What a chargeback is
A chargeback is the after-the-fact reversal of a credit card payment. The cardholder initiates it through their own card-issuing bank, and the merchant does not have to agree. The bank reclaims the money from the acquirer (the merchant’s bank), for example because goods were never delivered, the payment was made without authorisation, or the item delivered differed significantly from its description.
The process follows the rules of the card networks (Visa, Mastercard) and runs on fixed deadlines and dispute reason codes. The deadline depends on the dispute reason and the issuing bank, so it cannot be pinned down to a single number of days in general terms. A chargeback is possible even if the merchant refuses a refund.
A chargeback does not cancel the purchase contract. If the goods do arrive after the money has been reversed, the obligation to pay remains, and the merchant may reclaim the amount. Anyone who initiated a reversal and then receives a delivery should tell the bank of their own accord.
How a chargeback proceeds
Banks expect you to have tried to resolve the problem with the merchant first. With a reachable merchant the complaint belongs there first, and if you are only dissatisfied with the goods, the right of withdrawal is the route to use. With a shop that falls silent after payment this intermediate step falls away. In that case, record with dates that you tried and when. A case usually runs in four stages.
Documents for the bank
Your bank almost always wants to see the same documents: a copy of the order with date and amount, the payment confirmation or the account statement showing the disputed entry, evidence that the goods never arrived, and documentation of your attempts to make contact. Screenshots are worth more than memories: a fake shop is often already offline by the time the dispute is processed. The product page with its delivery promise then exists only in your screenshot.
Deadlines and objections
The deadlines are tied to the transaction or to the agreed delivery date. The day you notice the fraud plays no part in them. Anyone who waits for months because the shop keeps offering excuses loses the window in which a chargeback would still have been possible. Set a firm grace period once the promised delivery date has passed and file the dispute afterwards.
If the merchant objects, the case enters a second round. They may present proof of dispatch. In fraud cases that proof often belongs to a different, very light parcel sent to the same address to feign a delivery. Tell the bank that the weight or contents do not match the order. The bank hears both sides, so a clean account from the outset counts.
Other payment methods
Not every card is a credit card. Debit card payments technically often run over the same card networks and then have similar dispute routes; a classic German Girocard payment barely exists in online retail. The card network logo on the card is what counts. Your bank can tell you which dispute option applies to your product.
A card chargeback must be distinguished from the SEPA direct debit. If you authorised a direct debit, the SEPA rules for core direct debits let you have it returned within eight weeks of the debit without giving reasons; for a direct debit you never authorised, that period is considerably longer. Both are separate procedures with their own rules and run independently of a chargeback in card business.
With a classic bank transfer (advance payment) there is no chargeback procedure. Once the money is credited to the recipient it is essentially gone. That is why fake shops prefer advance payment over card payment: with a card payment they bear the risk of a reversal, with a transfer they do not. Anyone paying an unfamiliar shop by card keeps the reversal route. A transfer does not have one.