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
Some issues start as warnings or enquiries (for ex. Klarna returns) and may escalate to formal disputes if unresolved.
Managing disputes in the Kustom Portal
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
To find disputes in the Kustom Portal, simply navigate to Disputes in the menu to the left. When you open Disputes, you’ll first see the different dispute categories:
Response required: These are actual 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 disputing. Most of these are return-related enquiries. You can handle the return directly from the dispute, or click the order ID to view the full order page.
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.
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
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.
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.
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.
Please see our full guide on disputes and suggested evidence here.
Your options when handling a dispute:
Accept the dispute – If you agree with the customer.
Challenge the dispute – Provide all requested information and evidence.
Key reminders
⚠️ You only get one chance to respond – no follow-ups allowed.
⚠️ Missed the deadline? The dispute is automatically lost.
⚠️ All outcomes are final – there is no appeal process.
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 or card issuer).
The dispute decision is final and cannot be appealed through Kustom.
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
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.