CHARGEBACK GUIDES

Credit not processed chargeback: how to respond on Shopify

By ChargeFix team · Updated 3 October 2026

Most chargebacks arrive out of nowhere. A credit not processed chargeback usually does not, because you can normally trace it back to a refund conversation that went quiet, a return that sat in a cupboard, or a refund you did send that the customer never spotted.

A credit not processed chargeback is a dispute in which the customer tells their bank they were owed a refund or credit and never got it. On Shopify, the strongest response is the refund record itself: the date, the amount, the method and the order it belongs to. If no refund was ever sent, the question becomes whether the customer was actually entitled to one, and in the UK the law on cancellations and returns decides a good deal of that.

Last updated: 3 October 2026. Written by the ChargeFix team.

The 30-second answer (TL;DR)

  • Shopify defines a credit not processed chargeback as a customer who says the product was returned or the transaction was cancelled, but no refund or credit was given.
  • The card network codes behind it are Visa 13.6 (credit not processed) and 13.7 (cancelled merchandise or services), according to Stripe's published reason code documentation.
  • Shopify's evidence list for this reason is different from the others. It asks for refund and return policies, when the policy was disclosed, refund related emails, and the reasons the customer was not entitled to a refund.
  • If you already refunded, your response is a proof of refund. If you did not, your response is a proof of entitlement, and the two are completely different documents.
  • Do not refund the customer separately once the chargeback is open. Shopify says a chargeback cannot be refunded through Shopify once it has started, and a second payment can leave you out of pocket twice.
  • Under the Consumer Contracts Regulations 2013 (regulation 34), you generally have 14 days to reimburse after being told of a cancellation, or after you get the goods back or evidence of return, whichever is earlier. This is general information, not legal advice.
  • Most credit not processed disputes are cheap to prevent: refund quickly, tell the customer when to expect the money, and keep the record.

What does your evidence need to prove? (our ranking)

Situation What you must show How defensible
You refunded before the dispute Refund date, amount and method Strong, if the amount matches
You refunded part and kept some, with notice The policy, the deduction and its reason Moderate to strong
Customer returned goods, you never got them Tracking or its absence, your policy Moderate
You owed a refund and did not send it Nothing useful Refund and fix the process
You refunded after the chargeback opened The refund, but a double loss risk Pause and check

Table of contents

What is a credit not processed chargeback?

A credit not processed chargeback is a dispute filed because the cardholder says they should have received a refund or credit and did not. The bank takes the disputed amount back while it reviews the claim. On Shopify Payments in the UK, the debit includes a £10 fee, and both return only if you win.

Shopify's own definition is a customer saying the product was returned or the transaction was cancelled, but no refund or credit was given. The timeline is the same as for any dispute. You have between 7 and 21 days to respond depending on the case, and the bank may take up to 75 days to review. Our post on how long a Shopify chargeback takes lays out the stages.

What sets this reason apart is that the customer's story is often partly true. Many other disputes ask whether a payment was authorised or whether goods arrived. This one asks whether you did something you said you would do. If you promised a refund and did not send it, you have no defence worth building. If you did send it, the dispute is a misunderstanding that a clear record can end.

The same dispute is filed in several forms:

  • "I returned the item and you never refunded me."
  • "I cancelled the order and was still charged."
  • "You told me a refund was coming and it never arrived."
  • "I got a partial refund but I was owed the full amount."

Each needs a slightly different answer, and the sections below take them in turn.

Which card network codes sit under it?

Based on Stripe's reason code documentation, which describes the card network rules that sit behind Shopify Payments, two Visa codes map here:

Network Code Network's name for it
Visa 13.6 Credit not processed
Visa 13.7 Cancelled merchandise or services

Stripe's descriptions are useful. For 13.6, it describes a cardholder who says they were due a refund or credit that was not issued or processed correctly, which it says typically happens when a business agrees to a refund but does not complete it, or when a return or cancellation is processed but the credit does not appear on the statement within a reasonable time. For 13.7, it describes a cardholder who says they cancelled but were still charged, including a subscription that was not properly cancelled.

We did not find a Shopify page that lists each code behind each reason, and other networks have their own equivalents. Treat the table as the network categories as Stripe documents them, not an official Shopify list.

Why do credit not processed disputes happen?

It helps to know the usual causes, because most of them are fixable in your process and not just in your response.

The refund was sent but the customer did not see it. Card refunds can take time to appear, and a customer who checks their statement after three days may conclude nothing happened. We did not find a Shopify figure we could verify for how long a refund takes to show, and banks vary, so we do not quote one. What matters is that you tell the customer when to expect it and give them the refund details.

The refund was never sent. An email got lost, a return arrived and sat unprocessed, or a partial refund was issued and the rest was forgotten. This is the case where you have nothing to argue.

The refund was sent to a different payment method. If the original card has been replaced or cancelled, the credit may go to the old card or be returned to you. The customer says they got nothing, and in a sense they are right.

The customer returned the goods and you never got them. They believe the refund is automatic on posting. You believe it follows receipt. Without a clear policy, both views sound reasonable.

The refund was smaller than expected. You deducted postage, a restocking charge or a loss in value, and the customer did not realise.

The customer cancelled but the order shipped, or the charge repeated. This overlaps with subscription disputes, which we cover in a separate post.

Notice how many of these come down to communication. The money is often not the problem. The silence is.

What does Shopify's evidence list say for this reason?

Shopify's help centre lists the evidence it expects for a credit not processed chargeback:

  • your refund and return policies
  • when those policies were disclosed to the customer
  • emails about the refund
  • the reasons the customer was not entitled to a refund

Notice that this is a different shape from the other reasons. There is no shipping or fulfilment list. The whole argument rests on policy and communication.

The upload rules still apply. Files must be PDF, JPEG or PNG, one file per evidence type, 2 MB or less each and 4 MB in total, and external links are not accepted. When you press Submit, the response is locked. Our post on what Shopify submits for you covers which details Shopify may attach itself.

What does Stripe's guidance add?

Stripe's documentation for this category gives a fuller checklist, and it points the same way:

  • proof of refund issuance: refund transaction logs, timestamps and confirmation numbers
  • bank or processor statements showing when the refund was issued and that it matches the disputed charge
  • customer communications showing whether a refund was promised or denied
  • return and refund policies, and how the customer did or did not meet them
  • tracking details, where the dispute involves returned goods, showing whether the return was received and processed
  • for cancellations, the cancellation policy, a record of any cancellation request, and a refund confirmation if one was issued

For a cancellation claim, Stripe's guidance also says the customer is expected to raise the issue with the merchant before disputing. Where your records show they did not, say so.

How do you prove you already refunded?

If you did refund, this is the easiest dispute to defend, and also the one where a sloppy response loses. The bank has a customer saying nothing arrived. You are answering with a record that something did.

What the refund proof should contain

  • The Shopify refund record showing the amount, date and order number.
  • The payment method it went back to, and the last four digits of the card where shown.
  • The refund confirmation email you sent, with its date.
  • Any bank or processor statement entry that matches, if you have one.
  • The customer's own message, if they acknowledged it or later asked about it.

Check one thing before you submit. The refund must match what the customer claims they were owed. A £40 refund against a £60 claim is not an answer unless you can also show why the other £20 was withheld. If the amounts differ, your response has to explain the gap, not hide it.

What about timing?

A reviewer will compare your refund date with the date the customer says they returned the item, cancelled or complained. If the refund came before the chargeback opened, say so clearly. If it came after, the story changes, and we cover that below.

A template cover note for an already refunded order

Chargeback response: order #[number]

The customer claims a refund was not processed. A refund was issued, and we ask that the dispute be decided in our favour.

  1. What happened. The customer asked for a [return / cancellation / refund] on [date]. See Exhibit A.
  2. Refund issued. We refunded [amount] to the original payment method on [date], before this chargeback was filed. The refund record is in Exhibit B.
  3. Customer was told. We emailed the customer on [date] confirming the refund and when to expect it. See Exhibit C.
  4. Amount. The refund matches the amount charged [or: the difference of X is explained by the policy in Exhibit D].

The disputed charge has therefore already been credited.

Keep it to one page and attach only what supports each numbered point.

What if you did not refund?

If no refund was sent, there are two honest possibilities. Either the customer was owed one and you did not send it, or they were not owed one and you can show why.

The customer was owed a refund

If the item was faulty, mis-described, or the customer cancelled inside a legal window, they were owed the money. Fighting wastes hours, and losing costs you the amount plus the £10 fee. Accept the dispute, take the hit and fix the process. Our post on whether it is worth fighting a chargeback has a decision tool for the close calls.

The customer was not owed a refund

This is where the evidence earns its keep. The usual grounds are:

  • The goods were not returned. The policy says refunds follow receipt of the item, tracking shows nothing arrived, and the customer was told.
  • The return was outside the window. Your policy and the dates show it.
  • The item was used or damaged beyond inspection. You have photos on receipt and your policy covers it.
  • The item was a final-sale or excluded category. Your policy says so and it lawfully can, for example personalised goods.

For each one, your response needs three things: the policy, proof the customer saw it, and the facts that apply it. A policy hidden at the bottom of a page the customer never saw is a weak exhibit.

What does UK law say about refunds and returns?

This is general information, not legal advice, and you should check the regulations or take advice for a specific case.

Online buyers can usually cancel. Under the Consumer Contracts Regulations 2013, a consumer who buys at a distance generally has a right to cancel within a set period without giving a reason, with exceptions such as personalised goods. You should check the current rules and exceptions at gov.uk.

You generally have 14 days to reimburse. Regulation 34 says you must reimburse within 14 days of being informed of the cancellation or, where you do not collect the goods yourself, within 14 days of receiving the goods back or evidence of return, whichever is earlier. You may reimburse through the same payment method the customer used.

You can deduct for loss in value. If the customer handled the goods beyond what was needed to inspect them, you may reduce the refund for the loss in value. The Regulations treat that as the customer's responsibility. Keep photos at receipt to show it.

Faulty goods follow the Consumer Rights Act. If the item is faulty, the Consumer Rights Act 2015 gives remedies, including a short-term right to reject within 30 days (section 22) and a presumption in the customer's favour for six months (section 19). We cover this more fully in our post on the product unacceptable chargeback.

Why this matters to a chargeback: a bank reviewer does not apply UK statute the way a court does, but your policy cannot lawfully remove these rights, and a response that depends on an unlawful term is a weak one. If a customer cancelled inside the window and returned the goods, your own policy probably says a refund is due, so the dispute is a late payment, not a clever defence.

The "evidence of return" detail

Regulation 34 lets you wait for the goods back or for evidence of return, whichever is earlier. In practice, a customer who sends you a postage receipt may have started the clock even if the parcel has not arrived. If you rely on "we never received it" as a ground, be careful: the customer may hold proof of posting that changes the answer.

Should you fight or refund?

Use the same method as our cost of a chargeback post. On Shopify Payments UK, the break-even win chance is your extra time, valued at an hourly figure, divided by the order value plus £10.

Break-even = extra time cost ÷ (order value + £10)

We assume £20 an hour, 0.5 hours for a prepared response, 2.5 hours for an unprepared one and 0.25 hours to accept. That gives an extra time cost of £5 when prepared and £45 when not. These are illustrations, not measured rates.

Order value Break-even if prepared Break-even if unprepared
£30 12.5% 112.5% (never worth it)
£60 7.1% 64.3%
£120 3.8% 34.6%
£240 2.0% 18.0%

For a credit not processed chargeback where you have a clear refund record, the realistic chance of winning is high, so a prepared response is nearly always worth it, even on a £30 order. Where you have no refund record and only a policy argument, the chance is much lower, and the unprepared column shows why a rushed response is a poor bet.

Three worked examples

These are illustrations with invented orders. The win chances are assumptions, and the bank always decides.

Example 1: refunded nine days earlier, £60 (fight)

A customer returns a £60 jacket, you confirm receipt on 10 September and refund £60 to the card on 11 September, with a confirmation email. On 20 September, the customer's bank opens a credit not processed chargeback. The customer says no refund arrived.

Your pack is three files: the Shopify refund record, the confirmation email and the return tracking showing receipt. A prepared response takes about half an hour. The break-even is 7.1%, and a record this clean makes a win chance of 80% a reasonable illustration. Expected recovery is 0.8 × £70 = £56 for roughly £5 of extra time. Fight.

Also check the statement: the customer may have given the bank a card that has since been replaced. If your record shows the refund went to the original card, say so.

Example 2: partial refund with a deduction, £90 (fight, with care)

A customer returns a £90 coat and you refund £75, deducting £15 for a missing belt, with a note on your returns page that items must be complete. The customer disputes, saying they were owed £90.

Your pack needs the policy as shown at checkout, the photo at receipt showing the missing belt and the email telling the customer about the deduction. The break-even if prepared is 5 ÷ 100 = 5%. With a clear policy and photo, a 50% chance is a fair illustration. Expected recovery is 0.5 × £100 = £50 against about £5 of time. Fight, but only if your photo shows the missing item clearly. Without the photo, it is a refund of the £15 difference to avoid the dispute.

Example 3: refunded after the chargeback opened, £60 (the double loss trap)

A customer emails about a £60 order and you do not reply for a week. They file a chargeback. Two days later you notice the email and send them a £60 refund directly, thinking that closes it.

It does not. Shopify says a chargeback cannot be refunded through Shopify once it has started, because the amount and fee have already been debited. If the bank rules for the customer, you may lose the £60 and the £10 fee, and the customer has been paid twice. You cannot count on getting the second payment back.

The safer route is to submit a response showing that a refund was issued and when, and to ask Shopify Support how to handle a refund already sent. We cannot tell you how each bank treats this, and we did not find a Shopify page that says. The lesson is simple: do not send a separate refund once a chargeback is open without checking first.

What mistakes make credit not processed disputes worse?

  • Refunding while the dispute is open. It can mean paying twice.
  • Submitting a refund record with the wrong amount. A £40 refund against a £60 claim invites a loss unless you explain the gap.
  • Relying on "we never got the item" when the customer holds proof of posting. Regulation 34 treats evidence of return as enough to start the 14 days.
  • Policies the customer never saw. A link buried in a footer is weak. A checkout link and a confirmation email are strong.
  • Silence. The commonest cause of these disputes is a customer who emailed and heard nothing.
  • No refund confirmation email. If the customer cannot tell you sent it, they will assume you did not.
  • Missing the deadline. If you do not respond, Shopify files a thin response from system data on the due date and nothing can be added. See our post on what happens if you don't respond.

How do you stop credit not processed chargebacks before they start?

Almost every one of these is a process problem, and the fixes are cheap.

  1. Reply to every refund or return request within one working day. Say what happens next and when.
  2. Refund promptly when the customer is right. Shopify's prevention guidance says to refund immediately on request. A £60 refund today is cheaper than £70 and a mark on your record in six weeks.
  3. Send a refund confirmation email every time. Include the amount, the payment method and a note that it can take a few days to appear, without quoting a number you cannot verify.
  4. Spell out the return process. Say who pays postage, how to start, what condition the goods must be in, and when the refund follows.
  5. Process returns the day they arrive. A parcel that sits for a week creates the dispute.
  6. Keep an order note for every partial refund, with the reason for the deduction and a photo if relevant.
  7. Use a recognisable billing descriptor. Shopify says Shopify Payments merchants can set the billing statement text to the store name or domain, so customers can match the refund to your shop.
  8. Keep records for at least 120 days. MoneyHelper describes a 120 day window for debit card chargeback claims in the UK, and credit card claims under Section 75 for items from £100 to £30,000 can run longer.

What should your return policy say?

Strong wording is specific and visible:

  • A clear window, stated in days, for example "30 days from delivery".
  • How to start a return, with an email address or form.
  • Who pays for return postage in each case.
  • When the refund follows: "within X days of receiving your return" or on evidence of posting, whichever is earlier.
  • How deductions work: "If an item is returned used or incomplete, we may reduce the refund to reflect the loss in value."
  • A line confirming that statutory rights are not affected.

Weak wording is "no returns", a policy only in a PDF, or a policy that contradicts the product page. A reviewer will read all of them as a sign that the merchant does not take returns seriously.

What's different for UK merchants?

  • The fee is £10 on Shopify Payments and returns only on a win. Stripe's UK fees are different, as our Stripe dispute fees post explains.
  • Statutory refund rights are not optional. A policy copied from a US store that says "all sales final" will not protect you.
  • The 14 day reimbursement rule is concrete. Use it as your service standard, so a customer who has returned goods is paid within it.
  • A chargeback counts toward your rate whether you win or lose. Our chargeback rate post explains why, so a cheap refund is often better than a won dispute.
  • Banks run on UK timelines. MoneyHelper says banks should tell the customer the outcome within eight weeks, which helps you judge when a late refund request is likely to become a dispute.

For the whole picture, our UK Shopify chargebacks guide is the hub for this series.

What should you do next?

  1. Check your last refund emails. Do they state the amount, method and a rough expectation?
  2. Open any refund pending on your orders and finish it today.
  3. Rewrite your returns page using the strong wording above and link it at checkout.
  4. Create a note template for partial refunds and deductions.
  5. Set a one working day reply rule for refund requests.
  6. Log each credit not processed dispute: what was owed, what you had, what happened.

If you want help turning those records into a response each time, ChargeFix is being built for that, with flat, fixed pricing. It is not live yet.

FAQ

What is a credit not processed chargeback?

It is a dispute in which the cardholder tells their bank they were owed a refund or credit and did not get it. The bank debits the amount while it decides, and on Shopify Payments in the UK that includes a £10 fee. Both return only if you win, so your response should prove the refund was sent or that none was owed.

How do I win a credit not processed chargeback on Shopify?

If you refunded, show the refund record with its date, amount and method, plus the confirmation email and any matching statement. If you did not, show the policy, when the customer saw it and why no refund was due. Add a one page cover note linking them. Evidence helps but cannot guarantee a win, because the bank decides.

Should I refund the customer after a chargeback is filed?

Be careful. Shopify says a chargeback cannot be refunded through Shopify once it has started, because the amount and fee have already been debited. A separate payment can leave you paying twice if the bank rules for the customer. Submit a response showing the refund and ask Shopify Support how to handle one already sent.

How long do I have to refund a returned item in the UK?

Under regulation 34 of the Consumer Contracts Regulations 2013, you generally must reimburse within 14 days of being told of the cancellation or, where you do not collect the goods, within 14 days of receiving them back or evidence of return, whichever is earlier. Check the current rules and any exceptions at gov.uk.

Can I deduct from a refund?

You may be able to deduct for loss in value if the customer handled the goods beyond what was needed to inspect them. Tell the customer in writing, keep photos from when the item arrived back, and state the policy clearly. A deduction you cannot explain is likely to produce a dispute.

What is the difference between credit not processed and product unacceptable?

Credit not processed is about a refund you did or did not send. Product unacceptable is about whether the goods were damaged, defective or not as described. The two often overlap, because a customer who returns a faulty item and is not refunded can file either. The evidence differs, so answer the reason shown.

The customer says they returned the item but I never received it. Can I refuse?

Maybe, but check first. Regulation 34 lets you wait for the goods or for evidence of return, so a customer with a proof of posting receipt may already have started the 14 days. If your policy says refunds follow receipt and the customer has no proof, tracking showing nothing arrived is a reasonable ground.

Is it worth fighting a small credit not processed chargeback?

If you hold a clean refund record, yes. On our illustrative assumptions of £20 an hour, a prepared response needs only about 12.5% odds to break even on a £30 order, and a refund record gives far better odds than that. Without any record, the case is weak and a rushed fight rarely pays.

Join the ChargeFix waitlist

ChargeFix is being built for UK Shopify merchants who want a credit not processed chargeback answered with the right refund and policy evidence, with flat, fixed pricing instead of a share of what they recover. It is not live yet, so nothing here is a promise about your results.

Join the waitlist at chargefix.pro.

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