Chargeback email to customer: templates and what to avoid

When a customer disputes a charge, send them one short, polite email that asks what went wrong and offers to put it right. If they agree, ask them to cancel the dispute with their bank and send you the bank's withdrawal letter; don't refund while the chargeback is open, don't argue, and assume the bank will read everything you write.

Below: what happens to your money in Shopify Payments, six emails for the most common situations, what never to write, and how to submit your evidence. Words in double braces, like {{order_number}}, are blanks: fill each one from the order, never from memory.

How a chargeback works in Shopify Payments

When a customer contacts their bank about a charge, the bank opens either a chargeback or an inquiry. Shopify's help pages describe the difference:

	Chargeback	Inquiry
Your money	The disputed amount and a chargeback fee are withdrawn immediately	Nothing is taken during the investigation
If you win	The amount and the fee are returned	No action needed
If the customer wins	You lose the amount and the fee	It might escalate to a full chargeback
Can you refund?	No, not while it's open	Yes: a full refund ends it

For a chargeback, Shopify notifies you with a deadline, usually 7 to 21 days. The card company's review can take up to 75 days after you submit, and its decision is final: Shopify doesn't decide the outcome and can't overturn it. With Shopify Payments, order information from your admin (products, addresses, IP address, tracking, refunds, earlier orders) is added to your response automatically and submitted on the due date, even if you add nothing.

The fee depends on your country; Shopify lists, for example, $15 USD in the United States, £10 GBP in the United Kingdom and €15 EUR in countries such as Germany and France. You get it back only if you win.

Before you email the customer

Open the order in Orders. The chargeback banner on the order shows the dispute and its due date. Check four things:

1. The reason. Shopify uses these categories: fraudulent, unrecognised, duplicate, subscription cancelled, product not received, product unacceptable, credit not processed, and general. Your email depends on it.
2. The deadline. Everything below has to happen before it.
3. Fulfilment and tracking. Ship date, carrier, tracking number and delivery status.
4. Earlier emails. Did the customer write to you before going to the bank? Shopify says card networks expect customers to contact the merchant first, and that the absence of a support request is evidence too.

Template 1: first contact, any reason

Hi {{first_name}},

We've been told by your bank that you've disputed the charge of {{amount}} on {{charge_date}} for order {{order_number}}. I'm sorry something went wrong, and I'd like to put it right.

Could you tell me what happened? If there's a problem with the order, reply here and I'll sort it out directly.

{{your_name}} {{store_name}}

Keep it this plain. Don't mention fees, deadlines or evidence; the customer doesn't need them, and the bank may read the email.

Template 2: fraudulent or unrecognised charge

Shopify notes that the customer might have forgotten the purchase, or it might have been made by a spouse, friend or family member. An "unrecognised" dispute means the customer doesn't recognise the merchant name or location on their statement. Ask without accusing.

Hi {{first_name}},

Your bank has told us you don't recognise a charge of {{amount}} from {{statement_name}} on {{charge_date}}. That's our store, {{store_name}}. The order was {{order_number}}: {{items}}, sent to {{shipping_city}} on {{ship_date}}.

If that doesn't look familiar, it's worth checking whether someone in your household placed it. If you still don't recognise it, please tell me, and keep the dispute open with your bank.

{{your_name}}

Don't put the full address or card details in the email. If the card really was stolen, the bank is the right place for the dispute.

Template 3: product not received

Hi {{first_name}},

I'm sorry your order {{order_number}} hasn't reached you. Our records show it left us on {{ship_date}} with {{carrier}}, tracking number {{tracking_number}}: {{tracking_link}}. The carrier's latest status is {{tracking_status}}.

{{next_step}}

If that solves it, could you ask your bank to cancel the dispute? I'll explain what we need below.

{{your_name}}

For {{next_step}}, write what you will actually do: open a claim with the carrier, check with neighbours, or send a replacement. A replacement you send is evidence; note it on the order. For the lost-parcel case itself, see lost package email templates.

Template 4: product unacceptable or not as described

Hi {{first_name}},

Thank you for telling us. I'm sorry {{item}} wasn't right. {{problem_in_their_words}} isn't what we want you to receive.

I can {{remedy_from_policy}}. Our {{policy_name}} is here: {{policy_link}}.

Once we've agreed on that, could you ask your bank to cancel the dispute? I'll explain what we need below.

{{your_name}}

Offer only what your returns policy offers, or what you have decided to offer for this order. For damaged or wrong items, see damaged item email templates.

Template 5: the customer agrees to withdraw the dispute

This is the email that matters most, because "I've called my bank" isn't enough. Shopify says a chargeback can stay active after the customer cancels it, because several banks are involved, and a screenshot of a bank statement isn't sufficient. You need an official withdrawal letter.

Hi {{first_name}},

Thank you, that's kind of you. To close the dispute, please ask your bank for a withdrawal letter and send it to me. The letter needs to:

• be on the bank's letterhead
• show the case number
• confirm the original charge date ({{charge_date}}) and amount ({{amount}})
• name our store, {{store_name}}
• confirm the chargeback has been cancelled
• confirm the funds have been re-debited from your account and returned to us

{{refund_line}}

{{your_name}}

If you agreed to refund in exchange, {{refund_line}} is: "As agreed, I'll refund {{refund_amount}} as soon as the bank has closed the dispute. I can't do it before then, because the funds are held by the bank until it's resolved." Shopify's instructions are to wait until the chargeback is resolved, refund the order then, and tell the customer a bank normally takes 5 to 10 business days to process a refund. Banks can take 30 to 90 days to update the chargeback, so keep the customer informed while you wait.

Submit the letter as evidence on the order. If the deadline has already passed, contact Shopify Support with the letter.

Template 6: an inquiry, and you agree with the customer

If it's an inquiry, not a chargeback, no money has been taken yet. Shopify says a full refund ends an inquiry and the cardholder can't then open a chargeback; a partial refund doesn't stop one.

Hi {{first_name}},

You're right about order {{order_number}}, and I'm sorry. I've refunded the full {{refund_amount}} to your {{payment_method}} today. It will show on your statement once your bank has processed it.

{{your_name}}

Then submit evidence of the refund on the inquiry. The same honesty applies to chargebacks: if you did charge the customer twice for the same thing, or after they cancelled a subscription, Shopify says you have to accept the chargeback.

What not to write

Every email you send may end up in front of the bank, and Shopify lists customer emails as evidence. Leave out:

• Threats or blame. No "chargeback fraud", no "we'll report you", no "you're banned". If the customer is angry, see replying to an angry customer.
• Refund promises with a date before the dispute closes. You can't refund an open chargeback in Shopify Payments.
• "Ask your bank to call us." Shopify says the banking system doesn't let merchants contact the customer's bank about a chargeback; you speak to the bank only through your evidence.
• Anything you can't support. A tracking status you haven't checked or a policy you don't have.

And don't take the customer's word that it's closed. Shopify's advice is to always submit evidence, even when the customer says they have cancelled.

Submitting your evidence in Shopify

In Orders, click the disputed order, then Add evidence in the chargeback banner. Add what only you have: emails with the customer, the policy that applies and where they agreed to it, proof of delivery, and the withdrawal letter if you have one. Shopify's rules for files:

• PDF, JPEG or PNG only, each file no larger than 2 MB, all files together no larger than 4 MB
• one file per type of evidence; merge PDFs where needed
• no audio, video or links to outside pages

Put the strongest proof first and label each file clearly. You can click Submit now, but after that you can't edit; otherwise Shopify submits on the due date.

Preventing the next dispute is mostly about answering before the customer goes to the bank. A dispute marked "subscription cancelled" often starts with a cancellation that wasn't confirmed; see subscription cancellation emails.

When AI drafts the chargeback email

A dispute email is the wrong place for a guessed fact: a wrong tracking number or a refund that hasn't happened ends up in front of the bank.

Corresso drafts every reply from documents your store approved, and each fact cites the document it came from. Rules written in code hold a draft that promises a refund without citing a document allowed to offer one, or that contains an order number, tracking number or date the AI wrote itself. With your Shopify store connected, the order sits beside the email and one click fills the order number, tracking number, tracking link and ship date. The chargeback response and any refund stay in your Shopify admin, and a person reads every draft and presses Send. How Corresso works with Shopify.