Proof types

The number the carrier gave your order so it can be followed on its way.

Your payment provider asks for a tracking number by name on disputes about physical goods, and it is the first thing a bank looks for when a customer says an order never arrived.

Proof the order actually arrived, with the date it was delivered.

A tracking number shows an order was sent. This shows it arrived, which is the question a customer is disputing.

When only a tracking link is available and no delivery date, this counts for less.

The email address on the order.

It ties the order to a real person your payment provider can check against their own records, which is why nearly every dispute type asks for it.

The name the customer gave when they ordered.

On a digital order there is nothing to ship, so who the buyer was carries more of the argument.

The address attached to the card used to pay.

When someone says they did not make the purchase, an address that matches their card is one of the plainest answers to that.

Where the order was actually sent.

It shows where the order went, which matters most when it went to the same place the card is registered.

A list of refunds already issued on this order, with dates and amounts.

When the dispute is about a refund the customer says they never got, the record of the refund is the whole answer.

A record that the customer saw and accepted your refund or cancellation policy before they paid.

When a dispute turns on what the customer was told they were agreeing to, this is what answers it.

We do not collect this yet.

What the product listing said the customer was buying.

When a customer says an item was not as described, the listing is the thing being compared against.

A signature captured at delivery.

It is the strongest delivery proof there is, but carriers keep it in their own systems, so we cannot fetch it. Your strength is not lowered when it is missing.

Other orders this same customer has placed with you before.

A pattern of earlier orders from the same customer is one of the arguments card networks list for disputes about unrecognised charges.

If the customer is new, this is simply absent and costs you nothing.

The internet address the order was placed from.

On an order with nothing to ship, where the purchase was made from is one of the few things that ties it to a person.

An address that identifies nobody, such as a private network address, counts for less.

The date the order was sent.

It puts the shipment on a timeline the customer's own claim has to fit.

Your own records showing this customer logged in, downloaded, or used what they bought.

On something delivered online there is no parcel and no signature, so a record of the customer actually using it is the closest thing to proof of delivery.

If you have login, download or usage records for this customer, you can add them yourself on the dispute. Until you do, it is not held against you.

The other payment the customer believes is a copy of this one.

A duplicate dispute is a claim that two charges are the same purchase, so naming the other charge is what makes the comparison possible.

A short explanation of why the two payments are separate purchases rather than one charged twice.

Naming the other charge shows the two exist. This is the part that says they are not the same order.

A place for anything that does not fit the categories above. It never counts against you when it is empty.