Refunds and disputes

In shortA refund is the shop voluntarily giving your money back, and it mostly moves at their speed. A dispute, formally a chargeback, is for when the shop won't put things right: it runs through the card network, and the network, not Ortix, decides the outcome.

People use these words interchangeably, but they're two different machines, so let's separate them.

Refund

  • The shop returns your money voluntarily
  • Travels back the way the payment came
  • Moves mostly at the shop's speed
or

Dispute (chargeback)

  • For when the shop won't make it right
  • Runs through the card network
  • Slower, but carries real weight

A refund is the friendly version: the shop agrees to return your money. It travels back the same route the payment took, and the timing mostly depends on when the shop actually processes it on their side. Once they have, it usually shows within a few days. If a shop swears they refunded you and nothing's arrived after a fair wait, message us and we'll trace it.

What a dispute needs

Three things have to be true before a dispute can be raised:

  • It is a card payment. Bank transfers use a recall instead; see 

    Sent to the wrong person or in the wrong currency

    .

  • The transaction is 30 USD or more, or the equivalent. Smaller ones cannot be disputed, and several small ones from the same shop cannot be added together to reach it.
  • You have tried the shop first, or have a reason you cannot.
Fraud disputes, a payment you never made, are reviewed within 3 business days. Everything else within 5.

A dispute, formally a chargeback, is for when the shop won't make it right. Goods never came, or there's a payment you never made. It runs through the card network itself, which is what gives it real weight, and also what makes it slower:

  • Tell us what happened, and share what you've got: messages with the shop, proof of non-delivery, anything relevant.
  • We file the dispute through the card network for you.
  • The network and the shop's bank decide. We'll be straight with you: Ortix doesn't control the outcome, and it takes time. What we do control is keeping you updated the whole way. One more straight fact: a dispute ruled against you can carry a charge, shown in the amount shown before you confirm.
One special case: if the payment you're disputing is one you never made at all, say exactly that, and freeze the card. An unrecognized payment is a security matter first and a dispute second.

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