A “product not received” chargeback is not a fraud dispute. The cardholder generally acknowledges the transaction but says the promised goods or services never arrived. Your evidence must therefore prove fulfillment to the right customer or destination.
Physical goods: build the delivery chain
Start with the order page showing the shipping address provided at checkout. Then add: - fulfillment date; - carrier; - tracking number; - shipment status; - delivered date/time; - delivery destination; - signature, photo, GPS delivery detail, or pickup record if available.
Make sure the tracking destination corresponds to the order. A screenshot saying “Delivered” with no city, ZIP, or recipient connection is weak.
If the customer changed the address after purchase, preserve the request and the merchant’s response. Some processor protection programs have strict rules about alternate addresses. If you rely on a separate protection program, verify its eligibility rules for reroutes and address changes; that program’s decision is distinct from the issuer’s chargeback review. PayPal, for example, excludes some card-funded Item Not Received chargebacks from its Seller Protection program, so do not assume PayPal protection covers an issuer-filed card dispute.
Investigate the carrier before writing the rebuttal
Open the live tracking page and download any available proof-of-delivery record. If the customer reported nonreceipt, open a carrier trace when appropriate. Shopify Payments may automatically attach a fulfillment-events PDF; inspect it for the correct order, destination, and reroute history, then add stronger carrier records if those details are missing.
Record whether the package was: - delivered normally; - delivered to a pickup location; - returned to sender; - lost in transit; - still delayed; - delivered to the wrong address.
If the carrier confirms loss, the correct business action may be refund/replacement and acceptance of the dispute rather than representment.
Digital goods need a different proof model
Tracking numbers do not exist for software, downloads, memberships, or online content. Show: - account creation; - entitlement granted; - login timestamps; - download or streaming events; - IP/device where appropriate; - activation key use; - progress or in-product activity; - support contacts referencing use.
Shopify and PayPal both point merchants toward access or usage logs for intangible goods. A receipt saying “digital product delivered” is not as strong as a timestamped system record showing the account actually accessed it.
| Goods | Digital or service | |
|---|---|---|
| Fulfillment | Tracking and delivery | Entitlement, login, attendance |
| Question | Where package went | Whether access/service occurred |
| Limit | Scan may not prove personal receipt | Receipt alone does not prove use |
Services: prove the service occurred
For appointments or professional services, use: - booked date/time; - attendance/check-in; - signed completion; - deliverables sent; - work log; - customer approval; - follow-up communication.
For ongoing services, identify the disputed service period. A general annual contract does not prove that the August service was performed.
Deal with porch theft and “delivered but not found” honestly
Carrier delivery to the address can be strong evidence, but it does not guarantee the issuer will rule for the merchant. In a July 2026 analysis of one million disputes, Stripe reported delivery confirmation was associated with a 27-percentage-point higher win rate than no delivery confirmation; treat that as an observed aggregate, not a promise for an individual case. If the customer reports theft after confirmed delivery, use your replacement/insurance policy and consider the customer relationship.
Do not fabricate a signature or claim the carrier “proved the customer personally received it” when the tracking only shows delivery at location.
If you have signature-required delivery for high-value goods, include the signed recipient record.
The rebuttal should be a timeline
Example: - May 4: order placed to 18 Pine St.; - May 5: shipped UPS, tracking 1Z…; - May 8 14:22: carrier marked delivered at 18 Pine St.; - May 8 14:24: automated delivery email sent; - May 10: customer emailed asking about package; - May 10: merchant supplied tracking and opened carrier inquiry.
Then attach each supporting exhibit in that order.
Prevention after the case
Segment not-received disputes by carrier, warehouse, ZIP, product value, and delivery method. If one fulfillment center produces a spike, that is an operations issue.
Use accurate promised delivery windows. Send tracking proactively. For high-risk or high-value shipments, evaluate signature or pickup options.
For digital products, retain immutable access logs for the period in which disputes can arise. For services, use completion confirmations.
A defendable not-received case begins at fulfillment time. Evidence created after the dispute is usually weaker than records generated by normal operations.
Handle address changes, holds, and carrier reroutes
A delivered scan is weaker when the package destination changed after checkout. Preserve who requested any address correction, carrier hold, pickup-point change, forwarding request, or delivery intercept, together with the timestamp and the final destination. If the customer asked support to reroute the shipment, that communication can explain why the carrier record no longer matches the original checkout address.
For carrier-held or pickup shipments, keep the pickup notice and any identity/signature information the carrier legitimately provides. For replacement shipments, label the original and replacement tracking separately so the reviewer does not mistake two tracking numbers for inconsistent evidence.
If the merchant changed the address without customer instruction, disclose that fact and evaluate the case carefully. The useful evidence is a complete custody trail, not simply the last “delivered” status in the carrier portal.
- CheckoutRecord original address.
- Change or holdPreserve who requested it and when.
- Final routeTie reroute/pickup to order.
- ReviewDisclose merchant changes and assess accurately.
International shipments add a customs layer
Cross-border orders introduce a step domestic shipments do not have: customs clearance. A package can show carrier movement for days while held at a border facility, and that hold is not the same as loss. Preserve the customs entry status, any duty or tax notice sent to the customer, and the point at which the shipment re-enters normal transit. If a customer refused to pay duties and the shipment was returned to the merchant, that is a different outcome than nondelivery and should be evidenced with the return-to-sender record rather than argued as a delivery. Keep the customs broker or carrier reference number tied to the shipment, since border-hold tracking events sometimes use a different reference than the original domestic tracking number, and a mismatched reference is a common reason a reviewer cannot connect the customs record to the disputed order.
