What is a dispute?
A dispute occurs when a customer contests a payment, typically through their bank, card issuer or a payment provider such as Klarna or Billie.
Common reasons include:
Goods not received
The item never arrived.
Return not processed
The customer returned an item but the refund was not issued.
Incorrect amount
A discount was not applied or the invoice does not match the order.
Unrecognized or fraudulent charge
The customer does not recognize the charge or reports it as 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, for example 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.
Enquiries and chargebacks
Disputes in the Kustom Portal fall into two categories.
Enquiries
Early stage issues that have not yet become formal disputes. Enquiries will not incur a fee unless they escalate.
Chargebacks
Formal disputes with potential financial implications. Evidence must be submitted to avoid an automatic loss.
How long you have to resolve an enquiry before it escalates, and how long you have to submit evidence once it becomes a chargeback, depends on the payment method. See the payment method articles at the bottom of this page for exact timelines.
Dispute statuses
Status | Type | Description |
| Enquiry | The issue is open and may need action from you, for example 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 is needed. |
| Chargeback | The dispute is closed and the merchant lost. |
| Chargeback | The dispute is closed and the merchant won. |
Finding a dispute in the Kustom Portal
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 you manage multiple stores.
Use the Response required tab to see disputes that need action, or switch to Under review, Does not need response, Closed or All.
Search for a specific dispute using the order ID, merchant reference or dispute ID.
Open disputes are also shown on the Portal homepage. Clicking a dispute card takes you straight to the Disputes page. To receive email alerts for new disputes, enable notifications in your notification settings.
Responding to a dispute
Accept the dispute
Accepting a dispute means you agree with the customer's claim. The customer is refunded the full disputed amount and the case closes.
Challenge the dispute
Click Counter dispute on the dispute's detail page.
Select the reason you believe you should win the dispute, then click Next.
Upload the relevant supporting evidence. Items marked Recommended are the most effective for that dispute type.
Review your response and confirm accuracy using the verification checkbox before submitting.
Once you submit a response you can no longer accept the dispute. The case moves to Under review and the resolution process transfers to the payment provider, who reviews your response before making a final decision.
Managing refunds inside a dispute
Refunds are blocked on orders with an open dispute in Response required status and must be handled from within the dispute itself.
Full refund
If the full disputed amount is owed, accept the dispute. This automatically refunds the customer.
Partial refund
Specify the correct amount in your response and include supporting evidence, for example proof that only part of an order was returned.
Encouraging withdrawal
If a customer is satisfied after a refund, ask them to withdraw the dispute before it escalates. This must happen before the dispute reaches its escalation deadline.
Dispute outcomes
Won
The payment provider ruled in your favor. You will see a reversal correction on your next payout.
Partially won
The payment provider determined the customer was entitled to a partial refund. The exact amount appears in the dispute timeline.
Accepted
You accepted the dispute and the customer was refunded the full disputed amount.
Lost
The payment provider ruled in the customer's favor and the customer was refunded the full disputed amount.
Evidence guidelines that apply to every dispute
Disputes are reviewed strictly and methodically. The outcome is rarely influenced by explanation or context alone. It is based on whether the evidence submitted clearly proves what happened.
Strong evidence connects the customer, the purchase and what happened next. To be accepted it generally needs to include specific and verifiable details such as the customer name, order reference, dates, delivery address, tracking information and proof that the goods or service were provided as described. If even one of these links is missing or unclear, the dispute is typically lost by default, even when the merchant is in the right.
⚠️ Evidence can only be submitted once per dispute. After it is uploaded you cannot submit additional information or respond again.
The exact evidence expected and the accepted file formats differ by payment method. See the payment method articles below for the categories that apply to your case.
Dispute fees
No fee while a dispute is open
You are not charged upfront when a dispute opens.
Fee charged only if you lose
A dispute fee applies when a dispute closes and is marked as lost.
No fee if you win
If you win a dispute, no fee is charged at any point.
The fee amount depends on the buyer's country and the payment method involved. See the relevant payment method article below for exact figures.
For disputes opened before 12:48 CET on December 2, 2025, a different fee structure applied where the fee was charged upfront when the dispute opened and reimbursed if you won. Disputes opened from that date onward follow the structure described above.
Key reminders
⚠️ You only get one chance to respond. No further responses are allowed once evidence has been submitted.
⚠️ Missed the deadline? The dispute is automatically marked as lost.
⚠️ All outcomes are final.
Payment method specific disputes
Each payment method has its own timelines, evidence requirements and fee schedule.
Klarna disputes
Card disputes
Billie disputes
We update this content regularly. Minor inaccuracies may occur.