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For each transaction, Affirm processes the order payment and the merchant processes the order fulfillment. If a customer experiences an issue with their order and contacts Affirm, Affirm will initially direct the customer to you, the merchant, for a resolution. If a resolution is unable to be made between you and the customer, Affirm will help facilitate the resolution.
The general resolution process:
- Customers can open a dispute within 60 calendar days of capture, during which time they are not responsible for making payments.
- Both customers and merchants have 15 calendar days to provide evidence to substantiate their claims.
- After providing all evidence, Affirm will notify the customer and merchant of a decision within 15 calendar days ( if a Virtual Card was used for the transaction, the customer will be notified within 90 calendar days).
All dispute inquiries should be directed to our Resolutions team at resolutions@affirm.com. When a client opens a dispute through Affirm, you can reply back to the automated email thread, titled "Dispute opened for Affirm loan XXXX-XXXX". This is the best way to track each dispute individually. See this article for more information.
Note: Affirm reserves the right to modify our dispute resolution procedures at our discretion with prior 30 days written notice to the merchant.
Types of disputes
Types of Merchant Disputes include, but are not limited to:
|
Dispute type |
Description |
|
Product not received |
The customer claims they have not received a product they purchased on the merchant's website. |
|
Product unacceptable |
The customer claims that a product they received is incorrect, damaged, or otherwise fails to conform to the product description on the merchant's website. |
|
Cancelation or return not processed |
The customer claims that they were charged for a product or service they canceled or returned in a manner consistent with the merchant’s stated refund and return policy in effect at the time of the customer’s purchase. |
|
Incorrect charge |
The customer claims that they were charged an incorrect amount. |
|
Duplicate charge |
The customer claims they were charged multiple times for an item or an order. |
Investigating disputes
Affirm will use industry-standard best practices to resolve Affirm Disputes that Affirm has elected to investigate directly with the customer.
Customers will have 60 days from the merchant's capture of a transaction to request that a Merchant Dispute be initiated by Affirm. After initiating a Merchant Dispute, the following procedure will be followed:
- Affirm will promptly inform the merchant of the Merchant Dispute by forwarding the dispute to the merchant along with any supporting evidence provided by the customer.
- Affirm will withhold the disputed amount until the Merchant Dispute is resolved.
- Both the merchant and customer will have 15 days from the initiation of a Merchant Dispute to respond and/or provide supporting evidence.
- Affirm considers all evidence provided by the merchant and customer within the dispute time frame above in our investigation of Merchant Disputes.
- After completing our investigation, Affirm will have 15 days to review the Merchant Dispute and communicate the resolution to the merchant and customer.
The table below illustrates common examples of evidence that a merchant may present in order to support its claim(s):
|
Dispute type |
Merchant rebuttal evidence |
|
Product not received |
Proof of delivery by a carrier that bears the date the item was shipped, the recipient's address and proof that the recipient's address matches the address provided by the customer during checkout. Examples include shipping/tracking details from UPS, USPS or FedEx that show the product(s) arrived at the correct address. Formal claim filed by the merchant with a carrier regarding incorrect, improper or failed delivery. |
|
Product unacceptable |
Proof that the product delivered to the customer was not materially different than the advertised product. Proof of a genuine product or certificate of authenticity provided by the issuer or sealed by a reputable appraiser or auction house. Statement that the merchant shipped to the customer product that was merchantable and that the product shipped did not materially differ from the advertised product. |
|
Cancelation or return not processed |
Copy of the merchant's standard refund/return policy including screenshots, if posted on the merchant's website. Statement identifying the merchant's relevant refund/return policy provision(s) and specifying the reason(s) the customer did not qualify for a refund/return. Proof of delivery to the customer. Statement stating that the customer did not return the product. |
|
Incorrect charge |
Screenshot of website or other documentation reflecting the price of the product advertised on the date of purchase. Itemized invoice reflecting all taxes, shipping charges, and discounts that the merchant applied to the customer's purchase. |
|
Duplicate charge |
Screenshot of website or other documentation reflecting the price of the product advertised on the date of purchase. Itemized invoice reflecting all taxes, shipping charges and discounts applied to the customer's purchase. |
|
Other |
Documentation reflecting information in dispute, copies of relevant policies and procedures, proof of delivery, an affidavit by the merchant regarding the product or service in question, itemized invoices and any other evidence. |
Resolution
Affirm will resolve all disputes in favor of the party that best substantiates their claim(s).
- If Affirm resolves a dispute in favor of the merchant, the merchant will not be liable for any amount of principal or interest related to the disputed transaction. Any funds withheld related to the disputed transaction will be released.
- If Affirm resolves a dispute in favor of the customer, Affirm will refund the disputed amount to the customer. In such an event, the merchant will reimburse Affirm for the amount refunded to the customer.
All dispute inquiries should be directed to our Resolutions team at resolutions@affirm.com by replying back to the automated email thread, titled "Dispute opened for Affirm loan XXXX-XXXX".
To check open and past disputes, search your inbox of the associated merchant email for the automated email threads that Affirm sent out. Also, to check past loans that were disputed use the search bar on the charges tab of your merchant dashboard. Type in the word 'dispute' and you'll see a list of any loans currently in dispute as well as loans that were refunded as a result of a dispute.