What are Disputes?
NOTE: SportsEngine does not control the outcome of disputes. While we are committed to supporting our customers by helping gather and present relevant evidence, the final dispute decision rests solely with the financial institution. If your organization would like to dispute an outcome, please contact your member bank or credit card provider directly.
Disputes are also commonly known as Chargebacks. They occur when a family member unauthorizes a payment from the card provider to your organization.
The cardholder initiates disputes, and the family's card provider withdraws the funds without authorization from SE Payments and returns them to the registrant. The organization can then submit evidence proving the legitimacy of the charge, which may overturn the dispute.
Click here to learn more about the best practices for disputes. Click here to learn more about SportsEngine's Payment Processing Agreement and Disputed Transactions (sec. 11.9-11.12).
Please note that SportsEngine cannot assist with determining the dispute's outcome, only with gathering and submitting evidence.
How to View My Organization's Disputes
You can access your organization's disputes by clicking Business Tools > SE Payments > Disputes.
Administrators can filter this report by date and status to keep track of each dispute's progress. The possible statuses are:
Under Review: The customer initiated the dispute with the card provider, and it's under review. No action is required at this time.
Lost: This means no further action is necessary on the order, and a resolution has been reached in favor of the customer. The amount is withdrawn from the Organization's account on file.
Needs Response: The notification has been sent, and the chargeback can still be contested with high-quality evidence.
Charge Refunded: The organization refunded without completing the dispute, and the dispute won't move forward.
Won: This means no further action is necessary on the order, a resolution has been reached in favor of the organization, and the amount has been restored to the organization's account.
Warning Closed: This indicates that the inquiry has been open for 120 days without escalating to a chargeback. The card network won't escalate further, and no further action is required.
Warning Needs Response: This status means you haven't provided evidence for this inquiry yet. It's crucial to respond promptly to prevent the inquiry from escalating to a formal dispute. Submit relevant evidence to address the customer's concerns.
Warning Under Review: This indicates that you have submitted evidence to the card issuer, and they are currently reviewing it. You're awaiting their decision to close or escalate the inquiry to a formal dispute. No further action is required, but stay alert for updates.
How and when does my organization get notified about disputes?
Administrators will receive an email when:
The dispute is initiated.
The email will provide a link to submit evidence to fight the dispute.
Evidence has not been submitted, and the deadline is approaching.
The dispute is lost or won.
What can my organization do about a dispute?
We recommend you contact the registrant to explain the charges. Then, the registrant can contact the cardholder to reverse the Dispute. The registrant will then need to make the payment to your organization again.
Failing the above, your organization can submit evidence that the charge is legitimate from the Dispute tab within SE Payments. To submit evidence:
Click Business Tools > SE Payments > Disputes.
Find the dispute for which you'd like to submit evidence.
Click anywhere in the row to access the dispute form.
Fill out the dispute form with as much information as you can.
The more evidence you provide, the better your chance of winning the dispute.
If the cardholder decides to drop or reverse the chargeback, they can contact their bank to get a letter of withdrawal, which can be included as evidence.
Only one .doc or .pdf file is allowed. We suggest combining all the available evidence into one file.
You can only submit evidence once. If you need to gather more information before submitting, click Save Current Dispute Evidence.
When you are ready, click Submit.
Important Notes
Dispute decision reversal is up to the registrant's card provider.
A decision on the dispute reversal can take 60-75 days after the evidence due date.
When a dispute is lost, funds are pulled from the SEPayment-connected bank account to cover the balance. These are visible in Business Tools > SE Payments > SEPayments Transactions or SEPayments Payouts by selecting the Dispute type.
The funds stay in the organization's SE Payment connected account when a dispute is won.