Chargeback evidence to save at fulfilment: a UK checklist for every order

The cheapest chargeback you will ever win is the one you prepared for on the day you shipped. Three minutes at fulfilment can turn a months-later scramble into a calm copy and paste. Here is the evidence to save at fulfilment, order by order.

The evidence to save at fulfilment is simple: the order and policies the customer saw, the address check, the tracking number and a tracking screenshot, any signature or delivery photo, and every customer message. Save them in one folder per order. For high-value orders, add a signature requirement and packing photos.

This guide is for you if:

• You ship physical orders from a UK Shopify store and want to be ready before a dispute arrives.
• You have lost a chargeback because a piece of proof was missing, or missed when you went looking for it.
• You want a short routine and templates you can run on every order without slowing down.

Last updated: 9 October 2026. Written by the ChargeFix team.

The 30-second answer (TL;DR)

• Save evidence at fulfilment because a dispute can arrive up to about 120 days later, long after tracking pages, listings and chat logs have changed.
• Shopify Payments adds order details, addresses, IP address, fulfilment details, a tracking PDF, refund records and earlier orders to a response, but you add the rest: messages, policies, listings and proof of delivery.
• Each dispute reason needs different proof. Shopify lists fulfilment date and time, billing information and shipping and tracking for most, plus listing pictures, refund proof or activity logs for others.
• Use screenshots instead of links, and keep one folder per order with numbered files.
• Shopify says a signature significantly strengthens your position in product not received disputes, so require one on high-value orders.
• Winning does not remove a dispute from your chargeback rate, so strong fulfilment evidence is worth most when it helps you prevent or settle the dispute early.

From fulfilment to defence

Step	What happens	Evidence to save
1. Order	The customer pays and sees your policies	Order confirmation, policy screenshots, listing snapshot
2. Check	You review the order before shipping	Address check result, fraud analysis result
3. Fulfil	You pack and hand over the parcel	Tracking number, dispatch time, packing note
4. Delivery	The carrier delivers or fails	Tracking screenshot, signature or photo
5. Contact	The customer writes, or does not	All messages, in date order
6. Dispute	A bank query arrives, perhaps months later	Your saved folder, ready to submit

Why save evidence at fulfilment?

Because a dispute does not arrive when the evidence is fresh. MoneyHelper says buyers typically have 120 days to make a chargeback claim. By then tracking pages have changed, your listing may have been edited, the chat thread has scrolled away and you have forgotten the details. Evidence saved at fulfilment is evidence you can trust.

Shopify's guidance gives a second reason: the reviewer. Banks review a very large number of disputes, often hundreds a day, and the reviewer may spend only a few minutes on yours. So the response needs strong proof, clearly labelled, and you only have that if you saved it. Shopify also says that if you add nothing, your response is sent to the card company on the due date as it stands.

Illustration: the 120 day window. A Black Friday order is placed on Friday 27 November 2026. 120 days later is Saturday 27 March 2027. A customer who claims on the last day will trigger a dispute with a due date of 7 to 21 days after it is filed, so you may be answering in April 2027 for an order you shipped in November. Evidence saved at fulfilment is the only evidence that will still be intact. Dates are illustrative.

Without saved evidence	With evidence saved at fulfilment
Hunt through email and tracking sites under time pressure	Open one folder and attach
Tracking page has changed or expired	Dated screenshot from delivery day
Listing was edited, so you cannot show the original	Snapshot from the sale date
Messages are scattered	One thread in date order
Response is thin and late	Response is labelled and early

This is general information, not legal advice. It reflects Shopify pages and other sources I reviewed on 9 October 2026.

What does Shopify save for you, and what is left to you?

For orders on Shopify Payments, a response includes order details, customer name and email, billing and shipping addresses, IP address, fulfilment details, a tracking PDF where a tracking number exists, refund records, earlier undisputed orders and earlier disputes by the same customer. Everything else is left to you.

Shopify's chargeback reasons page adds that, for product not received disputes, Shopify uploads a PDF containing all fulfilment events. That means the basics of fulfilment evidence are partly automatic, but the items that persuade a reviewer most are the ones only you hold.

Shopify adds	You save at fulfilment
Order details, addresses, IP address	The customer's delivery instructions, if any
Fulfilment details and tracking number	A tracking screenshot, dated, on delivery day
Tracking PDF, sometimes with a photo	Signature or photo from the carrier, if separate
Refund records and order history	Your policies as shown at checkout
Earlier disputes by the same customer	Product listing as at purchase, and all messages

If the response relies on Shopify's automatic content alone, it is a thin case. The point of this guide is to fill the right-hand column cheaply.

What is the minimum evidence to save at fulfilment for every order?

Eight items cover most disputes: the order confirmation, the policies shown, the listing snapshot, the address check result, the tracking number, a tracking screenshot, any proof of delivery and the customer messages. Most of them take seconds, and several can be automatic.

Item	What to save	When	Effort
1. Order confirmation	The email or page with itemised total	At order	Automatic
2. Policies shown	Screenshots of shipping, returns, refund pages	Monthly and when changed	Two minutes a month
3. Listing snapshot	Product page text and pictures	Monthly and when changed	Two minutes a month
4. Address verification	Result of the check on the order	At fulfilment	Seconds
5. Tracking number	On the Shopify order, sent to the customer	At fulfilment	Seconds
6. Tracking screenshot	Carrier page showing the status	On delivery day	One minute
7. Proof of delivery	Signature or photo, if the service gives it	On delivery day	One minute
8. Customer messages	The thread, in date order	As they happen	Automatic if in one inbox

That is the core of any routine to save evidence at fulfilment. If you only do eight things, do these: they are the core evidence to save at fulfilment.

Shopify's preventing-chargebacks guidance supports the same list. It points to receipts, tracking information and delivery confirmation, order confirmation emails and product descriptions, and published store policies, including return and refund terms. It does not publish a retention period, which is why I give a suggestion later.

Which evidence to save at fulfilment matches each dispute reason?

Each reason needs different proof. Product not received needs fulfilment and delivery proof. Product unacceptable needs the listing and proof of no return attempt. Fraud needs the link between buyer and order. Credit not processed needs dated refund proof. Saving the right mix at fulfilment means you can answer any of them.

Shopify's chargeback reasons page lists what to submit for each. Here it is as a map of what to save before the dispute exists:

Dispute reason	What Shopify suggests you submit	What to save at fulfilment
Fraudulent	Fulfilment date and time, billing information, IP address and country, shipping and tracking	Address check result, tracking, delivery to the billing address
Unrecognised	The same as fraudulent	Billing descriptor, order confirmation, delivery proof
Duplicate	Receipts showing different items, plus messages	Itemised receipts for each order
Subscription cancelled	Cancellation policy, notices, proof the customer was told	Policy screenshot, cancellation emails
Product not received	Fulfilment date and time, billing information, shipping and tracking	Tracking number, tracking screenshot, signature or photo
Product unacceptable	Listing descriptions and pictures, tracking, proof they did not try to return	Listing snapshot, packing photos for fragile items
Credit not processed	Refund and return policies, proof they were told, refund emails and proof of refund	Policy screenshots, refund log, return tracking
General	Product details, fulfilment, billing, messages, tracking, prior refunds	The core eight above

Two reasons end with "you must accept". If you really charged twice, or charged after a cancellation, fighting is pointless. The fix for those is process, not evidence, so check your duplicate-charge and cancellation handling too.

What extra evidence should you save at fulfilment for high-value orders?

For orders above a value you choose, add a signature on delivery, a packing photo, an extra address check and a short note on how the order was verified. These take a few more minutes, but one saved dispute pays for many of them. Shopify says a signature significantly strengthens your position in product not received disputes.

Pick a threshold that fits your store. Many sellers use two or three tiers:

Tier	Example threshold	Evidence to save at fulfilment
Standard	Under £100	The core eight
Higher value	£100 to £250	Core eight plus signature or photo proof, address check noted
High value	Over £250	All of the above plus packing photo, weight, and a customer confirmation of the address

The thresholds are examples, not rules. Choose them from your own loss history. An order that would hurt to lose deserves the extra minutes.

Illustration: the value of a signature. You ship 15 orders a month above £250, and a signature service adds about 60p per parcel on your carrier. That costs 15 × £0.60 = £9 a month. One lost chargeback on a £300 order costs £300 + £10 = £310. If the signature prevents even one loss every few years, it more than pays for itself. The 60p figure is a price I noted earlier for one carrier and have not re-checked, so use your own carrier's current price. The arithmetic is illustrative.

A packing photo is a cheap extra for fragile or valuable goods. A single phone photo of the item in its box, with the order slip visible, answers a claim of "it arrived damaged" and a claim that the wrong item was sent. Keep it in the order folder. I have not seen a dispute rule that requires it, so treat it as a practical habit, not a requirement.

How do you save a proof of delivery at fulfilment?

Choose a delivery service that records what you need, then save the record on the day. Ask your carrier what each service captures: signature, photo, scan location or name of the recipient. Not every service gives every item, and records may be kept only for a limited time, so do not wait for a dispute.

Carrier details I noted on 2 October 2026 and did not re-open for this post, so check the carrier's current page before relying on them: Royal Mail captures a photo on delivery for Tracked 24 and 48 services where no signature is needed, and Evri offers a Digital Signature add-on with photographic proof at about 60p, a price that may change. I could not verify what proof DPD provides, so ask it directly.

Proof of delivery	How strong	What to save
Signature with name and time	High	The signature record, labelled
Photo showing the door or spot	High if the address is visible	The photo, with date, time and address match
Tracking scan with address only	Medium	Screenshot, with the address match
"Left in a safe place" note	Weak	The note, plus any customer instruction
Nothing beyond the scan	Weak	The scan, and a note that nothing more exists

Save a proof of delivery in the order folder the same day it appears. If the carrier sends it by email, forward it to a folder or attach it to the order note. For the case where the carrier says delivered and the customer says no, the guides on when tracking says delivered but the customer says no and safe place delivery liability show how this proof is used.

How do you take a tracking screenshot that works as evidence?

Capture the carrier's own page, showing the tracking number, the status, the date and time of the last scan and the delivery address if shown. Add the date and time you took it. Use a screenshot, not a link, because tracking pages change and banks can review an image without visiting a website.

Shopify says banks can review a screenshot without visiting an outside site, and recommends high-contrast images that print clearly in black and white, because many banks receive evidence through fax machines. So use the full page, avoid dark themes and make sure the text is readable at small size.

A good tracking screenshot includes:

1. The carrier name and logo, so the source is clear.
2. The tracking number, matching the one on the Shopify order.
3. The latest status, such as Delivered, with date and time.
4. The delivery location or postcode, if the page shows it.
5. Your own date and time stamp, added in the file name.

Name the file clearly, for example "order-1234-tracking-delivered-2026-11-05.png". Take a second screenshot if the customer complains, because the page may have changed since. A dated image is much stronger than your memory of what the page said.

What goes in an order note?

An order note is a short record you paste into the Shopify order at fulfilment. It tells future you, and anyone helping, what was checked, what was sent and where the proof is. It takes thirty seconds and saves hours when a dispute arrives.

FULFILMENT NOTE (paste into the order)

Fulfilled: [date and time] by [name]    Carrier/service: [name]
Tracking: [number]    Signature required: [yes/no]
Address check: [result]    Fraud analysis: [result]
Listing and policy snapshots: [date saved]
Packing photo: [yes/no]    Special instructions from customer: [none / text]
Proof of delivery requested/received: [date]
Customer contact: [none / dates]
Evidence folder: [location]

Keep the wording plain and use the same format every time. A consistent order note also helps if someone else covers for you.

How do you check address verification before you fulfil?

Look at the address check result on the order and act on a mismatch before you ship. Shopify's guidance for shipments to the US, UK or Canada is to consider shipping only orders that pass an address check, and to contact the customer first if the check fails. Save the result in the order note.

Address verification matters for two reasons. It reduces fraud, and it gives you evidence that the parcel went to the address the customer entered. If the check passed and the courier delivered to that address, the link between the order and the delivery is strong. If it failed and you shipped anyway, that is a gap a reviewer may notice.

Address check result	What to do	What to save
Pass	Ship as normal	The result in the order note
Partial or fail	Contact the customer to confirm before shipping	The message and their reply
Fail and no reply	Hold or cancel, depending on risk and value	The note on why
Shopify fraud analysis flags the order	Review before fulfilling	The review decision and reason

Shopify's fraud analysis can flag risky orders, and its preventing-chargebacks guidance advises investigating suspicious orders before fulfilling them. A quick review before fulfilment is the cheapest fraud defence you have.

How do you save policy and listing snapshots?

Screenshot your shipping, returns and refund pages and your product pages on a schedule, and again whenever you change them. Name the files with the date. If a customer claims the goods were not as described or that they never saw your policy, the dated snapshot shows what they saw.

Policy and listing snapshots belong to the fulfilment routine even though you take them monthly, because they prove what was true at the time of sale. A reviewer cannot see your site as it was last August unless you saved it.

SNAPSHOT SCHEDULE

- [ ] Monthly: shipping policy, returns policy, refund policy, delivery page
- [ ] Monthly: top 20 product pages (text and photos)
- [ ] On every change: the page before and after
- [ ] On every promotion: the sale page and its terms
- [ ] Filename format: [page]-[yyyy-mm-dd].png

Keep product snapshots even after you stop selling an item. A claim about an old order may arrive months later. A policy snapshot should also show where the customer agreed to it, such as the checkout page text.

How should you store fulfilment evidence, and what retention period suits a UK store?

One folder per order, numbered files and a standard naming pattern. Keep it for at least the 120 days buyers typically have to claim, and longer for high-value orders. That retention figure is my suggestion based on the claim window, not a rule, and it needs balancing with data protection.

STORAGE PATTERN

/Evidence/2026-11/Order-1234/
  01-order-confirmation.pdf
  02-address-check-and-fraud-result.png
  03-policies-at-purchase.pdf
  04-listing-snapshot.pdf
  05-tracking-delivered-2026-11-05.png
  06-proof-of-delivery.png
  07-customer-messages.pdf
  08-fulfilment-note.txt

On retention, MoneyHelper says buyers typically have 120 days to make a chargeback claim, and credit card buyers can use Section 75 for purchases from £100 to £30,000. So keep each folder for at least 120 days after delivery, and keep high-value ones longer. After that, delete what you no longer need.

Customer data is personal data, and UK GDPR applies. I have not reviewed the Information Commissioner's Office guidance for this post, so check what you may keep and for how long, and keep only what you need. This is general information, not legal advice.

Retention question	Suggested approach
How long to keep a standard order folder?	At least 120 days after delivery
High-value orders?	Longer, because the amount justifies it
What if a dispute is open?	Keep it until the dispute and any follow-up are closed
Who can access it?	Only the people who need it
When to delete?	When you no longer need it, after checking your obligations

What evidence should you save at fulfilment for dropshipped and digital orders?

For dropshipped orders, save the supplier order confirmation, dispatch notice and tracking along with your own records. For digital goods, Shopify suggests an activity log showing access. In both cases, the aim is to prove the customer received what they paid for, using records from the system that delivered it.

The extra records for dropshipping are covered in detail in the guide to dropshipping chargebacks. The principle is the same: you cannot show what you did not save, and supplier emails are easy to lose.

Order type	Extra evidence to save at fulfilment
Dropshipped	Supplier order confirmation, dispatch notice, supplier tracking
Digital download	Download or access log with date and IP address
Subscription	Sign-up terms, billing notice, cancellation records
Made to order	Customer approval of the design or spec
Personalised goods	Proof of the customer's text or choices

For subscriptions, Shopify's guidance says to make recurring charges clear at sign-up, cancel promptly when asked and send a confirmation. Those confirmations are the fulfilment evidence for that order type.

What does a response look like when you saved evidence at fulfilment?

It is short, labelled and fast. You open the folder, paste a one page summary, attach the files in order and submit early. Shopify says to lead with your strongest proof and label every file, and a saved folder makes that a ten-minute job instead of an evening.

SUMMARY
Order [#] was placed on [date] for £[amount] and shipped on [date] with
[carrier], tracking number [number]. The dispute reason shown is [reason].

EVIDENCE 1: PROOF OF DELIVERY
[Signature / photo / tracking record] saved on [date]. Attached.

EVIDENCE 2: TRACKING SCREENSHOT
Carrier page captured [date and time], showing Delivered on [date].

EVIDENCE 3: ADDRESS CHECK
Result: [pass]. Delivery address matches the shipping address on the order.

EVIDENCE 4: POLICIES AND LISTING
Shipping and returns policies and the product page as at [date of sale].

EVIDENCE 5: CUSTOMER CONTACT
Messages between [date] and [date], in order. Attached.

EVIDENCE 6: ORDER HISTORY
[number] earlier orders from this customer, none disputed.

REQUEST
On the evidence above, we ask that the dispute be decided in the merchant's favour.

Compare that with a scramble. Without saved evidence, a seller might send a link to a tracking page, a half-remembered account of events and no policy. The first response gives the reviewer something specific. The second gives them a reason to side with the customer.

Illustration: time saved. Building a response from scratch takes you about 90 minutes. With a saved folder it takes about 15. If you answer 6 disputes in a month, that is 6 × 75 minutes = 450 minutes, or 7.5 hours, saved. The figures are invented, so use your own. The should I fight this calculator shows when the saved time changes your decision.

The first day after an actual dispute is covered in the guide to the Shopify chargeback email, and the warning signs before a dispute in the guide to a customer who threatens a chargeback.

Can you automate fulfilment evidence?

Partly. Shopify adds tracking and fulfilment details automatically, and you can automate order notes, folder creation and snapshots with rules or apps. Do not automate away your judgement: the strongest items are often the ones a person decides to save, such as a delivery photo or a customer instruction.

Shopify's enterprise blog mentions Shopify Flow for holding risky orders for review, and third-party apps for fraud screening and dispute support. I have not verified the details of any particular workflow or app, so check each tool's current features before you rely on them.

Task	Automatic?	Notes
Order confirmation email	Yes	Sent by Shopify
Tracking number on the order	Often	Depends on your fulfilment setup
Fulfilment event PDF in a response	Yes, for product not received	Shopify uploads it
Tracking screenshot on delivery day	Usually manual	Set a reminder or use a tool
Policy and listing snapshots	Manual or by tool	Monthly routine
Customer message thread	Automatic if in one inbox	Use one address for support
Evidence folder per order	Manual or by tool	Standard pattern helps

ChargeFix is one tool that gathers this proof for Shopify Payments disputes, drafts the response from the facts it finds and leaves you to review and file it, or let Auto mode handle them. Whatever you use, the principle is the same: the evidence to save at fulfilment is what you rely on later.

How do you build a routine to save evidence at fulfilment?

A routine beats good intentions, and a written list of the evidence to save at fulfilment beats a good memory. The aim is that the evidence to save at fulfilment is captured by habit, in the same order, every time, so nothing depends on memory. Treat it as the last step of packing, not an optional extra.

Here is a routine that works for a one-person store. Adapt the wording, but keep the sequence, because the sequence is what makes the habit stick.

FULFILMENT EVIDENCE ROUTINE (3 minutes)
1. Open the order. Check the address verification result.
2. Add the tracking number and send it to the customer.
3. Paste the order note (what was checked, what was sent).
4. Photo of the parcel and label for orders over your threshold.
5. Screenshot the carrier page once the label is scanned.
6. Move the customer messages to the order folder.
7. Tick the order as "evidence saved" in your sheet.

The tick in step 7 matters. A simple column in a spreadsheet, or a tag on the Shopify order, lets you see at a glance which orders have fulfilment evidence and which do not. When a dispute arrives you will know within seconds how strong your position is, and whether the order is worth fighting.

Who should do it when you are not the one packing?

If a warehouse, a family member or a part-time helper packs for you, the routine has to travel with them. Give them the checklist above, a shared folder and one clear rule: no order leaves the building without the evidence saved. Spot check five orders a week. Fulfilment evidence that depends on one person remembering is evidence that will go missing during a busy week, which is exactly when the disputes pile up.

What does fulfilment evidence cost compared with a lost dispute?

The cost of saving evidence is time. The cost of not saving it is money. Here is a simple comparison for a store that ships 200 orders a month and sees four disputes a month, using a £60 average order and the £10 UK fee. The figures are illustrative.

Approach	Disputes won	Disputes lost	Monthly cost of losses
No fulfilment evidence	1	3	3 x (£60 + £10) = £210
Evidence to save at fulfilment, every order	3	1	1 x (£60 + £10) = £70

The routine saves £140 a month in this example, for about ten hours of effort across 200 orders at three minutes each. That is £14 an hour of recovered money, and it grows with order value. The win rates are assumptions for illustration, not a promise. The direction is what matters: saved evidence at fulfilment moves disputes from lost to won.

Illustration: the high-value order. Fulfilment evidence matters most here. A £450 order with a signature requirement and packing photos costs you perhaps five extra minutes. If the dispute arrives and you lose, you are out £450 plus the £10 fee, £460 in total. If the extra evidence turns that into a win, you recover the full £460. Five minutes against £460 is the easiest trade in the business.

How do you review your fulfilment evidence each month?

Once a month, spend fifteen minutes on a review. Pull five random orders and check that each folder holds the full set of fulfilment evidence. Check that policy and listing snapshots are current. Delete anything past your retention period. Note any gaps and fix the routine, not the order.

The review is also when you learn which dispute reasons you actually receive. If most of your disputes are product not received, put more effort into the proof of delivery and tracking screenshot steps. If they are unrecognised charges, check your billing descriptor and the address verification notes. Your own dispute history tells you which part of the evidence to save at fulfilment deserves the most care, and which fulfilment evidence you can safely simplify.

A quick monthly scorecard helps:

MONTHLY FULFILMENT EVIDENCE REVIEW
Orders shipped: ___     Orders with evidence saved: ___
Disputes received: ___  Disputes won: ___
Most common reason: ___
Gap found in the routine: ___
Fix agreed: ___

Which fulfilment evidence do disputes ask for most often?

Across the dispute reasons Shopify lists, a small group of items does most of the work. Knowing the shortlist helps you decide where to spend the three minutes.

Fulfilment evidence	Helps with	Effort
Tracking number and tracking screenshot	Product not received	Low
Order note with address verification result	Fraudulent, unrecognised	Low
Policy and listing snapshot	Product unacceptable, subscription cancelled	Medium, monthly
Customer messages saved to the order folder	Nearly all reasons	Low
Packing photo and signature	High-value product not received	Medium

If you cannot do everything, start with the first two rows. That is the minimum evidence to save at fulfilment that covers the most common reasons. Add the rest of the fulfilment evidence as the volume and value of your orders grow, and keep the fulfilment evidence for each order together so that you can find it in under a minute.

Should you save fulfilment evidence for orders you expect never to be disputed?

Yes, because you cannot tell in advance. The disputes that hurt are the ones from orders that looked perfectly ordinary. A routine that only runs for risky orders will miss them. Saving evidence at fulfilment for every order, and adding extra items for the high-value tier, is the pattern that holds up. It also means your fulfilment evidence habit is the same on every order, which is what keeps it going on a busy day.

What are the signs your fulfilment evidence is too thin?

Watch for these warning signs. You regularly answer disputes by searching old emails. You cannot say whether an order passed the address verification check. Your tracking links show "page not found" when you click them months later. Your return policy changed and you cannot prove what it said at the time. Your fulfilment evidence lives in one person's inbox. Any one of these means the evidence to save at fulfilment is not being saved reliably, and the fix is the routine above, not a bigger effort at dispute time. Saving evidence at fulfilment is cheap; rebuilding it later is not. The evidence to save at fulfilment costs minutes now and can recover the whole order value later.

What's different for UK merchants?

This section is general information, not legal advice. For UK stores, the main differences are the £10 chargeback fee, the 120 day claim window, the data protection rules for keeping evidence and UK carrier proof options. How bank holidays affect your due date is not covered in the Shopify pages I reviewed.

On cost, the UK chargeback fee is £10, and Shopify says it is returned if you win. The Shopify chargeback fee guide for the UK explains it.

On claims, MoneyHelper says buyers typically have 120 days to make a chargeback claim, and credit card buyers can claim under Section 75. So the evidence to save at fulfilment needs to last through that window.

On law, the Consumer Rights Act 2015 section 29 keeps goods at your risk until the buyer has physical possession, which is why delivery proof carries so much weight. The guide to lost in transit liability explains it, and the Shopify chargebacks UK guide covers the wider picture.

On data, UK GDPR applies to customer data, so keep what you need for the claim window and delete it afterwards. Check the current guidance, because I have not reviewed it here.

What are the most common mistakes with fulfilment evidence?

These gaps are behind many lost disputes.

1. Saving nothing until a dispute arrives, then finding tracking pages and listings changed.
2. Saving links instead of screenshots, which banks cannot always open.
3. Storing evidence in scattered places, so it takes hours to assemble.
4. Not requiring a signature on the orders that would hurt most to lose.
5. Forgetting to snapshot policies and listings, so you cannot show what the customer saw.
6. Keeping evidence for a few weeks only, when claims can arrive after 120 days.
7. Ignoring a failed address check and shipping anyway without a note.
8. Keeping personal data far longer than you need.

Frequently asked questions

What evidence should I save when I fulfil an order?

Save the order confirmation, the policies shown, a listing snapshot, the address check result, the tracking number, a dated tracking screenshot, any signature or delivery photo and the customer messages. Use screenshots, name files clearly and keep one folder per order. Add a signature and packing photo for high-value orders.

Why not just wait until a dispute arrives?

Because tracking pages change, listings get edited and messages scatter. MoneyHelper says buyers typically have 120 days to make a chargeback claim, so you may be answering months after fulfilment. Shopify also gives only 7 to 21 days to respond once a chargeback is filed, which is too little time to start gathering.

Does Shopify save evidence for me?

Partly. For orders on Shopify Payments, a response includes order details, addresses, IP address, fulfilment details, a tracking PDF where a tracking number exists, refund records and earlier orders. For product not received disputes Shopify uploads a PDF of fulfilment events. You still add messages, policies, listings and proof of delivery.

Do I need a signature on every parcel?

No. Shopify says a signature significantly strengthens your position in product not received disputes, so use it for high-value orders. For low-value parcels the extra cost may not be worth it. Compare the carrier's current price with a typical loss, and choose a threshold from your own history.

How should I screenshot tracking?

Capture the carrier's own page showing the tracking number, status, date and time, and the delivery location if shown, then add your own date to the file name. Shopify says banks can review a screenshot without visiting an outside site and recommends high-contrast images that print clearly in black and white.

How long should I keep evidence?

At least 120 days after delivery, because MoneyHelper says buyers typically have 120 days to make a chargeback claim, and longer for high-value orders. That figure is my suggestion based on the claim window, not a rule. Customer data is personal data under UK GDPR, so delete what you no longer need.

What evidence matters for a fraud dispute?

Shopify suggests the fulfilment date and time, billing information, IP address and country, and shipping and tracking information. Save the address check result and delivery to the billing address too. Earlier undisputed orders from the same customer are added by Shopify Payments automatically.

What should I save for a dropshipped order?

Everything you would save for your own stock, plus the supplier order confirmation, dispatch notice and supplier tracking. Add the supplier's product page or spec sheet if the listing could be questioned. Supplier emails are easy to lose, so attach them to the Shopify order the day they arrive.

Can I save evidence after I get the dispute?

Some of it, such as messages and records you still hold. But things that have changed cannot be rebuilt: a tracking page that expired, a listing you edited or a policy that was different at the time of sale. That is why saving at fulfilment is so much stronger than collecting later.

How long does the routine take?

About three minutes for a standard order and a few more for a high-value one, with policy and listing snapshots taken monthly. Several steps are automatic, such as the order confirmation and the fulfilment PDF. The time is small compared with the 90 minutes or more it can take to build a response from nothing.

Start free trial with ChargeFix

ChargeFix is a Shopify app for Shopify Payments disputes: it gathers the proof from your store, drafts the response from verified facts, on flat monthly pricing with no cut of what you win. You review and file it, or let Auto mode handle them. If you want the evidence to save at fulfilment gathered without doing it all by hand, start free trial and have it ready before the due date.

Sources

• Responding to chargebacks and inquiries, Shopify Help Center
• Chargeback reasons, Shopify Help Center
• Preventing chargebacks, Shopify Help Center
• Resolving a chargeback or inquiry, Shopify Help Center
• How to prevent and manage chargebacks as a merchant, Shopify Enterprise blog
• Consumer Rights Act 2015, section 29, legislation.gov.uk
• How to sort a problem with a payment, MoneyHelper
• Royal Mail and Evri delivery proof pages, reviewed 2 October 2026 and not re-opened for this post