GivebearHandle disputes and chargebacks
What Givebear shows when a donor's bank disputes a gift, how you are alerted, and what to do before the deadline.
A dispute (also called a chargeback) happens when a donor asks their bank to reverse a charge. The bank pulls the money back while it investigates and gives you a deadline to respond. Givebear alerts you, tracks the dispute on the gift, and gives you Stripe's response tools inside the dashboard.
Disputes are time-sensitive. A dispute with no response is lost automatically, so treat every alert as urgent finance work.
Seeing disputes needs the "View billing" permission. Responding to one uses Stripe's embedded dispute tools, which need "Manage billing and payouts". Owners and admins have both. See settings, roles, and billing.
How you find out
Givebear tells you three ways when a new dispute opens:
- Email. Your organization's contact email receives one alert per dispute. The subject is "Action needed: $X donation disputed", with the response deadline when the card network set one. The email lists the amount, the donor when Givebear can match one, the reason the bank gave, and the respond-by date.
- Dashboard notifications. The bell in the dashboard header shows "A chargeback needs your response" (or the count when there are several), with the earliest deadline. It links straight to the Chargebacks page.
- The transaction itself. The gift in Transactions carries a dispute badge and its net amount drops by the disputed amount and fee.
Some banks open an inquiry before a full chargeback. For those the email reads "A donor's bank flagged a $X donation" and explains that no money has moved yet. Answer inquiries too; unanswered ones can turn into chargebacks.
What a dispute costs you
While the bank reviews the dispute, the donation amount plus a dispute fee is withheld from your Stripe balance. If you win, the amount comes back. If you lose, it stays with the donor's bank. Dispute fees are set by Stripe and the card network, not by Givebear; the dashboard shows the exact figures on each case.
The gift's Net column in Transactions already reflects this: gross minus refunds, minus the disputed amount, minus the dispute fee.
Respond to a dispute
Open Finance, then Chargebacks. Every disputed charge on your account is listed with its status and deadline.
Select the dispute to read the reason and the evidence the bank wants.
Decide whether to contest it. If you know the donor, contact them first: a donor can ask their bank to withdraw the dispute, which is the fastest resolution.
To contest, upload your evidence (the receipt, the donor's registration or communication, anything showing they authorized the gift) and submit it before the deadline.
To concede, accept the dispute. The funds go to the donor and the case closes as lost.
You can also reach the same tools from a single gift. Open the transaction in Transactions, then select View disputes in the detail drawer to open the dispute for that payment.
Do not refund a disputed gift to "make it go away". While a dispute is open, Stripe usually marks the charge as not refundable and Givebear blocks the refund button. Resolve the dispute from the Chargebacks page instead.
Track the outcome
Each disputed gift shows one of these badges in Transactions. Filter the ledger by dispute status to see every case in one state.
| Badge | Meaning |
|---|---|
| Needs response | A chargeback is open and waiting for your evidence or acceptance |
| Under review | You responded; the bank is deciding |
| Dispute won | The bank sided with you and the funds came back |
| Dispute lost | The bank sided with the donor |
| Prevented | Stripe closed the case automatically before it counted against you |
| Inquiry response | An inquiry is open and waiting for you |
| Inquiry review | You answered the inquiry; the bank is deciding |
| Inquiry closed | The inquiry ended without a chargeback |
Status changes sync from Stripe automatically. You do not need to update anything by hand.
Reduce disputes
Most donation disputes are a donor not recognizing the charge on their statement.
- Keep your public name and legal name current in Settings so the statement descriptor and receipt match what donors expect.
- Make sure receipts go out. A donor who has a receipt rarely calls their bank.
- For recurring gifts, point donors to My Givebear, where they can pause or cancel on their own instead of disputing the next charge.
- Answer donor emails about unfamiliar charges quickly, and offer a refund from the transaction when the gift was a mistake.