Respond to disputes

Respond to Klarna disputes using the Dashboard or API.

Learn how take action in response to Klarna inquiry disputes and chargeback disputes.

Dispute types

Inquiry disputes

Almost all Klarna disputes begin as inquiry disputes. The exceptions are disputes raised because of fraudulent transactions, which escalate immediately to chargeback disputes.

Inquiry disputes are an opportunity to resolve a customer’s issue before the dispute escalates to a chargeback and carries a fee. Klarna doesn’t accept evidence to challenge an inquiry dispute. Contact your customer during the 21-day inquiry period. Listen to the customer’s reason for raising this dispute to find an amicable resolution within the 21-day period preceding automatic escalation. For example, a customer you successfully reassure that their purchased goods are delayed rather than undelivered can withdraw their inquiry dispute directly with Klarna.

You can also perform one of the following actions:

Accept the dispute. Confirm the disputed amount with the customer and issue a refund. Refunding during the inquiry dispute period avoids a dispute fee.
Allow the dispute to escalate. If you’re unable to resolve the issue within the 21 days, you can submit evidence to challenge the dispute after it escalates to a chargeback.

Refunds as inquiry disputes

Customers paying with Klarna use inquiry disputes as a means to request refunds from businesses. If you receive an inquiry dispute with the Return Klarna dispute code, consider this the customer’s request for a refund, rather than a greater dispute against the payment. As with other inquiry disputes, contact the customer, understand why they’ve requested the refund, and process it appropriately.

Chargeback disputes

If an inquiry dispute remains unresolved after the 21-day timeframe, the dispute automatically escalates to a chargeback dispute. Stripe withholds the disputed funds and the associated dispute fee from your account for this payment until the dispute is resolved.

During the chargeback dispute stage, you can counter disputes by submitting evidence to Klarna, either in the Stripe Dashboard or with the API. Starting from the chargeback dispute creation date, you have 13 days to submit evidence. If you choose to counter the dispute by submitting evidence, Klarna will evaluate your response to decide the outcome of the dispute.

If you win the dispute, Stripe releases the aforementioned withheld funds to your account, including the associated dispute fee.
If you lose the dispute, Stripe debits the withheld funds, including the associated dispute fee. Klarna then returns the disputed amount to the customer.

Funds flow

Funds flow for a resolved inquiry dispute

The following diagram shows what happens when you resolve the inquiry dispute without a chargeback escalation.

When a chargeback dispute is created, Stripe withholds the disputed funds, including the dispute fee, until Klarna informs us about the dispute outcome. If you win the dispute, we immediately release the funds to your account, and don’t charge a dispute fee.

Funds flow for a won chargeback dispute

The following diagram shows what happens when you win the chargeback dispute after escalation.

When a chargeback dispute is created, Stripe withholds the funds, including the dispute fee, until Klarna informs us about the dispute outcome. If you lose the dispute, we release the funds to Klarna and charge the dispute fee.

Funds flow for a lost chargeback dispute

The following diagram depicts what happens when you lose the chargeback dispute after escalation.

Email-based disputes versus Dashboard and API disputes

Prior to November 15 2023, Stripe only supported disputes for Klarna through emails directly from Klarna to you. Now, Klarna disputes are managed in the Stripe Dashboard and with the API. This table highlights key differences between the old email-based disputes process and the new Dashboard and API process:

Email disputes	Dashboard and API disputes
You don’t receive notifications from Klarna and Stripe for inquiry disputes.	Stripe notifies you in the Dashboard, API, and by email when an inquiry is opened.
You can submit multiple rounds of evidence for a chargeback dispute.	You can only submit a single round of structured evidence for a chargeback dispute.
You have 14 days to submit counter evidence from the creation date of the chargeback dispute.	You have 13 days to submit counter evidence from the creation date of the chargeback dispute.
Dispute lifecycle management must be built by you on top of the emails you receive from Klarna.	You can manage the entire dispute life cycle and track the status in a single place using the Dashboard or API.
Stripe doesn’t withhold funds when Klarna creates a chargeback dispute.	Stripe withholds the disputed funds when Klarna creates a chargeback dispute.

When an inquiry dispute starts off as an email dispute, it persists as an email dispute, even after onboarding to use the Dashboard or API for new disputes. If you lose an email dispute, it displays as lost in the Dashboard, you receive a webhook, and Stripe applies the dispute fee.

Evidence submission

To submit evidence against a chargeback dispute, use either the Dashboard or API:

Submit evidence

Navigate to the Disputes Dashboard, and click the Needs Response tab.
Click the disputed payment. If you want to counter the dispute, click Counter dispute.
Select the reason why you should win the dispute, and click Next.
Enter and attach all the applicable supporting evidence. The recommended label indicates the best documents for the type of dispute.
After entering all the evidence, verify the information is correct by selecting the checkbox.
Click Submit Evidence.

For additional guidance on how to submit evidence, see Responding to disputes.

If you fail to submit evidence, Klarna will rule the dispute in favor of the customer.

OptionalAccept dispute loss

Guidelines

Follow these guidelines to submit the most relevant evidence for both Dashboard and API disputes.

Stripe dispute reason	Guidelines
Product not received	Attach all the shipping details, such as the tracking number, carrier, shipped date, and customer communication.
Credit not processed	If you receive the returned product, attach the date when the customer initiated the return and any other information related to the return. If the customer confirms that the dispute is for a partial order, share the customer communication and the return order amount. If the return hasn’t been received, share when the customer initiated the return and make a note that the return hasn’t yet been received. If the customer didn’t communicate or failed to reply to your request, document in the evidence when your team attempted to contact the customer, the number of attempts made, and the lack of response received. If you fully or partially refunded the payment prior to it becoming a chargeback dispute, attach the refund details.
Fraudulent	Share the shipping policy as an attachment or link to your shipping policy.
General	If the customer confirms that the price is incorrect, attach all the supporting documents against the claim, such as order details. If you fully or partially refunded the payment prior to it becoming a chargeback dispute, attach the refund details.

Create test disputes

You can simulate dispute creation in test mode by creating a transaction in test mode using the following email addresses and phone numbers in the given Klarna checkout region. A dispute automatically opens on the transaction. You can submit evidence on the dispute, but you can’t simulate the final dispute outcome in test mode.

Below, we have specially selected test data for the currently supported customer countries.

Stripe dispute reason	Klarna dispute reason	Email	Phone number
Credit not processed	Return	`customer+disputed-return@email.au`	`+61491574118`
Product not received	Goods not received	`customer+disputed-goods_not_received@email.au`	`+61491574632`
Duplicate	Already paid	`customer+disputed-already_paid@email.au`	`+61491575254`
Product unacceptable	Faulty goods	`customer+disputed-faulty_goods@email.au`	`+61491575789`
General	Incorrect invoice	`customer+disputed-incorrect_invoice@email.au`	`+61491575789`
General	High risk order	`customer+disputed-high_risk_order@email.au`	`+61491576801`
Fraudulent	Unauthorized purchase	`customer+disputed-unauthorized_purchase@email.au`	`+61491577426`

Dispute API

A Dispute object contains a dispute type and Klarna dispute reason. These parameters are useful for countering a dispute.

Type

The Status parameter indicates the dispute type. The following table explains the dispute status and the state of the dispute.

Status	Dispute type	Description
`warning_needs_response`	Inquiry	The inquiry is open and the business can issue a refund.
`warning_closed`	Inquiry	The inquiry is closed.
`needs_response`	Chargeback	The chargeback is open and the business can submit evidence.
`under_review`	Chargeback	The chargeback is open and the evidence is submitted to Klarna.
`lost`	Chargeback	The chargeback is closed and the business lost the dispute.
`won`	Chargeback	The Chargeback is closed and the business won the dispute.

Klarna reason

The Klarna reason is mapped to Stripe dispute reason and displayed in the Dashboard as Network Reason Code.

The Stripe reason is available in the Dispute object as reason and the Klarna reason is available in payment_method_details.klarna.reason_code. The data is available in the API and webhook.