The Ultimate Chargeback Rebuttal Template (And Guide)

As someone who overly prepares for everything related to chargebacks, rebuttal letters have often crossed my mind. That led me to look into writing the best letter.

And I’ll share what I learned.

This guide covers what these letters are and how to write them. You'll get a template and tips to help you win your dispute.

Let's start with the basics.

Key Takeaways

• These letters show why an order was legitimate.
• Include case details, company info, evidence, and next steps.
• This letter is one part of your complete response.
• Send this letter and your evidence to your bank.
• Keep the letter to 2 pages or less.

Want to stop chargebacks before they start? Our alerts can help lower your rates. Learn how.

What Are Chargeback Rebuttal Letters?

A chargeback rebuttal letter is a merchant's formal response to dispute a customer's chargeback claim. It outlines why the transaction was legitimate, backed by evidence like receipts or shipping confirmations.

This letter introduces your complete response package. It gives an overview of all your evidence.

Why do I need to write this letter?

Think of the issuer like a judge in a court case.

You need to convince them that you’re innocent. In this case, “innocence” would mean that the transaction was legitimate.

Think of the bank as a judge. You need to prove you're right — that the sale was real. The letter explains your case simply and clearly. It shows why the customer's claim isn't true.

It's also like a cover letter for a job. Just as an applicant explains why they fit the job, your letter introduces your evidence. We’ll also compare a resume to a representment package with this point. 

Hopefully this will give you a good starting point to writing the letter.

Why is it needed, though?

Summary: A response to a chargeback that introduces the seller’s evidence.

Why Do I Need a Chargeback Rebuttal Letter?

A chargeback rebuttal letter is essential to recover funds from disputed transactions. It helps merchants present evidence, defend against invalid claims, and avoid additional fees. Without it, sellers risk losing both money and shipped products.

With that in mind, let’s dive into the letter’s components.

What Should a Chargeback Rebuttal Letter Include?

A dispute rebuttal letter should include the following:

• Identifying information: Details about your business and case.
• Dispute information: Specifics about the dispute.
• Business overview: Describe the transaction.
• Evidence highlights: Briefly present evidence.
• Call to action: Tell the issuer you want them to reverse the chargeback.

You know how I mentioned that the letter should be concise?

We’ll need to know how to balance this. Give the issuer the evidence you need while not wasting their time.

Everything I’ll mention throughout the following sections will help you with this. I won’t provide in-depth examples since this is just what it should include.

Let’s begin with the first point.

1. Identifying Information

The bank needs to match your response to the right dispute.

That means you’ll need identifying information like:

• Your merchant account number
• Business name
• Bank reference number (ARN)
• Dispute ID
• 23-digit case number

Now, we’ll get into the meat and potatoes of this letter.

2. Information Specific to the Dispute

This includes details that’ll help connect the letter to the dispute such as:

• Customer name
• Order amount
• Chargeback reason code
• Short product description

Wait, what’s a chargeback reason code?

It's a code banks use to show why the customer disputed the charge. Keep this information in mind later in this guide.

Read this guide to learn more about reason codes.

Onto the next part.

3.Business Overview

Briefly describe the transaction to give the issuer context. Describe the goods sold and how you sold them (e.g., online), 

Here’s the bulk of your letter.

4. Evidence Highlights

Summarize the evidence you’ll provide in the representment package.

If you don’t know what evidence to submit, that’ll vary by reason code. Check out the earlier guide to find suggested evidence for each code.

Otherwise, in general, you’ll need the following evidence:

• Order details (receipt, contract, order form)
• Customer service records
• Security checks (CVV, AVS, 3D Secure)
• IP address
• Delivery proof or usage logs

Let’s finish this off.

5. Call to Action

Tell the bank what you want — to reverse the chargeback. That’s obvious, but you should make this clear.

Great. Now let’s get into writing the letter.

How Do You Write a Rebuttal Letter for a Chargeback?

Before diving into writing the letter, we’ll need to keep 3 things in mind:

• Templetize: Reduces errors and makes future letters quicker.
• Professionalism prevails: Remain calm and present your information without being emotional.
• Formatting is king: Certain elements will make it easier to write.
• Edit: Ensure the document doesn’t have severe grammatical/spelling errors.

We’ll return to the point about creating templates.

Professionalism is key. You’ll lose the issuer’s support if you criticize them.

Formatting is using copywriting — or any writing — to draw the issuers’ eyes to certain points.

For example, I often:

• Bold short sentences
• Write paragraphs of different lengths
• Use bulleted lists for multiple points

Avoid using single-word or single-sentence paragraphs as I do. It may irritate the issuer.

Your goal with this formatting is to ensure they don’t miss your points. If they skim over any important details, it could hurt your case in a chargeback.

Use bolded text to draw the reader’s eyes like this. But don’t bold entire sentences or paragraphs.

Italicize words for emphasis. You might need this for your letters.

Keep paragraphs under 4 visual lines. Long paragraphs risk losing the reader.

Let’s check a paragraph above to see how many visual lines it takes:

I wrote numbers on the left side of each sentence to show how many visual lines long it is.

These are the basics of formatting. Anything else may be overkill.

Check your letters for typos, run-ons, and grammar mistakes. I keep sentences under 14 words to avoid run-ons. It also makes them easier to read.

You don’t need a professional editor for this.

Use tools like Grammarly to proofread your writing. Even the free version works.

If English isn’t your first language, try using a tool like ChatGPT to review your text.

Ask it to “rewrite this as if a native English speaker wrote it.”

Don’t skip this step.

If the issuer sees grammar mistakes, they may think you’re not serious. If you couldn’t spend 5 minutes on Grammarly, they might question your commitment.

Let’s get into the actual letter’s contents.

1. Provide Your Contact Information

Start with a professional letterhead. You probably have a template saved. If not, create one now to save time later.

Include:

• Business name
• Dispute ID
• Merchant ID
• ARN

Make this information easy to read. I recommend dividing it into columns.

You’re making the most of your page space while making the information easy to digest.

You need to include this information. If they can’t reach you, how will they know who you are?

Now, choose a salutation.

If you have a contact person in mind, write something like “Dear Theo.”

Otherwise, I’d stick to “To Whom it May Concern.”

Ensure you uppercase every word in this sentence since you’re replacing the person’s name.

Let’s get into the meat of the writing.

2. Cardholder’s Claim

Include these details:

• Introduction to the letter
• Chargeback case number
• Order amount
• Chargeback reason code and title

You’re refreshing the issuer’s memory of the chargeback in question. 

Here’s an example of what I’d write:

I am writing regarding the chargeback claim filed against our company for the amount of $88.88 on September 15, 2024. This dispute was filed under reason code 10.4: Other Fraud – Card-Absent Environment (Visa).

Now, follow this up with your case and evidence.

3. Case & Evidence

Explain why the order is valid. Then, summarize the evidence you’ll submit.

Don’t give too many details. Let the evidence speak for itself.

Here’s what I’d write:

The transaction in question was for the book "Theo's Guide to Fighting Chargebacks" purchased by John Smith.

Our investigation has uncovered substantial evidence confirming the legitimacy of this transaction:

• The customer has a verified purchase history with our company, having successfully completed 3 previous transactions using the same payment method over the past 6 months.
• Our multi-factor authentication system verified the customer's identity through both email confirmation (john.smith@email.com) and a one-time security code sent to their phone (ending in 5678) at the time of purchase.
• The digital product was downloaded and accessed multiple times from the same device between September 15 – 18, 2024, indicating active usage of the purchased content.
• Our customer support logs show the buyer engaged with our chatbot on September 16, 2024, asking about a specific chapter in the book, demonstrating their possession and use of the product.
• The customer's digital receipt was opened from the same IP address (192.168.1.1) as used for the purchase, and the confirmation email was never reported as unauthorized.

These facts demonstrate that this was a valid purchase made by an authenticated customer who actively used the product after delivery. The chargeback claim appears to be without merit, contradicting the customer's own actions.

This is a lot of information, but the bold text and short sentences help.

We’re at the last part of the letter.

4. Desired Outcome

Let them know you want a reversal for the chargeback. That’s a given, but you need to make your intentions known.

Something like the following would do:

Based on this compelling evidence, we request that you reverse this chargeback. We have clearly fulfilled our obligations as the merchant and provided a legitimate product that the customer accessed and utilized.

We appreciate your attention to this matter and look forward to a favorable resolution.

Before you finish things up, I recommend that you take a look at the tips I’ll provide later.

Trust me, they’ll help.

Once your letter is ready, submit it with your representment package to your acquirer. Unless they request more details, they’ll pass it to the issuer.

The issuer will review the information and decide whether to reverse the chargeback.

You have everything to write a rebuttal letter. Let’s see what that would look like as a template.

Chargeback Rebuttal Templates

Here’s an example of a dispute response template I’d use:

I am writing regarding the chargeback claim filed against our company for the amount of $[AMOUNT] on [DATE]. This dispute was filed under reason code [CODE]: [REASON_TITLE].
The transaction in question was for [brief description of product/service] purchased by [CARDHOLDER NAME].

We believe this chargeback claim is invalid for the following reasons:

• Evidence Point 1
• Evidence Point 2
• Evidence Point 3
• Evidence Point 4

Based on the evidence provided above, we request that you reverse this chargeback. The transaction was legitimate, and we have fulfilled our obligations as the merchant.

We appreciate your prompt attention to this matter and look forward to a resolution.
Sincerely,

[YOUR NAME]

[COMPANY NAME]

Once it’s ready, throw it on a letterhead:

You could end things off with a company name or contact information. I’d go with the latter since you wrote your name in the beginning.

You don’t need a letterhead, but it can come off as more professional in some circumstances.

If you’re using a platform like Stripe, you’ll typically write a short summary using the above information and won’t need to submit a formal letter like this.

Here’s what this template would look like in action:
To Whom It May Concern:

I am writing regarding the chargeback claim filed against our company for the amount of $88.88 on September 15, 2024. This dispute was filed under reason code 10.4: Other Fraud – Card-Absent Environment (Visa).

The transaction in question was for the book "Theo's Guide to Fighting Chargebacks" purchased by John Smith.

We believe this chargeback claim is invalid for the following reasons:

• The customer successfully completed our secure checkout process, entering the CVV code and billing address which matched our Address Verification System (AVS)
• Our records show the digital download was successfully delivered to the customer's email address (john.smith@email.com) on September 15, 2024, at 2:34 PM EST
• The IP address used for the purchase (192.168.1.1) matches the general location of the customer's billing address
• We have a clear record of the customer accepting our terms of service, which outlined the digital nature of the product and our no-refund policy for digital goods
• There were no customer service inquiries or complaints from this customer prior to the chargeback filing

Based on the evidence provided above, we kindly request that you reverse this chargeback. The transaction was legitimate, and we have fulfilled our obligations as the merchant by delivering the digital product as described.

We appreciate your prompt attention to this matter and look forward to a favorable resolution.

Sincerely,

Theodore Sterling

contact@blank.com

The bolding makes this easier to read, doesn’t it?

You probably noticed the letter and template are short and to the point. No text blocks. No overexplaining.

I can’t promise this template will guarantee a win. But it should perform better than vague responses.

Your chances of winning a chargeback are around 30%, on average. This rate fluctuates based on various factors.

Read this for more information.

I keep talking about evidence. But what do I mean?

Wait, What’s Compelling Evidence?

Compelling evidence in a chargeback rebuttal is proof that directly disputes the customer's claim. This can include delivery confirmation, customer communication acknowledging the purchase, or proof that the product or service matched the description.

The goal is to show the payment processor the chargeback isn’t justified.

I covered this earlier. It will depend on the chargeback reason code.

Let’s finish off this guide with tips to optimize your letter.

Tips for Writing Rebuttal Letters

Here are tips for writing chargeback rebuttal letters:

• Submit the letter on time
• Adjust the template to match the chargeback reason code
• Keep the letter to 2 pages max (1 page is ideal)
• Consider using chargeback management services
• Learn the chargeback process
• Review your letter
• Get a second opinion

What do I mean by submitting the letter “on time?”

Each card network has different time limits for chargebacks. You must submit the rebuttal letter and representment package within this time frame. Otherwise, you’ll lose the dispute by default.

Issuers handle many cases and won’t give you extra time to submit your letter.

Next…

Even if you use a template, don’t send the same letter every time. Customize each letter based on the case, using the template as a guide.

If you run a large business and deal with many chargebacks, consider outsourcing the representment process. Handling it yourself wastes time and resources that could be used for growth.

You could go with a chargeback agent. They’ll deal with these letters on your behalf and help you find ways to prevent chargebacks based on data. They’re pricey, though. And you’ll need to deal with the process of hiring them.

Alternatively, you could use a freelancer.

Then, there are chargeback management platforms (e.g., Chargeflow). These deal with the chargeback process and submit representment packages on your behalf. Though, a lot of the time, they use AI.

They usually charge 20 – 30% of the funds they recover for you and claim an 80% win rate.

Take these claims with caution, as they often allegedly come from limited case studies.

With that out of the way, what should you learn about the process?

The chargeback process differs by network. But understanding the general process is important. It helps you know why you’re writing the letter and what to expect.

We have a thorough guide here.

Double-check your letter for accuracy and correct any spelling or grammar issues. If needed, get a second opinion.

Hopefully you have all you need to know about writing rebuttal letters. Good luck.

Conclusion

Chargeback rebuttal letters don’t take much time once you know what to write. If you handle many of them, consider outsourcing or finding ways to prevent chargebacks.

Using chargeback alerts is one of the best prevention methods. However, it can be time-consuming to coordinate with multiple alert providers.

We offer a solution that includes every chargeback alert and makes tracking your dispute sources easy. Give it a try and see how we can help.