Respond to disputes
You can counter wrongful chargeback disputes in the Stripe Dashboard or with the API. You must submit evidence to counter chargeback disputes.
Dispute types
Almost all disputes begin as inquiry disputes, except for fraudulent transaction disputes, which escalate immediately to chargeback disputes. You must contact your customer directly and attempt to resolve the inquiry dispute within 21 days. During this period, you can’t submit evidence to Klarna in the Stripe Dashboard or with the API. You can close the inquiry, accepting the customer’s dispute, by issuing a refund equal to the amount the customer is disputing. Confirm this amount is correct with the customer before issuing the refund. You aren’t charged a dispute fee for transactions refunded during the inquiry stage.
If you fail to resolve the dispute within this 21 day time frame, the inquiry dispute automatically becomes a chargeback dispute. Stripe withholds the disputed funds and the associated dispute fee from your account for chargeback disputes.
For chargeback disputes, you can counter the dispute by submitting one single round of evidence in the Stripe Dashboard or with the API. You have 12 days to submit this evidence from the creation date of the chargeback dispute. If you counter the dispute, Klarna evaluates your evidence and decides the final outcome. If you win the dispute, Stripe releases the withheld funds to your account. If you lose the dispute, Stripe debits the withheld funds, including the dispute fee. Klarna then returns the disputed amount to the customer.
Funds flow
You resolve the inquiry dispute without chargeback escalation
Stripe doesn’t withhold funds for resolved inquiry disputes, and we don’t apply any dispute fees.
You win the chargeback dispute after escalation:
When a chargeback dispute is created, Stripe withholds the disputed funds, including the dispute fee, until Klarna informs us about the dispute outcome. If you win the dispute, we immediately release the funds to your account, and don’t charge a dispute fee.
You lose the chargeback dispute after escalation:
When a chargeback dispute is created, Stripe withholds the funds, including the dispute fee, until Klarna informs us about the dispute outcome. If you lose the dispute, we release the funds to Klarna and charge the dispute fee.
Email-based disputes versus Dashboard and API disputes
Prior to November 15 2023, Stripe only supported disputes for Klarna through emails directly from Klarna to you. Now, Klarna disputes are managed in the Stripe Dashboard and with the API. This table highlights key differences between the old email-based disputes process and the new Dashboard and API process:
Email disputes | Dashboard and API disputes |
---|---|
You don’t receive notifications from Klarna and Stripe for inquiry disputes. | Stripe notifies you in the Dashboard, API, and by email when an inquiry is opened. |
You can submit multiple rounds of evidence for a chargeback dispute. | You can only submit a single round of structured evidence for a chargeback dispute. |
You have 14 days to submit counter evidence from the creation date of the chargeback dispute. | You have 12 days to submit counter evidence from the creation date of the chargeback dispute. |
Dispute lifecycle management must be built by you on top of the emails you receive from Klarna. | You can manage the entire dispute life cycle and track the status in a single place using the Dashboard or API. |
Stripe doesn’t withhold funds when Klarna creates a chargeback dispute. | Stripe withholds the disputed funds when Klarna creates a chargeback dispute. |
When an inquiry dispute starts off as an email dispute, it persists as an email dispute, even after onboarding to use the Dashboard or API for new disputes. If you lose an email dispute, it displays as lost in the Dashboard, you receive a webhook, and Stripe applies the dispute fee.
Evidence submission
To submit evidence against a chargeback dispute, use either the Dashboard or API:
Submit evidence
- Navigate to the Disputes Dashboard, and click the Needs Response tab.
- Click the disputed payment. If you want to counter the dispute, click Counter dispute.
- Select the reason why you should win the dispute, and click Next.
- Enter and attach all the applicable supporting evidence. The
recommended
label indicates the best documents for the type of dispute. - After entering all the evidence, verify the information is correct by selecting the checkbox.
- Click Submit Evidence.
For additional guidance on how to submit evidence, see Responding to disputes.
If you fail to submit evidence, Klarna will rule the dispute in favor of the customer.
Guidelines
Follow these guidelines to submit the most relevant evidence for both Dashboard and API disputes.
Stripe dispute reason | Guidelines |
---|---|
Product not received |
|
Credit not processed |
|
Fraudulent |
|
General |
|
Create test disputes
You can simulate dispute creation in test mode by creating a transaction in test mode using the following email addresses and phone numbers in the given Klarna checkout region. A dispute automatically opens on the transaction. You can submit evidence on the dispute, but you can’t simulate the final dispute outcome in test mode.
Below, we have specially selected test data for the currently supported customer countries.