CHARGEBACK GUIDES

General chargeback: how to respond on Shopify

By ChargeFix team · Updated 3 October 2026

Every other chargeback reason tells you what you are fighting. Fraud, product not received, duplicate, subscription: the label does half the work. A general chargeback tells you almost nothing, and that is exactly what makes it awkward.

A general chargeback is a dispute that does not fit any of the other reason categories. On Shopify, it arrives with a label that says "General" and little else, so your first job is not building evidence. It is working out what the customer is actually unhappy about, then answering that. Do the detective work first and the response usually writes itself, often as one of the other reasons in disguise.

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

The 30-second answer (TL;DR)

  • Shopify says a general chargeback does not fit another category. Its evidence list is broad: product details, fulfilment, billing information, IP address, customer communications, shipping confirmations, and proof of a refund or replacement.
  • Stripe describes the general category as an uncategorised catch-all and advises contacting the customer to find out why they disputed. It says this should be fairly rare for card disputes.
  • The category includes network codes such as Visa 12.5 (incorrect amount) and Mastercard 6305 (cardholder does not agree with amount billed), plus authorisation and information request codes.
  • Do not guess the claim. Read the dispute details, check the order, search your messages and, if you can, ask the customer.
  • Once you know the real complaint, borrow the evidence pack from the matching reason: delivery proof, refund records, listing evidence or an order breakdown.
  • Most general disputes are cheap to prevent: clear itemised receipts, a visible total at checkout and a prompt reply when a customer asks what a charge is.
  • Shopify's inquiry process is separate from a chargeback, so check whether you are looking at an inquiry or a debit before you act. This is general information, not legal advice.

What might a general dispute really be? (our ranking of how defensible)

What the customer probably means Your best evidence How defensible
"The amount is wrong" Itemised order and checkout total Strong, if the total was shown clearly
"I don't understand this charge" Receipt, order confirmation, delivery Moderate to strong
"Something went wrong with my order" Messages, fulfilment, any replacement Depends on the facts
"I want my money back" with no reason Refund policy and communications Moderate
A real error on your side Nothing useful Refund and fix

Table of contents

What is a general chargeback?

A general chargeback is a dispute filed under a catch-all reason. The bank has recorded that the customer is unhappy with a charge, but either the customer's complaint did not fit a specific reason code or the bank used a code that does not map neatly to Shopify's other labels.

Shopify's definition is simply that the dispute does not fit another category. The bank takes the disputed amount back while it reviews. On Shopify Payments in the UK, the debit includes a £10 fee, and both return only if you win. The usual timeline applies: between 7 and 21 days to respond depending on the case, and up to 75 days for the bank to review. Our post on how long a Shopify chargeback takes explains the stages.

What makes this reason different from the rest is not the money. It is the information gap. With a product not received dispute, you know the question: did it arrive? With a general dispute, you have to find the question first.

Why does Shopify use the general label?

Shopify sorts hundreds of network reason codes into a small set of labels. Anything that does not map to fraud, product not received, product unacceptable, duplicate, subscription canceled, credit not processed or unrecognized falls into general. Stripe describes the same category as a catch-all for disputes that do not fit neatly into others.

It also means the label can hide quite different situations: a pricing complaint, a bank asking for paperwork, a technical error in how the transaction was processed, or a customer who simply could not say what was wrong.

Which card network codes sit under it?

Based on Stripe's reason code documentation, which describes the card network rules behind Shopify Payments, the general category includes these examples:

Network Code Network's name for it
Visa 12.5 Incorrect amount
Visa 12.2 Incorrect transaction code
Visa 12.1 Late presentment
Visa 11.2 Declined authorisation
Visa 11.3 No authorisation
Visa 28 Request for copy bearing signature
Visa 30 Cardholder request due to dispute
Mastercard 6305 Cardholder does not agree with amount billed
Mastercard 6323 Cardholder needs information for personal records

Stripe's list is longer and includes other networks. We did not find a Shopify page that lists the codes behind each reason, so treat this as the networks' categories as Stripe documents them, not an official Shopify mapping.

Most of the codes there are about technical or administrative errors, and a few are requests for information. For an online shop, the ones you are most likely to meet are the incorrect amount and the "does not agree with amount billed" claims.

What does Shopify's evidence list say?

Shopify's help centre lists a wide set of evidence for a general chargeback:

  • product details
  • fulfilment details
  • billing information
  • IP address
  • customer communications
  • shipping confirmations
  • proof of a refund or replacement

The breadth is the point. Because Shopify cannot tell what the claim is, it lists everything that might apply. Your job is to choose the parts that answer the real complaint, not to submit all of it.

The upload rules apply as for any dispute. 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. A pack stuffed with irrelevant pages is harder to read than a short one that answers the point. Our post on what Shopify submits for you explains which of those items Shopify may attach itself.

What does Stripe's guidance say about general disputes?

Stripe's guidance is blunt. It describes a general dispute as uncategorised and says to contact the customer for additional details to find out why they disputed the payment. It also says this should be fairly rare for card disputes.

That advice is the most important sentence in this post. A general dispute is a request to work out the real issue, and the customer is the best source.

For the amount related codes, Stripe's evidence suggestions are more specific. For an incorrect amount claim, it points to itemised receipts that detail the base price, taxes, fees and any discounts, system records showing the pricing presented to the customer at the time, and pre-purchase communications such as website screenshots or chat logs that outline the correct amount. It also notes the customer is expected to raise the issue with the merchant first, so where they did not, say so.

How do you work out what the dispute is really about?

This is the core of the job. It takes about fifteen minutes and saves you from answering the wrong question.

Step 1: Read everything Shopify shows you

Open the dispute and read every field: the reason label, any reason code or description, the amount, the dates, the due date and any notes. Some disputes include a short customer statement or a code description. Write it down.

Step 2: Check the amount

Compare the disputed amount with the order total. If they differ, the claim is probably about the amount. If the disputed figure is smaller than the order, a partial dispute is in play, for example a shipping fee, a tax line or a single item.

Step 3: Find the order and read the timeline

Open the order. Look at the items, the totals, any discounts, shipping, tax and refunds. Look at the timeline for edits, partial refunds, re-sends or notes. Often the story is sitting there.

Step 4: Search your messages

Search your inbox, contact form, helpdesk and social messages for the customer's name, email and order number. Look for questions about a charge, complaints, a request for a receipt or a late delivery.

Step 5: Check for a mistake on your side

Look for a pricing error, a wrong shipping fee, a missed refund, a double charge or a failed delivery. If you find one, fix it honestly. A general dispute is often a customer who spotted a genuine slip.

Step 6: Ask the customer, if appropriate

Stripe's advice is to contact the customer. A short, neutral email can reveal the actual problem, and sometimes ends the dispute. We give a template below.

Step 7: Name the real claim

Choose the closest match:

  1. Amount. The customer thinks they were charged the wrong amount.
  2. Product. The customer did not get what they expected. Use the approach in our post on the product unacceptable chargeback.
  3. Delivery. The customer did not receive it. Use the approach in our carriers and proof post.
  4. Refund. The customer expected a refund. Use the approach in our post on the credit not processed chargeback.
  5. Cancellation. The customer expected a subscription to end. See our post on the subscription canceled chargeback.
  6. Recognition. The customer did not know what the charge was. See our post on the unrecognized chargeback.
  7. Billing twice. See our post on the duplicate chargeback.
  8. Unknown. You cannot tell. Answer with the order record and the facts, and say plainly that the reason was not specified.

Once you have named the claim, the right evidence pack is the one for that claim, trimmed to fit Shopify's file limits.

How do you ask the customer what is wrong?

A general dispute is a rare case where the customer can simply tell you. Whether they will is another matter, because they have already gone to their bank. Still, a polite message costs nothing.

Subject: Your order #[number] from [Store name]

Hi [Name],

We noticed your bank has queried a payment of £[amount] on [date] for order #[number]. We would like to put it right if something went wrong.

Could you tell us what the problem is? If it is the amount, we can send an itemised receipt. If it is the delivery or the item, we can look into it straight away. If you recognise the charge now, you can let your bank know and we will be happy to help with that too.

Thanks, [Name]

Keep it short and avoid accusations. Do not promise the dispute will be withdrawn, because you cannot control that. And do not delay your response while you wait for a reply, because the due date does not move.

If you suspect fraud or an account takeover, think carefully before emailing the address on the order, as we explain in our post on the unrecognized chargeback.

What if the claim is about the amount?

This is the general dispute most likely to be defensible, because you hold both halves of the evidence: what the customer saw and what they paid.

Why customers think the amount is wrong

  • Shipping added at checkout. The customer remembers the product price and not the delivery fee.
  • Tax lines. VAT or other taxes make the total higher than the item price.
  • Currency conversion. A customer paying from another currency may see a different amount on their statement than the one you display, because their bank applies its own rate. We did not find a source on how this appears for Shopify Payments, so check your own settings and records.
  • A discount that did not apply. A code expired or a minimum spend was not met.
  • A price change. The price on the page differed from the price they remember.
  • Pending versus settled amounts. A temporary hold can differ from the final charge.

What to show

  • The order confirmation with an itemised breakdown: items, discounts, shipping, tax and total.
  • A screenshot or record of the checkout screen showing the total before payment, if you have one.
  • The product price as listed on the order date.
  • Any messages in which the customer saw or agreed to the amount.
  • Where relevant, the currency shown at checkout and the amount charged.

Stripe's advice is to show itemised receipts with the base price, taxes, fees and discounts, and records of the pricing presented to the customer. A single tidy table does most of the work.

A template cover note for an amount dispute

Chargeback response: order #[number]

The customer disputes the amount charged. The amount of £[total] is correct, for these reasons.

Line Amount
Items £[x]
Discount -£[x]
Shipping £[x]
Tax £[x]
Total charged £[total]
  1. The total was shown before payment. The checkout screen displayed £[total] on [date]. See Exhibit A.
  2. The order confirmation matches. See Exhibit B.
  3. The customer was told. [Message details.] See Exhibit C.

We ask that the dispute be decided in our favour.

Delete anything you cannot show. If the customer was actually overcharged, the sensible move is to refund the difference, not fight.

What if the dispute is a request for information?

Some codes in the general category, such as a request for a copy of a signed receipt or a request for information for personal records, are about documentation rather than money. Stripe lists examples like Visa 28 and Mastercard 6323 in this category.

We did not verify how Shopify Payments displays information requests, or whether money is debited for them. If you see a general label and no debit, check whether you are looking at an inquiry, which Shopify treats differently from a chargeback. Our post on Shopify chargebacks versus inquiries explains the difference and when an inquiry becomes a chargeback.

If a bank asks for documents, send what it asks for, in the form Shopify allows, by the deadline. Be consistent with what you send for any other part of the order.

How do you respond to a general chargeback on Shopify?

Here is the process for a general chargeback on Shopify, in the order we would do it.

  1. Set an internal deadline two working days before Shopify's due date.
  2. Work out the real claim using the seven steps above, and write it down in one sentence.
  3. Pick the matching evidence pack from the list of reasons.
  4. Gather the order record: items, totals, billing information and IP address.
  5. Gather the fulfilment and shipping confirmations.
  6. Gather the customer communications, with dates.
  7. Gather any refund or replacement proof, if you offered one.
  8. Write a one page cover note that states the claim as you understand it and answers it.
  9. Compress and name the files to fit Shopify's limits, one file per evidence type.
  10. Submit and check the status says Submitted.

What should the cover note say when the claim is unclear?

Be honest. A reviewer reads many of these, and a note that pretends to know the claim when it does not is weaker than one that says what it knows.

Chargeback response: order #[number]

The dispute was filed under a general reason without specifying the complaint. We have reviewed the order and our records and set out the facts below.

  1. The order. [Items, amount, date.] See Exhibit A.
  2. Payment details. The billing details and IP address match the customer's order history. See Exhibit B.
  3. Fulfilment. The order was fulfilled on [date] and delivered on [date], with [proof]. See Exhibit C.
  4. Communications. We have [no record of any complaint / the following messages]. See Exhibit D.
  5. Refunds. [None were requested / a refund of X was issued on date.] See Exhibit E.

We have not been able to identify a problem with this order and ask that the dispute be decided in our favour.

That last line should only appear if it is true. If you found a problem, say what you did about it.

Should you fight or refund?

Use the method from 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)
£75 5.9% 52.9%
£150 3.1% 28.1%
£300 1.6% 14.5%

A general dispute is where the unprepared column bites hardest, because the investigation itself takes time. The shops that fight these cheaply are the ones whose order records are already tidy: itemised receipts, saved checkout totals, logged messages and tracked deliveries. The prepared column is a result of habits, not of effort on the day.

Three worked examples

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

Example 1: the shipping fee, £90 (fight)

A customer orders a £75 coat with £15 delivery, a total of £90. Their bank files a general dispute saying the amount was wrong. You check: the checkout screenshot you saved shows the £90 total before payment, the order confirmation lists the £15 shipping line, and the customer never contacted you.

The response is the itemised table, the checkout record and the confirmation. Break-even if prepared is 5 ÷ 100 = 5%. With the total clearly shown before payment, a 60% chance is a fair illustration. Expected recovery is 0.6 × £100 = £60 for about £5 of extra time. Fight. Then make sure the shipping line is visible earlier in your checkout.

Example 2: the overseas customer, £60 (fight, with caution)

A customer in another country orders a £60 item and later disputes, saying the amount was higher than expected. Their bank applied its own exchange rate and fees, and the statement shows a different figure.

You show the checkout total in the currency displayed and the amount charged. Break-even if prepared is 5 ÷ 70 = 7.1%. Whether the bank treats the conversion as your problem is uncertain, so a 35% chance is a fair illustration. Expected recovery is 0.35 × £70 = £24.50 for about £5 of time. It is worth a prepared response, but check how your own settings display currency, because we could not verify that point.

Example 3: the dispute with no clue, £75 (contact first, then decide)

A general dispute arrives for £75 with no description. The order was delivered, there are no messages, and the customer has bought from you twice before. You email the customer using the template. They do not reply.

You have no evidence of a problem and a good history. A 40% chance is a fair illustration of a pack made of the order record, the delivery proof and the order history. Break-even if prepared is 5 ÷ 85 = 5.9%. Expected recovery is 0.4 × £85 = £34 for about £5 of time. Fight if you can build the pack in half an hour from files you already hold. If you would have to hunt for each record, the unprepared break-even of 52.9% says skip it.

What does UK law say about charging the wrong amount?

This is general information, not legal advice. We did not find a UK statute we could cite for the narrow case of a disputed total, so we keep to what we can source.

For UK online sales, the practical point is that the price and total should be clear before the customer pays, and that a customer overcharged by mistake is owed the difference back. A merchant who shows the full total, including delivery and tax, before payment is in the best position in a dispute.

For the customer's side, MoneyHelper describes a 120 day window for debit card chargeback claims in the UK, and says banks should tell the customer the outcome within eight weeks. For credit card purchases of items from £100 to £30,000, Section 75 claims may also apply. Those timelines tell you how long to keep your records.

How do you prevent general chargebacks?

Most of them come from confusion about a charge, and a few habits remove nearly all of it.

Make the total obvious

  • Show shipping, tax and discounts before the customer pays, not after.
  • Display the total on the final checkout step in large type.
  • If you sell internationally, make the currency and any conversion clear.

Send an itemised receipt every time

  • List items, discounts, shipping, tax and the total.
  • Include your trading name and the statement text, as we explain in our post on the unrecognized chargeback.
  • Add your contact details and a line inviting questions.

Keep a checkout record

  • Save screenshots of the checkout flow whenever you change it.
  • Keep a record of price and shipping changes with dates.

Reply fast to "what is this charge?"

  • Answer within one working day, with the order details.
  • Refund promptly where you got it wrong. Shopify's prevention guidance says to refund immediately on request or on an accidental double charge.

Keep the records

Keep order, receipt, delivery and message records for at least 120 days after the order, longer for higher value ones.

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.
  • VAT and delivery lines matter. A UK shopper who sees one price and pays another is a ready-made dispute, so show the full total early.
  • Banks work to UK timelines. MoneyHelper says banks should tell the customer the outcome within eight weeks.
  • A dispute counts toward your rate whether you win or lose. Our chargeback rate post explains why, so clear receipts protect your record as well as your income.
  • Currency conversion varies. A customer paying from outside the UK may see a different figure, and banks decide how it appears.

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

Common mistakes

  • Answering the wrong question. Do the detective work before you assemble the pack.
  • Submitting everything. A pile of irrelevant files hides the point. Pick what answers the claim.
  • Pretending to know the claim. If it is unclear, say so, and show the facts.
  • Ignoring the amount. Many general disputes are about the total, and a clean itemised table wins them.
  • Not checking for your own mistake. A pricing or shipping error is a refund, not a fight.
  • Emailing a possible fraudster. If the evidence says stolen card, do not rely on the order email.
  • 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.
  • Fighting every one. Use the break-even table. Our post on whether a chargeback is worth fighting gives a fuller decision tool.

What should you do next?

  1. Open your last order receipt and check it lists items, discounts, shipping, tax and total.
  2. Check your checkout shows the full total before payment.
  3. Save a checkout screenshot now, and again whenever you change the flow.
  4. Write the customer email template above and keep it ready.
  5. Create an evidence folder per order, with receipt, delivery and messages together.
  6. Log each general dispute: what the real claim turned out to be, 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 general chargeback?

It is a dispute that does not fit any of the other reason categories. 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 work out the real complaint and answer it with the order, delivery and communication records.

How do I win a general chargeback on Shopify?

First find out what the customer is actually unhappy about, using the order, your messages and, if you can, the customer. Then use the evidence for that claim, such as an itemised receipt for an amount dispute or delivery proof for a missing parcel, with a one page cover note. Evidence improves your odds but cannot guarantee a win, because the bank decides.

Why did Shopify label my dispute as general?

Shopify groups many network reason codes into a small set of labels. Anything that does not map to fraud, product not received, product unacceptable, duplicate, subscription canceled, credit not processed or unrecognized goes into general. Stripe describes the same category as an uncategorised catch-all and says it should be fairly rare.

Should I contact the customer about a general chargeback?

Often yes. Stripe's guidance for general disputes is to contact the customer for additional details to find out why they disputed. Keep the message short and neutral, give the order details, and do not delay your response while you wait for a reply. Avoid emailing if you suspect fraud.

What if the customer says the amount was wrong?

Show an itemised receipt with the items, discounts, shipping, tax and total, plus the checkout screen showing the total before payment. If the customer really was overcharged, refund the difference instead of fighting. Stripe's guidance for incorrect amount claims points to itemised receipts and records of the pricing presented at the time.

Is a general chargeback the same as an inquiry?

No. An inquiry is an early stage in which the bank asks questions and, per Shopify, nothing is debited, while a chargeback debits the amount and the fee at once. Our post on Shopify chargebacks versus inquiries explains the difference. Check which one you are looking at before you act.

What if I cannot work out the reason?

Say so in your response. Submit the order record, billing and IP details, delivery proof, any customer communications and any refund history, and state that you could not identify a problem. A short honest pack is better than a padded one. If you find a mistake on your side, refund and fix it.

Is it worth fighting a small general chargeback?

Only if you can build the pack quickly from records you already hold. On our illustrative assumptions of £20 an hour, a prepared response needs about a 12.5% chance to break even on a £30 order, and an unprepared one can never pay. Keep itemised receipts and delivery records together so the next one is cheap.

Join the ChargeFix waitlist

ChargeFix is being built for UK Shopify merchants who want a general chargeback worked out and answered with the right order, delivery and communication 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.

Sources