NOTE: SportsEngine does not authorize a refund to the Registrant or control the outcome of chargebacks. When a chargeback is received, an email notification is sent to your organization's contact listed in Financial Settings and to the Account Holder responsible for the chargeback. If your organization would like to dispute an outcome, please contact your member bank or credit card provider directly.
A dispute, also known as a chargeback, inquiry, or retrieval, occurs when the cardholder questions a payment with the card issuer. An inquiry or retrieval is a request for more information about the charge, which may escalate to a chargeback.
To process a chargeback, the issuer creates a formal dispute, which immediately reverses the payment. The payment amount is then deducted from your account balance. Click here to learn more about SportsEngine's Payment Processing Agreement and Disputed Transactions (sec. 11.9-11.12).
What Can Your Organization Do About a Chargeback?
The first step an organization can take is to contact the registrant responsible for the dispute and seek an amicable solution.
The registrant can contact their card provider to drop the dispute or reverse the chargeback.
If they drop the dispute with their card provider, they should receive a Letter of Withdrawal. If that’s the case, provide us with a copy of that letter so we may submit it to our processing partner as part of the evidence submission.
Second, if you cannot reach the registrant or they believe the dispute is valid, you can submit evidence using the Chargeback Dispute Form, explaining that the charge is valid and the funds should not be returned to the cardholder.
If you don’t submit evidence by the 7-day deadline, the cardholder will win the dispute and keep the funds.
Submitting evidence does not guarantee that the dispute will be dropped or found in your organization’s favor. The decision is entirely up to the cardholder’s bank.
If submitting evidence to contest the cardholder’s dispute:
Ensure you provide high-quality evidence clearly showing why the dispute is invalid.
A refund policy, showing that they received the product or service in question, a signed payment term contract, etc., gives you the best chance of winning the dispute.
If the registrant drops the dispute, include a letter of withdrawal in the evidence submission.
The card-issuing banks will not accept a simple statement that you don’t believe the chargeback is valid without supporting evidence.
Submitted evidence is sent to the cardholder’s bank, which has a limited time (usually 60-75 days) to respond. This time frame varies by card network. Our processing partner updates the dispute status as soon as the bank’s response is available, but that response is often not known until the deadline passes.
The decision from the cardholder’s bank is the final step in the dispute process. Once a decision has been reached, the case is closed, and alternative means will need to be used to recoup the funds from your cardholder if it has been found in their favor.
How to View Your Organization's Chargebacks
Sign in to SportsEngine HQ.
On the left-hand menu, click the Financials tab and choose Transactions.
View the chargeback under the Status column.
To view the chargeback's details, click the Sale ID and scroll down to Activity.
Frequently Used Chargeback Terms
Chargeback Date. This is the date upon which the Organization and Account Holder was notified of the existence of the eCheck payment.
Activity. The activity field represents the current condition of the transaction.
Dispute filed means the notification has been sent out, and the chargeback can still be contested with high-quality evidence. Click here to learn what you can do.
Dispute Awarded means no further action is necessary on the order, and a resolution has been reached. If the decision favors the customer, the amount is withdrawn from the Organization's account on file. If in favor of the organization, the amount is restored to the account. That information is visible on the payout report.
Closed means the cardholder’s bank chose not to pursue this dispute. No funds or fees were withdrawn from the account.