Disputes and payment issues: common questions

Short answers to the questions shops ask about chargebacks and stuck payments. Each answer links to the full article.

Disputes (chargebacks)

What is a dispute, and where do I see them?

A dispute (also called a chargeback) is when a customer asks their bank or card company to reverse a charge. Click Disputes & Payment Issues in the left sidebar and stay on the Disputes tab. See Handling a Stripe dispute or chargeback.

What do the columns mean?

Each row shows the Booking (or "No booking matched" if Renta could not link it), the Reason the bank gave in plain words (for example "Customer says they were charged twice" or "Customer says they never received it"), the Amount, the Status and a Respond by date.

What do the statuses mean?

Needs review means no evidence has been sent yet and you can still write it. Submitted means you sent evidence and Stripe will tell you the outcome. Won and Lost mean the dispute is closed.

How do I respond to a dispute?

Open the row, write your case in the Evidence summary box (receipts, the booking confirmation, the signed waiver, messages with the customer), press Save changes, then press Submit evidence to Stripe. See Handling a Stripe dispute or chargeback.

Can I submit more evidence later?

No. A confirmation asks "Submit evidence to Stripe?" and says "Submission is final — Stripe only allows one response." After that the box is locked and reads "Evidence submitted — Stripe will notify you of the outcome."

Why is the Evidence summary box greyed out?

The dispute is no longer in Needs review. Once submitted, or closed as won or lost, the text is locked, and a closed dispute reads "This dispute is closed (won)" or "(lost)".

Why is "Save changes" greyed out?

Nothing has changed since the last save. It then reads "Saved".

What do the colours on "Respond by" mean?

Red with "(past due)" means the deadline has passed, red with "(Nd left)" means two days or fewer remain, amber means five days or fewer remain, and gray means more time. No date reads "No deadline". Stripe's own deadline applies, so treat red as urgent.

What reasons might a bank give?

Among those Renta spells out: charged twice, did not authorize the charge, already cancelled, not as described, never received it, does not recognize the charge, and refund not issued. Anything else shows as "General dispute" or the bank's own wording.

Will I be told when a customer files a dispute, and does Renta write the evidence for me?

Yes to both. When Stripe reports a new dispute, Renta adds it to this page as Needs review, pre-fills the Evidence summary from the booking, waiver and email records it has, and emails the business owner ("Action needed: payment dispute on booking ..."). It never submits for you: you review the draft and press Submit evidence to Stripe yourself.

Payment issues

What is the Payment Issues tab?

A list of payments that got stuck partway: money was charged or held, but a step that should have followed (such as confirming the booking or refunding a hold) did not work. They are not declined cards. See Failed or stuck booking payments.

What does the red "payment issues need your attention" bar mean?

It shows at the top of the admin when you have open payment issues, for example "2 payment issues need your attention", with a Review button that opens the Payment Issues tab. The tab's label also shows the open count, such as "Payment Issues (2)".

What do the issue descriptions mean?

For example: "Reservation expired — refunded automatically" (handled for you), "Reservation expired — refund FAILED, still stranded" (money is still held, so refund it yourself), "Booking failed to confirm after charge", "Payment didn't cover booking — refunded automatically" or "— refund FAILED, still stranded", "Booking cancel write failed after payment mismatch", and "Booking confirmed but PaymentIntent record failed to save".

What does Mark resolved do?

It only records that you have dealt with it. A confirmation asks you to confirm "you've verified the customer's charge/hold is handled (refunded, cancelled, or otherwise accounted for) outside this table". It does not move any money, so refund or release the money first (in the booking or in Stripe), then press Mark resolved. The status changes from Open to Resolved.

The tab says "No payment issues — every storefront charge confirmed a booking."

That is the good case: nothing is stuck.