A chargeback (card dispute) happens when a guest asks their bank to reverse a card payment instead of asking you for a refund. The bank pulls the money back immediately, asks questions later, and the card networks charge non-refundable processing fees the moment the dispute is filed, no matter who wins.
This page explains exactly what happens to your money when a dispute is filed, how the chargeback fee works, and how to respond and prevent disputes.
When a guest disputes a charge, the disputed amount plus a flat $50 chargeback fee comes out of your Stripe balance while the dispute is decided; win the dispute and the disputed amount comes back (the fee does not), so the best strategy is preventing disputes and refunding proactively when something goes wrong.
What happens when a dispute is filed
- The cardholder's bank reverses the payment. Card network rules require the disputed amount to be withdrawn immediately while the dispute is decided. RentalTide reverses the corresponding amount from your connected Stripe account.
- A flat $50 chargeback fee is charged. The fee is charged in your settlement currency ($50 USD or $50 CAD) and is collected from your available Stripe balance. If your balance can't cover it, the remainder is added to your outstanding platform fees and recovered from future card payments, the same way other accrued platform fees are.
- You're notified and the evidence clock starts. Every dispute has an evidence due date, typically 7 to 21 days out. Respond before it or the dispute is lost by default.
- The bank decides. If you win, the disputed amount is returned to you. If you lose, the reversal is final.
The $50 chargeback fee
The fee applies to every chargeback, regardless of the outcome, including disputes you win. Here's why:
- The costs are real and non-refundable. Card networks and payment processors bill dispute-handling fees (roughly $15 to $30 per dispute) the moment a chargeback is filed. Those fees are never returned, even when the merchant wins.
- It keeps costs where they belong. Without the fee, dispute costs generated by one business's transactions would be absorbed by the platform and effectively spread across every operator. The fee ensures the account whose transactions generate disputes carries their cost.
- It rewards prevention. Businesses that use signed waivers, clear cancellation policies, and proactive refunds generate very few disputes and almost never pay this fee. The fee exists to make prevention the obviously cheaper path, not to generate revenue.
If the dispute is resolved in your favor, the disputed amount is returned to your balance. The $50 fee is not, because the underlying network and processing costs were already incurred and are never refunded to us.
Responding to a dispute
You fight a dispute by submitting evidence before the due date:
- Open Stripe Dashboard → Payments → Disputes inside RentalTide (see Stripe & payments) and select the dispute.
- Submit evidence: the signed waiver, the rental agreement, ID verification, check-in photos, GPS/telemetry data, and any messages with the guest.
- On the booking page, use the Evidence Pack action to generate a print-ready packet (waiver, payment trail, ID) built exactly for card disputes.
The strongest evidence is proof the guest agreed (signed waiver with matching name/email), proof the rental happened (check-in photos, trip telemetry), and proof they knew what they were buying (booking confirmation, cancellation policy shown at checkout).
Preventing chargebacks
Most disputes are preventable. The patterns that matter:
- Require signed waivers on every rental, so there's always proof of agreement.
- Refund proactively when something legitimately goes wrong. A refund costs you the booking; a chargeback costs you the booking plus $50 plus the time to fight it.
- Answer messages quickly. Guests dispute charges when they feel ignored. A guest who can reach you calls you before they call their bank.
- Keep listings and pricing accurate, including fuel, damage, and late fees. Surprise charges are the most common trigger for "I don't recognize this" disputes.
- Respond to inquiries. Some banks send a pre-dispute inquiry first. Answering it usually stops the chargeback (and inquiries alone never incur the fee).
Card networks monitor dispute rates independently of RentalTide. Sustained high dispute activity can lead to payout delays, reserve requirements, or card processing restrictions, so treat every dispute as a signal worth investigating.
Where this is defined
The chargeback fee and collection mechanics are part of the Provider Terms (Section 4.6) and the Terms of Service (Section 6.4).