Commonly disputed transactions
There are many reasons why you might dispute a transaction, and the first thing you should do is contact the company or business that has charged your card.
You haven't received what you've paid for
It’s so easy to buy goods or services online – but what should you do when you don’t receive what you paid for?
- Get in contact with the company using email (where possible), you should give them 10 business days to respond.
- If it's coming from overseas, there's a chance that Customs will hold the item. This is outside of the control of the company.
- If an event has been cancelled e.g. concert or sporting event send us a secure message in the mobile app or internet banking with 'chargeback enquiry' as the subject line.
- You'll need to wait at least 30 days from the date of purchase before we can attempt to dispute the transaction.
- Keep all your emails to and from the company.
- Get in touch with us if the company you've purchased from is in liquidation and the service will not be provided.
Pending transactions
Although the money hasn't yet left your account, you've committed to the transaction and it can't be reversed or cancelled.
You can see pending transactions within your account in the mobile app or internet banking. These types of transactions usually appear if you've just made a purchase or perhaps signed up for something.
If you don't recognise the purchase or the company, get in touch with us once your account has been debited.
Trials and sign-ups
If you've supplied your card details to sign up for a trial or subscription, it's unlikely you'll be able to dispute it, but there may be limited circumstances under which you can, for example if you:
- believe you haven't signed up to a trial or a subscription
- have cancelled your trial or subscription, but have continued to be charged
- have written evidence that's dated of your cancellation attempt.
Your refund hasn't been processed to your account
You've been advised you'll receive a refund, or a partial refund and you haven't received it yet.
Before contacting us, please keep in mind:
- it can take up to 15 days for it to appear on your account
- the company may request a longer timeframe
- keep the written communication to and from the company.
What can't be disputed
There are some types of transactions that we can't dispute, for example if:
- it's still pending or the money hasn't left your account yet
- it's been more than 60 days since you made the purchase
- you've decided you no longer want the goods or services
- you cancelled a non-refundable booking or tickets
- if you’ve accepted a voucher from the merchant
- a friend or family member has used your card to make the purchase
- the purchase was made in New Zealand via a domestic EFTPOS transaction and you pushed the ‘cheque’ or ‘savings’ button (i.e. you used your ATM/EFTPOS card or Visa Debit card to make the purchase)
- the payment was made directly from your account to the merchant's account using internet banking or the mobile app – you may however be covered by our internet banking guarantee
- it was conducted through a New Zealand ATM.
How we process a dispute
We’ll aim to lodge your claim with Visa within 14 days of hearing from you. However, each dispute varies in duration and this may take longer in peak periods. In limited circumstances, certain fees may apply.
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Building a case
We can't begin the dispute process until the transaction has been debited from your card or account - it can't be pending.
We'll then assess our right to dispute the transaction based on rules and regulations provided by Visa. If your transaction falls under one of these rules, we'll request supporting documentation from you e.g. emails, screenshots and invoices between yourself and the company.
We'll then put a case forward to get the money back on your behalf, provided we met the dispute rules and regulations.
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Chargebacks
A chargeback is when you get the purchase amount returned onto your card or account when we've successfully disputed the transaction on your behalf through Visa.
If you have a chargeback case pending with us and a payment is due on your credit card, pay this as normal to avoid any late payment fees or interest charges.
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Contacting merchants
If we credit you for a disputed unauthorised transaction, we may try to contact the relevant merchant to recover this amount.
If we're satisfied that the relevant transaction wasn't unauthorised, we’ll reverse the credit or get in touch with you to arrange repayment.
Get in touch with us
If you have a transaction you'd like to dispute, please get in touch with us within 60 days of the transaction, as this allows us time to process your dispute. If it's been longer than that we may not be able to dispute it. Before contacting us, make sure you've read the steps above.
The quickest way to start the process is by sending us a secure message in the mobile app or internet banking with 'chargeback enquiry' as the subject line or, you can also call us.
If you suspect that you've been scammed find out what you can do.
Kiwibank’s terms and conditions apply. See all credit cards terms and conditions.