Chargeback guide · for ground transportation
Respond to the code.
Ground transportation gets disputed more than most card businesses, and it’s rarely the fare. It’s the wait time, the no-show fee, the toll. Here’s how to stop that at booking and dispatch, and win when it happens.
1 PDF
under 2 MB. One upload.
48–72 hrs
to get your response in
~9 days
Visa’s window. The tightest.
01
Start here
The one rule that decides every dispute.
THE GOLDEN RULE
Prove the cardholder agreed to the charge, and that the trip they paid for actually ran.
The passenger starts it
Or the account holder who booked it. They tell their bank something’s wrong.
Their bank decides
Not you, not ValPay. The cardholder is the bank’s customer.
The networks set the rules
Visa, Mastercard, Amex and Discover decide what evidence counts.
ValPay passes it on
We post the case in the portal and deliver your response.
02
Stop them before they start
The habits that prevent most disputes.
1
Record who pays, who rides, who booked
They’re often three different people. That gap is where “I didn’t authorize this” starts.
2
Keep a booking you can show later
A time-stamped reservation with the agreed fare and terms, on a recorded line if you have one.
3
Confirm in writing, ask for a reply
Email the confirmation with the cancellation window and wait-time rate. A reply beats any policy page.
4
Capture proof the trip ran
Dispatch log, GPS trail, pickup and drop times, wait time and driver notes. That’s your delivery receipt.
5
Bill extras promptly, itemized, once
Wait time, tolls, parking, gratuity and cleaning within a day or two, with the receipt emailed the same day.
03
The email has landed
First, work out which one you’ve got.
FRAUD NOTIFICATION (NOF)
A warning shot. Get ready.
The card network has told us, through our systems, that the cardholder flagged this charge as unrecognised. These often turn into chargebacks.
Do the prep now. Pull the booking, ID and payment records while they’re easy to find.
Thinking of refunding? Check no chargeback has landed first. Some networks send the NOF and then the chargeback, and you could lose the money twice.
It still counts toward your fraud totals, even if you refund.
CHARGEBACK
The clock is ticking
The bank has taken the money back and opened a case.
Read the reason code
Defend or accept
Beat the deadline
1
Open the case
From the email link or the portal
2
Read the code
Respond to that. Nothing else.
3
Defend or accept
Accepting is final
4
Upload one PDF
Letter and exhibits, in order
9 days
Visa
14 days
Amex
24 days
Discover
39 days
Mastercard
One file. 2 MB.
The portal takes a single upload. Scan at 150 dpi in grayscale, and use Reduce File Size if it’s over.
Good to know
04
Find your code
Match the claim, then send the evidence in the last column.
“I didn’t authorize this”
Visa 10.4 · MC 4837 · Amex F29
Time-stamped reservation, AVS/CVV match, the confirmation and any reply, prior undisputed trips.
“The vehicle never came”
Visa 13.1 · MC 4853 · Amex C08
Dispatch record and GPS log with pickup and drop times, the driver’s manifest entry.
“Charged twice / wrong amount”
Visa 12.5 / 12.6 · MC 4834 · Amex P05
Proof the deposit was a hold, and every payment adding up to the final fare.
“I never agreed to these extras”
Visa 13.3 · MC 4853 · Amex C31
Terms agreed at booking, the trip log for wait time, the toll, parking or cleaning receipt.
“I canceled that booking”
Visa 13.7 · MC 4853 · Amex C18
The cancellation window shown at booking, proof no cancellation came in time, the driver’s on-site record.
“I was promised a refund”
Visa 13.6 · MC 4853 · Amex C-series
The refund’s ARN, date and amount, or your policy if none was owed.
“The payment wasn’t approved”
Visa 11.x · MC 4808 · Amex A02
The approval record. Authorize at booking, and incrementally on long charters.
WATCH THE CARD-PRESENT FLAG
A phone or online booking tagged “card present” routes to a code that demands proof the physical card was read. That’s impossible for a remote booking, so get the flag right.
05
Let AI do the heavy lifting
Your records in. One clear, two-minute story out.
Not sure where to start? Pull the booking and payment records from your reports, and let an AI assistant turn them into one clear story for the bank.
THE PROMPT
I’m responding to a card dispute. Reason code: [code and description from the case]. A bank analyst will read this for about two minutes and decide. Using only the records below, write a one-page cover letter that: states the case number, reason code, transaction date and amount; answers the reason code in the first two sentences; gives a short timeline; lists each exhibit (A, B, C) and what it proves; and stays calm and factual. Put the key facts in bold. Don’t add anything that isn’t in my records. If something’s missing, tell me what to find. Records: [paste here]
Before
Strip card numbers and other customers’ details. Never paste them into an AI tool.
After
Check every fact against your records. AI can get things wrong, and you own the response.
Then
One PDF, under 2 MB, uploaded before the deadline.
06
Cases worth learning from
How the golden rule plays out in real life.
Defend
The ride that “never showed”
The GPS trail shows the driver on site for 20 minutes, with two logged calls to the passenger. That’s delivery. Lead with the map.
Depends
Wait time nobody remembers agreeing to
Was the wait-time rate in the confirmation? Then it’s a strong case. If it was only on your website, it’s a coin flip.
Defend
The booking the cardholder didn’t recognize
An assistant booked it on the boss’s card. Show the booker record, matching contact details and earlier undisputed trips on the same card.
Accept
The web booking on a stolen card
Keyed card, failed address check, and nothing ties the cardholder to the ride. Accept it fast, and tighten checks on first-time web bookings.
Before it happens
Cardholder, passenger and booker recorded
Fare and terms confirmed in writing
AVS and CVV on keyed bookings
Dispatch and GPS log kept
Extras billed within a day or two
When a dispute lands
Open it the day it lands
Read the code, answer the code
Defend or accept. Accepting is final.
One PDF under 2 MB
Everything in the first response
Questions about a specific dispute? Start with the reason code on the case. If you get stuck, chargebacks@valpay.com will do its best to help.