What is a dispute?
A dispute occurs when a customer contests a payment — typically through their bank, card issuer, or directly through a payment provider like Klarna.
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
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). Kustom's role is to provide a centralized place to track, manage, and respond to disputes across all payment methods.
Dispute types and statuses
Disputes in the Kustom Portal are grouped into two categories: Enquiries and Chargebacks. Enquiries are early-stage issues that have not yet become formal disputes and won't incur fees unless they escalate. Chargebacks are formal disputes with potential financial implications.
The table below describes the different statuses and if it's an enquiry or a chargeback.
Status | Type | Description | Klarna equivalent |
| Enquiry | Issue is open and may need action from you (e.g. processing a refund or contacting the customer). If unresolved, it may escalate to a formal dispute. |
|
| Enquiry | The enquiry is closed. | - |
| Chargeback | The dispute is open and requires action. Evidence must be submitted to avoid automatic loss. |
|
| Chargeback | Evidence has been submitted and the dispute is under review. No further action needed. | - |
| Chargeback | The dispute is closed and the merchant lost. | - |
| Chargeback | The dispute is closed and the merchant won. | - |
How Klarna disputes work
Klarna disputes follow the same general process as other payment methods, but with one key difference: they begin with a 35-day enquiry phase before becoming a formal dispute. This gives you time to resolve the issue — for example by processing a return or contacting the customer — before it escalates.
When a customer disputes a Klarna order, the case enters Does not need response status. No immediate action is required from you at this stage.
Day 0–35 (enquiry period): Resolve the issue before it becomes a formal dispute. For return-related cases, the 35-day window starts when the customer uploads tracking evidence, not when they first report the issue.
After day 35 (dispute period): The case escalates to
Response required. You will have 12 days to submit evidence. Adjustment options are no longer available at this stage.
Exception: Fraudulent transactions are immediately escalated to chargeback disputes, bypassing the enquiry phase entirely.
Common example: unregistered returns
Many of the disputes fall under this category:
A customer initiates a dispute (also called enquiry) because their return hasn’t been registered
If you as a merchant register the return before the 35-day deadline, the case closes automatically.
If you register the return after the case has escalated to "Open", the dispute is marked as lost and a dispute fee is charged.
This is due to that the shopper (your customer) was correct in their claim: the return was not registered at the time the dispute was reviewed.
Navigating the dispute page
Use the status tabs at the top of the Disputes page to switch between views: Response required, Under review, Does not need response, Closed, or All.
You can narrow results using the following filters:
Stores — filter by the store where the dispute is located
Reason — filter by reason code from Klarna, American Express, Mastercard, or Visa
Status — available on the Closed or All tabs
Date range — leave unselected to see all disputes
Use the search bar to find a specific dispute by Dispute ID, Merchant reference, Order ID, or customer details. To view the order linked to a dispute, click the Order ID directly in the dispute overview — the order details will open on the right-hand side.
To export your dispute list, click Download disputes at the far left below the date range filter and select CSV or Excel. To receive email alerts for new disputes, enable notifications in your notification settings.
Key reminders
⚠️ You only get one chance to respond — no follow-ups are allowed once evidence has been submitted.
⚠️ Missed the deadline? The dispute is automatically marked as lost, manual refunds are no longer possible, and a dispute fee may apply.
⚠️ All outcomes are final.
Recent improvements
Recent improvements
The following improvements have been made to dispute handling in the Kustom Portal:
Extended Klarna enquiry period — as of August 8, 2025, extended from 21 to 35 days
New dispute tabs with preselected filters and dispute counters
Filter and view by deadline — prioritize the most urgent cases
Customer information visible directly in the dispute view
Order details link — click an Order ID to jump to the original order
Merchant reference 1 and 2 now searchable
Network reason code added for deeper insight into dispute reasons
Tracking information visible on return-related Klarna disputes
Filter and search by dispute reason
User assignment — assign specific team members to disputes
Search by dispute creation date and amount
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
Read more on specific dispute types
We update this content regularly — minor inaccuracies may occur.