to monitor the case in case it escalates.
Response required: The dispute is open and requires action. You must counter the dispute by submitting your evidence. If you don't counter the dispute you will automatically lose the dispute.
Under review: After you respond to an open dispute, it enters a review phase. No further action is needed while the case is being reviewed.
Disputes in the Kustom Portal are grouped into two categories: Enquiries and Chargebacks. The table below outlines what each status means:
Status | Dispute Type | Description | Klarna equivalent |
| All | All disputes, regardless of status ´ | - |
| Enquiry | The issue is open and needs action (not response) from you (the merchant); you the merchant may issue a refund or dispute the claim. If unresolved, it may escalate to a dispute. |
|
| Enquiry | The enquiry is closed. | - |
| Chargeback | The dispute is open and requires action. Evidence must be submitted to avoid automatic loss. |
|
| Chargeback | The dispute is under review; evidence has already been submitted to the issuer. | - |
| Chargeback | The dispute is closed and the merchant lost. | - |
| Chargeback | The dispute is closed and the merchant won. | - |
Note: Enquiries are not formal disputes and won’t incur fees unless escalated into a dispute. Chargebacks are formal disputes with potential financial implications.
Additionally, financial actions such as withdrawing the disputed amount occur only if the enquiry escalates, ensuring merchants have time to resolve issues beforehand.
Set up notification alerts
Set up notification alerts
Stay updated on disputes requiring attention by enabling email notifications.
Locate the order linked to a dispute
Locate the order linked to a dispute
On the dispute page, you’ll find the Order ID associated with the dispute. To view the order details, simply click on the Order ID in the dispute overview — the order window will open on the right-hand side.
This allows you to easily manage both the dispute and the related order from the same page.
Responding to disputes
Responding to disputes
Respond to a dispute
Go to the Dispute page and make sure you are in the Response required tab.
Click on the dispute to open the detailed view.
Here, you can review the dispute and submit your response.
To challenge the dispute, click Counter dispute.
Select the reason you believe you should win the dispute, then click Next.
Upload and enter all relevant supporting evidence. Items marked with Recommended are considered the most effective for the type of dispute.
Once all evidence is provided, review the details and confirm accuracy by selecting the verification checkbox.
The form follows Visa and Mastercard standards and adjusts accordingly.
Once you have submitted a response to a dispute, you can no longer accept it. After responding, the dispute will be under review and resolution process is transferred to the payment provider, who reviews your response before moving forward with any actions related to the dispute.
Please see our full guide on disputes and suggested evidence here.
Managing full and partial refunds in the dispute app
Refunds are blocked on orders with an open dispute requiring response and needs to be handled within the dispute. You have the following options when handling an open dispute that should be refunded:
Accept the dispute – If you agree with the customer.
Challenge the dispute – Provide all requested information and evidence.
Handling Full Refunds: If the disputed amount is correct and should be refunded, accept the dispute. This action automatically refunds the customer.
Handling Partial Refunds: For partial refunds, specify the partial amount in your response and include supporting evidence. Use the counter dispute action to justify the refunded amount. Ensure that both refunded and non-refunded portions are clearly communicated to avoid confusion. For example, if only part of a physical order was returned, provide evidence for the items received and those not returned.
Encouraging Customer Action: To prevent disputes from requiring unnecessary follow-up, ask customers to withdraw the dispute once they are satisfied with their refund. This must be done before the dispute reaches Open status (35 days post-creation).
Dealing with Incorrect Dispute Amounts: If the customer’s claim is incorrect, use the counter dispute action and provide evidence supporting the correct amount and refund only that amount after dispute resolution.
Accepting the dispute
When you accept a dispute, you are agreeing to refund the entire disputed amount to the customer. The refund is automatically processed, and no further manual action is required on your end.
Refunds tied to disputes that you as a merchant accept will not be reflected in the detailed order view, on the order page. Instead, they will be logged and visible in the dispute record. This is helpful for tracking refunds without causing discrepancies in order-related records .
The dispute will be marked as lost within Kustom to reflect that you have accepted it.
Automatic processes for lost disputes
When the dispute is lost the following happens:
Customer refunds: The system automatically refunds the customer the disputed amount. This refund is not visible in the order view and will only be shown as Dispute lost in the order timeline.
Dispute fee: A dispute fee is charged when the dispute is lost.
Key reminders
⚠️ You only get one chance to respond – no follow-ups allowed.
⚠️ Missed the deadline? If a deadline is missed, specific outcomes and protocols are triggered. Automatic refunds are processed for customers, making manual refunds impossible, and the dispute is marked as lost. Merchants also risk additional penalties or dispute fees if no action is taken promptly.
⚠️ All outcomes are final
Important: Kustom does not handle disputes or make any decisions regarding their outcome. The decision is made by the financial institution or platform where the customer submitted the dispute (e.g., their bank, card issuer or Klarna).
Read more here on specific dispute types
Read more here on specific dispute types
Find more information here on specific disputes typer for Klarna, cards and Billie.
How to export (download) a list of disputes
How to export (download) a list of disputes
Follow these steps to export a list of disputes:
Open Kustom Portal and sign in.
Navigate to Disputes in the menu.
Select the filters you would like to use for your exported list of disputes. You can filter by:
Stores: Filter by the store where the dispute is.
Date range (deadline): Select a time period to view disputes within that range.
Status: Filter disputes based on their current status.
Click on Download disputes at the far left, right under the date range filter
Select if you would like to export a CSV or Excel file.
Localized labels
Localized labels
In the Kustom Portal, "Dispute Inquiries" may appear with localized translations:
English (en-GB): Dispute inquiries
German (de-DE): Streitanfragen
Finnish (fi-FI): Kiistakyselyt
Swedish (sv-SE): Tvisteförfrågningar
Norwegian (nb-NO): Tvisteforespørsler
Danish (da-DK): Tvisteforespørgsler
We update this content regularly, minor inaccuracies may occur.