Customer disputed the full amount after a partial refund?

When a customer disputes the full amount after a partial refund, Stripe says you forfeit only the unrefunded balance if you lose. Respond with proof of the partial refund, show the amount already credited, and argue the case for the rest, after checking that the balance is worth more than the dispute fees.

Why can a customer dispute the full amount?

A partial refund does not stop the customer disputing the whole charge. A customer charged $120 who receives $40 back for a damaged accessory is still free to dispute all $120. The bank then hears one figure from the customer and needs to hear the correct one from you.

The mismatch is between three numbers: what the customer paid, what you returned and what the bank is told. The reviewer has no reason to do the arithmetic for you. Your response has to do it, plainly and in dollars.

How much do you stand to lose?

You stand to lose only the unrefunded part. Stripe's guidance says that when a customer disputes the full amount after a partial refund, the merchant should respond with proof of the refund, and that if the merchant loses, it forfeits only the un-refunded part.

That clause changes the decision. On a $120 charge with a $40 refund, the exposure is $80. Argue the case as a case about $80, with the $40 credit shown as already paid.

The way the dispute is coded matters too. A customer who says they were never credited may be filed under Visa reason code 13.6, the code for "credit not processed." Under Visa's Core Rules (Table 11-125, edition of 18 April 2026), the issuer is supposed to wait 15 days from the date on the credit receipt before disputing, and may dispute within 120 days of that date.

A dated credit receipt for $40 shows that part of the claim is false. It does not show that the other $80 was owed. Your response must also explain why the customer received the product or service in full for that amount, because sending only the refund proof invites the issuer to treat the balance as undefended.

Is the balance worth fighting for?

The answer depends on the size of the balance against the fees. Stripe's US dispute received fee is $15 and is not refunded. Countering adds another $15 for disputes countered after 17 June 2025, and that second fee comes back only if the dispute is won.

On a partially won dispute, neither fee is returned. Take a dispute whose unrefunded balance is $20: the $15 received fee is spent either way, and countering puts a second $15 at risk, returned only on a win, to recover at most $20.

Stripe's automated resolution will not handle these cases for you. Its dispute prevention tools resolve disputes under merchant-set rules only when the full original amount is disputed and the transaction has not been refunded, so a partially refunded transaction falls outside the rule. Budget time to handle partial-refund disputes by hand.

What should the response contain?

The response should show what was credited, when, and against which charge. Three items, in this order, let the reviewer reach the right figure without doing any subtraction:

• the dated credit, with the processor's refund identifier;
• the unrefunded amount, stated in dollars;
• proof that the customer received what was kept.

The record behind this starts the day you issue the refund. Put the processor refund identifier, the refund date and the amount in the order record straight away, and the steps for doing that well are in how to record a refund as evidence.

The customer's confirmation should state the amount refunded, the amount kept and the reason. That reduces the misunderstanding that can cause the dispute in the first place, because the customer has the numbers in writing, and so does anyone at the bank who asks to see them.

Takeaway: what to do this week

1. Compare the balance with the fees before you counter. A $15 received fee is spent either way, and the $15 countered fee comes back only on a full win.
2. Store the refund ID, date and amount with every order. These are the facts the bank needs to see the credit was paid.
3. State the kept amount in every partial-refund email. Give the amount refunded, the amount kept and the reason.
4. Defend the balance as well as the refund. Open with the dated credit, name the unrefunded amount, then prove the customer received what was kept.

Sources: Stripe Docs, "Dispute evidence best practices" (undated); Stripe Docs, "How dispute prevention works" (undated); Stripe Support, "June 2025 pricing updates for disputes" (undated); Visa Core Rules, edition of 18 April 2026, Table 11-125. All checked 24 October 2026.