Chargeback Evidence From Customer Conversations: What to Keep and How to Send It

Chargeback evidence from customer conversations is the part of a dispute plenty of small stores have and never send. The card issuer sees the order and the tracking. It doesn't see the chat where the customer asked for a different size, got an answer within the hour and said thanks, unless you send it. One Shopify merchant wrote: "I've never had one decided in my favor." So I won't promise you a win here. What you'll get is a better case to send.

Can AI help with chargebacks, or does it only help you collect the evidence?#

It helps you collect and organise the evidence. The card issuer decides the dispute, and no tool can promise you a win, whatever its sales page says.

A fast answer helps earlier on, too. If customers know they'll get a clear reply from you, they've a reason to write to you before they ring the bank. Plenty skip that step anyway. One merchant on the Shopify Community put it like this: "they do not reach out to us and immediately dispute it with their bank without returning the products." The ones who do write to you hand you part of your case.

What the card issuer looks at#

Each dispute comes with a reason, and the reason tells you which evidence matters. Shopify's list of chargeback reasons and Stripe's guide to payment disputes go through them in detail. The common ones, in plain words:

• Item not received. Tracking with a delivery scan, proof of delivery, and the delivery address matching the order. Any message from the customer after the delivery date helps too.
• Not as described. Your product page, the photos the customer sent, what you offered, and whether they sent the item back. If you issued an RMA number, include it, because it shows a return was offered.
• Didn't recognise the charge (fraud). Order details that tie the buyer to the purchase, and any conversation where they discussed the order with you.
• Refund not processed. The refund record with its date, or your policy and the message where you explained why no refund was due.

Proof of delivery isn't always enough on its own. One merchant on the Shopify Community wrote: "I did deliver and have proof of the delivery of the package and had no control over it being stolen." That's the gap a conversation can fill, as long as it shows the customer confirming something after the parcel arrived.

What to keep from the customer conversation#

• The customer's own words after delivery, especially anything that confirms they got the order.
• Your replies, with their timestamps.
• The policy you quoted, word for word.
• Photos the customer sent.
• What you offered: a resend, a refund or an exchange.
• The channel the conversation happened on.

Fast replies count here. One owner on r/shopify said: "We reply to every message within hours." Fine, but an issuer won't take your word for it. A timestamped export shows it.

How do I put chargeback evidence together quickly from the conversation?#

1. Find the order. Note the order number, the date, the items and the amount paid.
2. Pull the delivery proof. Tracking number, carrier and the delivery scan.
3. Export the conversation. Every message, with timestamps and the channel.
4. Quote the policy. The exact line the customer agreed to at checkout.
5. Write a one-page cover letter. It tells the issuer what's attached and why it answers the reason code.

Copy this cover letter and fill in the brackets.

Keep it to one page. The issuer reads the attachments, so just say what's there and why it matters.

Can I see what the AI said to the customer, and why?#

Yes. In Hay.chat the conversation page keeps the whole thread, and every AI message shows a confidence score. You can see the source behind each reply, and your playbooks keep a version history you can roll back. There's no separate log screen today. The conversation and its export are the record.

Missing items and parcels that never arrived#

A customer who says an item is missing from the parcel needs an answer before they go looking for their bank. Ask for a photo of what arrived and the packing slip, check the order, then decide on a resend or a refund. We go through it step by step in what to do when an item is missing from an order. Carrier claims for a lost parcel are a separate process, with their own forms and deadlines.

How Hay.chat exports a conversation for a dispute#

Open the conversation, choose Export and pick PDF, CSV or Evidence pack. The evidence pack is a PDF plus a ZIP with file hashes. Every message carries a timestamp in your workspace's time zone, and the channel is shown. One export covers one conversation. A dispute that spans two conversations needs two exports.

And if a customer asks for their money back in the chat first, refunds wait for your approval by default, so nothing goes out before you've looked.

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Frequently asked questions#