Present Evidence to a Bank Reviewer: AU Shopify Guide

You have the evidence. The tracking says delivered, the customer emailed twice, the policy is clear. And you can still lose, because the person on the other end never saw it the way you did. A bank reviewer reads your file cold, with no knowledge of your shop, your customer or the story in your head. How you present evidence to a bank reviewer decides whether strong records read as strong.

To present evidence to a bank reviewer, lead with the single strongest record for the disputed claim, label every exhibit, link each one to the specific disputed payment and say plainly what it shows and what it does not. Keep the note short, factual and calm, and send it well before the due date. Formatting does not guarantee a win, but a confusing file makes a good case harder to see.

This guide is for you if:

You sell on Shopify in Australia and have lost a dispute you thought you should have won.
You have good records but are not sure how to arrange them for a bank reviewer who has never heard of your shop.
You want a repeatable structure, wording and checklist that works across every dispute reason.

Last updated: 19 October 2026. Written by the ChargeFix team. Reviewed against sources on 19 October 2026. General information, not legal advice.

The 30-second answer (TL;DR)

A bank reviewer wants to know one thing: does your evidence answer the specific claim the cardholder made? Connect every exhibit to that claim.

Lead with the strongest direct record, then customer acknowledgment, then policy documents, then context. Label each piece.

Write a cover note of about a page: summary, labelled exhibits, what the evidence shows and what it does not. No accusations, no capitals, no padding.

Explain mismatches before the bank reviewer finds them, such as a gift sent to a different address.

Submit days early. On Shopify Payments the fee in Australia is A$25 and whatever is on file goes on the due date.

Do this today (10 minutes):

Open your last lost dispute and read your own response as if you had never heard of your shop.

Write one sentence on what the cardholder claimed, and underline which exhibit answers it.

Note anything a stranger would not understand, such as an unexplained screenshot or an unlabelled file.

Ten minutes of cold reading shows you what a bank reviewer would struggle with.

From dispute to decision

Stage	What happens	Your move
Notice	You read the claim and the due date	Write the claim in one sentence
Gathering	You collect records	Link each to the disputed payment
Structuring	You build the cover note and exhibits	Lead with the strongest, label everything
Reading	You read the file cold	Fix gaps and confusion
Submitting	You send it early	Save the confirmation
Decision	The issuer reviews under the network rules	Keep the file and record the outcome

Who actually reads your evidence, and what do they want?

A bank reviewer is someone at the cardholder's bank, the issuer, who decides whether your response answers the cardholder's claim under the rules of the card network. They are not your customer, your processor or Shopify. They know nothing about your shop beyond what you send.

A trade source I used lays out the roles clearly. The merchant investigates the complaint and supplies records. The processor or acquirer communicates requirements and handles the response route. The issuer reviews the response under the applicable rules. The card network sets the rules and may decide cases that reach a supported escalation stage. In Shopify's case, Shopify Payments passes your evidence on, and Shopify uploads a PDF of the fulfilment events for you in a product-not-received dispute.

What does the bank reviewer want? The same source puts it simply: evidence must connect to the specific disputed fact. Different records answer different questions. Delivery records address fulfilment, authentication information may support a fraud defence, and cancellation or refund records address billing questions. A record that is true but answers a different question does not help.

I need to be straight about two things I do not know. I could not find a verified figure for how long a bank reviewer spends on a case, and the source says there is no universal issuer-review duration. So when I say "write for a skim", that is my judgement about how any busy reader behaves, not a measured fact. And I could not verify how any one Australian bank structures its review.

What I can say with confidence is what makes a file easier to judge: a clear claim, a clear answer and a clear route from one to the other.

What questions is a bank reviewer trying to answer?

Six, in roughly this order. Build your file so each has an obvious answer.

The bank reviewer asks	Your file should answer with
What exactly is the cardholder claiming?	A one-line restatement at the top
Is there a real transaction behind this?	The order, the payment and the billing details
Was the claim's core fact true or false?	Your strongest direct record
Do the records belong to this payment?	Order numbers, dates and amounts on every exhibit
Is anything inconsistent?	An upfront explanation of any mismatch
What are the limits of your proof?	A frank "what this does not show" line

Notice that none of these is "is the merchant nice?" or "is the file pretty?". The bank reviewer is checking whether a claim holds, not scoring effort. A short file that answers all six beats a long one that answers two.

The trade source adds a caution worth keeping in mind: neither formatting nor a complete order record guarantees a favourable decision. Consistent documentation can help explain a defence, but it is not a guarantee. So present your evidence as well as you can, and do not expect presentation to rescue a weak case.

How should you structure the file for a bank reviewer?

One cover note on top, then labelled exhibits in order of strength. The cover note tells the story in a page, and the exhibits prove it. A bank reviewer who reads only the cover note should understand the case, and one who opens the exhibits should find what the note says.

Here is the structure:

Heading line. Order number, amount, reason.
Summary. Two or three sentences: what happened and where the proof is.
Exhibit list. Numbered, each with a label and a date.
What this shows. One paragraph tying the exhibits to the claim.
What this does not show. One honest line.
Context. Anything the bank reviewer needs to avoid a wrong assumption, such as a gift, a rush order or a reship.

Shopify's help centre ranks evidence in four tiers, and the order is a good guide for your exhibits:

Tier	Type	Examples
1	Direct evidence	Signed delivery, delivered scan to the right address, refund records
2	Customer acknowledgment	Email or chat saying it arrived, or asking how to use it
3	Policy documents	Returns policy, delivery policy, terms the customer saw
4	Context	Order records, billing and IP matches, verification results

Lead with tier one. If you have a customer's own words acknowledging receipt, that may be your best exhibit of all, so put it near the top. Shopify also says to label each piece and to send screenshots of tracking and communications rather than links.

What does a good cover note look like?

It reads like a short, calm briefing. Here is a template you can adapt. Fill every bracket with a real fact, and delete lines you cannot support.

Re: Order #[number], A$[amount], reason: [reason]

The cardholder claims: [one sentence].

Summary: [Two or three sentences: what happened, with dates, and where
the proof is.]

Exhibit 1: [Strongest direct record], [date], showing [what it shows].
Exhibit 2: [Customer acknowledgment, if any], [date].
Exhibit 3: [Policy or listing the customer saw], screenshot dated [date].
Exhibit 4: [Order and billing record], showing [match].
Exhibit 5: [Anything else relevant].

What this shows: [One short paragraph linking the exhibits to the claim.]

What this does not show: [One honest line, for example that the
delivery record does not name the person who accepted the parcel.]

Context: [Anything that would otherwise raise a question.]

Three habits make it read well. First, use the order number and the amount on the cover note and in every exhibit filename, so each record is tied to the payment. Second, keep dates in one format. Third, put the answer first: do not start with the history of your shop.

Stripe's guidance, as I read it, is to keep evidence factual, professional and concise. That is a fair brief for the whole note.

How should you label and name the exhibits?

Name each file so a stranger can tell what it is without opening it. Shopify says to label each piece of evidence, and a consistent naming rule does that for you.

Bad file name	Good file name
Screenshot 2026-11-16 at 14.05.png	4812_Ex1_delivered-scan_2026-11-12.pdf
IMG_3321.jpg	4812_Ex4_door-photo_2026-11-12.pdf
email.pdf	4812_Ex2_customer-email_2026-11-14.pdf
policy.png	4812_Ex3_returns-policy-at-checkout_2026-10-02.pdf

The pattern is order number, exhibit number, what it is and the date. It also keeps exhibits in order when a system sorts them alphabetically.

Pay Advantage advises sending evidence as PDFs, and Shopify's help centre does not state file limits, so I cannot give you a size to aim for. Check the upload screen. For tracking and conversations, take screenshots on the day, not links, because links can expire or change. Crop out unrelated personal information, and keep a copy of everything you send.

One more tip: if an exhibit has more than one page, mention the page that matters in the cover note, for example "Exhibit 3, page 2, shows the delivered scan". A bank reviewer should never have to hunt.

How should you word things for a bank reviewer?

Plainly, factually and without heat. Write what happened, in dates, and let the exhibits do the arguing. A bank reviewer reads accusations, capital letters and long complaints as noise, and they cost you credibility on the facts that are true.

Instead of	Write
"This customer is clearly lying and trying to steal from us."	"The tracking shows delivery on 12 November at 11:20 to the address on the order."
"WE HAVE PROOF IT WAS DELIVERED!!!"	"Exhibit 1 shows the delivered scan on 12 November."
"As you can see, the customer is a fraudster."	"The customer wrote on 14 November to say the parcel had arrived (Exhibit 2)."
"We are a small family business and this loss hurts."	(Leave it out. It does not answer the claim.)
"Please see attached."	"Exhibit 3 is the returns policy shown at checkout on 2 October."
"The tracking is wrong."	"The tracking history has a gap between 9 and 11 November. We have included the carrier's later scan."

Three rules of thumb. Describe, do not judge. Quote the customer's words with the date, not your summary of their mood. And keep the register of a competent, slightly dull clerk, because dull and accurate wins.

If the customer has been rude, leave it out unless it bears on the claim. If they have acknowledged receipt in a rude message, quote the sentence that matters and nothing else.

How do you explain a mismatch before the bank reviewer finds it?

Say it first, in one sentence, with the evidence, before the bank reviewer asks. A mismatch you explain looks like a normal fact. A mismatch you do not explain looks like something you hoped nobody would notice.

Mismatch	How to explain it
Billing and shipping addresses differ	"This was a gift. The gift note is Exhibit 2."
Billing name differs from the account name	"The order was placed by [name] using their partner's card, as the buyer's message at Exhibit 3 confirms."
IP country differs from billing country	"The customer was travelling. They emailed from [location] on [date] (Exhibit 4)." Only if true
Delivered after the promised date	"The parcel was delivered on [date], [n] days after the date shown at checkout. We offered [remedy]."
No signature	"The customer chose the safe-place option at checkout (Exhibit 5)."
Tracking gap	"The carrier's history has no scan between [dates]. The later scan is Exhibit 1."

The trade source I used makes the same point about what a bank reviewer needs in its own words: mismatches need explanation, a gift can have different billing and shipping addresses, and a matching device does not prove who used it. It also advises linking each record to the disputed payment and describing its limits.

Never invent an explanation to fill a gap. If you do not know why two records differ, say so: "We do not have a record explaining the difference." That sentence is a fact, and a bank reviewer can accept it.

What should your first exhibit be for each dispute reason?

Lead with the record that answers the claim, because the bank reviewer reads the top first. Shopify's help centre lists evidence for each of its eight reasons, and the first exhibit should be the strongest of them.

Reason	First exhibit	Then
Fraudulent	Authentication result or prior clean orders, if you have them	Billing, IP and country, fulfilment time, delivery
Unrecognized	Order confirmation email and billing match	Prior orders, IP, fulfilment, delivery
Duplicate	The two orders and why both exist	Separate receipts, communications
Subscription canceled	Cancellation policy and the customer's activity log	Cancellation emails, proof the customer was told
Product not received	Delivered scan to the right address, or the activity log for digital goods	Billing, fulfilment, tracking, communications
Product unacceptable	The listing and product description as shown, with pictures	Fulfilment, billing, tracking, customer messages
Credit not processed	Refund and returns policy and proof the customer was told	Emails, why they were not entitled
General	Product details and what was delivered	Fulfilment, billing, IP, communications, prior refunds or replacements

Shopify's page says for product not received that it uploads a PDF of fulfilment events, so your own first exhibit should add what that PDF does not, such as the full tracking history screenshot or a customer message. And for general disputes, which Stripe says are uncategorised and fairly rare for card disputes, contact the customer if you can and build the file around whatever the bank's text actually says.

ChargeFix has separate guides on responding to each reason, linked below, with the evidence lists in more detail.

What does a before-and-after file look like?

Here is a made-up product-not-received dispute for an A$220 order, shown first as a weak file and then as a strong one. The facts are identical. Only the presentation changes.

The weak file. One PDF with six unlabelled screenshots, a tracking link, a 700-word message beginning "This customer has been difficult since the start" and no reference to the claim. The bank reviewer cannot tell which screenshot matters, cannot click the link into a page that now says "tracking not found" and has to read the whole message to learn the parcel was delivered.

The strong file. A one-page cover note and four labelled exhibits.

	Weak file	Strong file
Opening	History of the customer	"The cardholder claims the parcel was not received. It was delivered on 12 November at 11:20 to the address on the order."
Delivery proof	A link to a tracking page	Exhibit 1, screenshot of the full history, taken the same day, delivered scan highlighted
Address	Not stated	Exhibit 2 shows the order address beside the scan address, matching
Promise	Not stated	The delivery date promised at checkout (Exhibit 3) and the date delivered, one day inside the window
Customer contact	Quoted selectively	Exhibit 4, the customer's email of 14 November asking how to use the item
Limits	Silent	"The scan does not name who accepted the parcel. The safe-place option was chosen at checkout."
Length	Long	One page plus exhibits

Both files describe a parcel that arrived, and both go to the same bank reviewer. A bank reviewer can verify the strong one in a minute, and would have to work for the weak one. I cannot give you a win rate for either, because I could not find a published one I could verify, but I can say which file is easier to believe.

How do you read your own file the way a bank reviewer will?

Do a cold read, as the bank reviewer would, after at least a night away from it. Open the file as if you had never seen the shop, and tick through ten questions.

COLD-READ CHECKLIST

[ ] The claim is restated in one sentence at the top
[ ] The first exhibit answers that claim directly
[ ] Every exhibit has a label, a date and the order number
[ ] Every statement in the note is backed by an exhibit
[ ] Dates agree everywhere (order, dispatch, delivery, messages)
[ ] Amounts agree everywhere
[ ] Mismatches are explained before they are noticed
[ ] There is a "what this does not show" line
[ ] No accusations, capitals or padding
[ ] I could explain the whole case aloud in 60 seconds

The last item is the best test. If you cannot explain it in a minute, the bank reviewer will not be able to either. Cut until you can.

A second test: hand the file to someone who does not work with you, and ask them to say in their own words what the cardholder claimed and what you answered. Where they hesitate, rewrite.

Shopify's guide mentions that customers are expected to contact the merchant first. If yours did not, say so and include whatever shows it, because it is a fact a bank reviewer can weigh.

What goes wrong when evidence is presented badly?

Usually not a dramatic mistake, just friction for the bank reviewer. The trade source I used draws a useful distinction: a missed deadline or an upload failure is different from a decision on the merits. Both end in a loss, but only one is about your evidence.

Failure	What it looks like	Fix
Missed deadline	Nothing on file when the date arrives	Submit days early
Upload failure	A file did not attach	Check the confirmation; save it
Wrong evidence for the claim	Delivery proof for a fraud claim	Match exhibit to reason
Unlabelled exhibits	The bank reviewer cannot tell what is what	Name every file
Contradictions	The note says delivered on the 12th, the exhibit says the 14th	Check dates and amounts
Wall of text	The key fact is buried	Lead with the answer
Claims with no exhibit	"The customer received it" with nothing behind it	Back every claim
Links	A page that now says "not found"	Use screenshots

The article adds that a lost or rejected response does not guarantee another chance to submit evidence, which is one more reason to get it right the first time. And Pay Advantage warns that missing a deadline almost always means an automatic loss.

I could not verify whether Shopify lets you edit evidence after you submit it, as its help page does not say. Treat your submission as final, and keep a copy.

What does the timeline look like, day by day?

Here is a plan for a notice that arrives on Wednesday 11 November 2026 with a due date of Wednesday 25 November 2026. Your own dates will be on the notice. The plan builds in a cold read, because a night's sleep finds more mistakes than another hour of staring.

Date	Task	Output
Wed 11 Nov	Read the notice. Write the claim in one sentence. Log the due date.	Claim stated
Thu 12 Nov	Pull every record linked to the order and the payment.	Raw exhibits
Fri 13 Nov	Choose the strongest first exhibit. Outline the cover note.	Outline
Mon 16 Nov	Draft the cover note. Name and label the files.	Draft v1
Tue 17 Nov	Build the exhibits as PDFs or clear screenshots.	Exhibits ready
Wed 18 Nov	Cold read with the checklist. Hand it to a second person if you can.	Notes
Thu 19 Nov	Fix gaps and contradictions.	File v2
Fri 20 Nov	Submit, five days early. Save the confirmation.	Submitted
After	Keep the file until the dispute closes. Record the outcome.	Record kept

Shopify's help centre says the response window is usually 7 to 21 days and the card company's review can take up to 75 days after you submit. Shopify Payments submits a response on the due date even if you have added nothing, so Friday's submission protects you from a Wednesday surprise.

What should you do after the bank reviewer decides?

Record what the bank reviewer decided and learn from it, even when you do not get a reason. Win or lose, Shopify's help centre says a win returns the amount and the fee, and a loss keeps both gone. Winning does not remove the dispute from your chargeback rate, and a loss counts toward your chargeback rate too, so a file that wins also protects the account. Keep an eye on your chargeback rate monthly, because a clear file helps only the disputes you contest, and the chargeback rate is the number processors watch. If your chargeback rate creeps up, tighten the presentation first.

The trade source suggests a careful habit when an issuer gives no rationale: record the outcome as an "internal assessment" rather than assuming the issuer ignored your evidence. That keeps you honest. If you lose and have no reason, do not tell yourself the bank reviewer was careless. Look at your own file, as you would a stranger's.

Question after a decision	What to record
Won or lost?	The outcome and the date
Which exhibit was first?	So you can see what leads and wins
Was anything unclear or missing?	A note for the next file
Did the claim and the evidence match?	A match or mismatch flag
Was the fee returned?	Yes or no

After ten or twenty disputes, this log tells you more about your shop than any guide can. It shows what each bank reviewer rewarded, which first exhibits win, which reasons you lose and where your presentation slips.

What is different for Australian merchants?

General information, not legal advice.

Fees and process

On Shopify Payments in Australia the chargeback fee is A$25, returned if you win. The response window is usually 7 to 21 days and the card company's review can take up to 75 days after you submit. Stripe lists A$25 for a dispute received and A$25 more if you counter, on its own accounts, for disputes since 17 June 2025.

Banks and rules

Pay Advantage says chargebacks in Australia are governed by the ePayments Code, administered by ASIC, and apply to most Australian banks and to Visa, Mastercard and American Express. It advises tailoring evidence to the reason, sending PDFs, making sure the cardholder name matches the invoice name, keeping records for 12 to 18 months and verifying suspicious orders manually.

Time limits

State consumer bodies commonly cite chargeback time limits of 45 to 120 days depending on the card provider. I carried that range from earlier research and could not re-open the Consumer Affairs Victoria page. The ACCC notes that credit card providers may reverse a charge if goods are not received, and that time limits may apply.

What I could not verify: how long an issuer's reviewer spends on a file, any Australian bank's internal review process, whether Shopify allows edits after submission, file size limits, and a published win rate for any style of presentation.

What are the common mistakes when presenting evidence to a bank reviewer?

Most are about clarity, not content.

Writing for yourself, not for a stranger.
Starting with the history of the customer instead of the claim.
Burying the strongest exhibit on page four.
Sending links instead of screenshots.
Unlabelled files with names like "IMG_3321".
A note that states things no exhibit supports.
Accusations, capital letters and emotional appeals.
Not explaining a mismatch the bank reviewer will notice.
Submitting on the due date and discovering a problem too late.
Assuming a won or lost case says anything about your presentation, when the bank gave no reason.

If you fix the first and the third, your files will already read better than most.

Frequently asked questions

How do I present evidence to a bank reviewer?

Lead with the single strongest record for the disputed claim, label every exhibit, link each to the disputed payment and write a short factual cover note. Say what the evidence shows and what it does not. Keep it calm, concise and free of accusations.

What does a bank reviewer look for?

They check whether your evidence answers the specific claim the cardholder made. A trade source says evidence must connect to the specific disputed fact, with each record linked to the payment and its limits stated. Consistent documentation helps explain a defence but is not a guarantee.

How long should my response be?

About a page for the cover note, plus labelled exhibits. If you cannot explain the case aloud in a minute, cut it down. Shopify does not state file limits on its help page, so check the upload screen for any size limits.

What order should I put the evidence in?

Follow Shopify's tiers: direct evidence first, such as signed delivery or refund records, then customer acknowledgment, then policy documents, then context such as order records and verification results. Label each piece, and lead with the one that answers the claim.

Should I send links or screenshots?

Screenshots. Shopify advises sending screenshots of tracking and communications rather than links to external sites, because links can expire, change or fail to load. Take the screenshot on the day the record appears, name it clearly, and mention the page that matters in your cover note.

How do I explain a mismatch, such as different billing and shipping addresses?

Explain it first, in one sentence, with the evidence, for example "This was a gift. The gift note is Exhibit 2." A mismatch you explain looks normal. Never invent an explanation. If you do not know why two records differ, say so plainly.

Should I mention that the customer is dishonest?

No. Describe what happened and quote what the customer said, with dates. Accusations cost you credibility on the facts that are true. Let the exhibits make the argument to the bank reviewer, and keep the tone of a competent, calm clerk.

Can I add evidence after I submit?

I could not verify that. Shopify's help page does not say whether evidence can be edited after submission, and a trade source says a rejected response does not guarantee another chance. Treat your submission as final, submit early and keep a copy.

What happens if I miss the deadline?

Pay Advantage says missing a deadline almost always means an automatic loss, and Shopify Payments submits whatever is on file on the due date even if you added nothing. Finish days early so a last-minute problem does not decide the case.

Why did I lose when my evidence was good?

A loss can reflect a missed deadline, an upload problem, a mismatch between the claim and your evidence, or a decision on the merits that the bank does not explain. Record it as an internal assessment, compare your file with the checklist and look for what a stranger would struggle with.

Start free trial with ChargeFix

ChargeFix gathers the real order, payment-check and delivery records for a Shopify dispute and drafts the response, using only real data and never inventing facts. In Manual mode you review and send each filing yourself, and Auto mode files the cases your rules allow, so the file a bank reviewer sees is labelled, ordered and finished days before the due date. Start free trial

How to present evidence to a bank reviewer: a guide for Australian Shopify stores