Refunds and chargebacks
Giving money back on purpose, and what happens when a client takes it back through their bank.
Refunds
A refund is recorded as its own entry against the original payment rather than by editing the original. That's deliberate — the history of what was charged stays intact, which is what you want when someone queries a figure months later.
A cash sale can be refunded too. Nothing moves through Stripe in that case — it's bookkeeping, so your records match what actually happened at the desk.
Chargebacks
A chargeback is different from a refund: the client goes to their bank instead of to you, and the bank pulls the money back.
A chargeback comes out of your Stripe balance, and the fee is yours. Payments run on your account, so it lands with you.
This is the practical consequence of being the merchant of record, and it's why the unglamorous settings matter. The things that win a dispute are the things you set up before it happened.
What actually helps
- A written cancellation policy the client agreed to, timestamped before the appointment rather than quoted afterwards.
- A recognisable name on their statement. A charge they don't recognise is the single most common reason a client disputes one.
- Notes and messages on the booking, which is what evidence looks like when a bank asks for it.
- Deposits rather than full prepayment on services where a disagreement is likely — a smaller amount is a smaller thing to dispute.
Disputes are handled in your Stripe dashboard, on Stripe's timetable — they have a deadline and it's short. Inchair can't respond on your behalf, so a dispute notice from Stripe needs your attention rather than a support ticket to us.