Visa 13.1 · Mastercard 4853

Your order never arrived. Here is how to get your money back

When you pay by card for something that never turns up, you are not limited to arguing with the seller. You can ask your bank to reverse the payment through the card network's dispute system, and the seller has to answer with evidence. It works even when the shop has stopped replying, has gone out of business, or is in another country.

Does this apply to you?

• The delivery date the seller promised has passed and nothing arrived
• A service you paid for was never provided — a booking, a repair, a course
• The tracking says delivered but you never received it, and the seller will not investigate
• The seller closed down or vanished before delivering
• Only part of the order arrived, and the rest never followed

How long you have to file

You have 120 days, counted from the day delivery or the service was due.

That is the card network's outer limit. Your own bank often sets an earlier one, and a missed deadline ends a dispute however good the case is — so treat it as the day to have filed by, not the day to start.

What to gather before you file

• The order confirmation showing what you bought and the promised delivery date
• Your card statement line for the charge
• Every message you sent the seller and any reply, with dates
• The tracking page, if there is one, showing it never arrived or was never scanned
• A photo of the empty packaging if a box arrived without the contents

What the seller will argue

Expect the seller to produce proof of delivery — a tracking number marked delivered, or a signature. That is the single strongest thing they have, so the outcome usually turns on whether their proof actually names your address. Tracking that shows delivery to a different postcode, or an unsigned parcel left in an unspecified "safe place", is much weaker than it looks, and it is worth saying so explicitly in your letter rather than leaving your bank to notice.

What to do, in order

1. Contact the seller once, in writing, and give them a chance to deliver or refund. Most disputes require this, and the email is the paper trail your bank wants.
2. Wait for the reply, but do not let the deadline run down while you wait.
3. Gather the order confirmation, the messages and the tracking.
4. File with your bank, saying plainly that the goods or services were never received and naming the date they were due.
5. Send your evidence with the claim rather than waiting to be asked for it.

When this will not work

If the seller can show the parcel was delivered to your address and signed for, this dispute will usually fail — and if it was taken from your doorstep afterwards, that is a theft matter, not a chargeback. Filing anyway wastes the one attempt you get.

Other problems we cover

• They kept charging you after you cancelled
• What arrived is not what you paid for
• You paid for the real thing and received a fake
• They promised you a refund and it never arrived