Split shipment chargeback: what proof do you need per box?

In a split shipment chargeback, the bank looks at the box that went missing, so treat each parcel as its own sale. Give it a written delivery date, its own tracking number and proof of delivery to the full address, and refund any box that will not arrive, before a dispute opens.

How long can a customer dispute a missing box?

The customer's bank has 120 days from the processing date, and a promised delivery date can stretch that. Visa's reason code 13.1 is the code for merchandise or services not received. Under it, the issuer can dispute within 120 days of the processing date or within 120 days of the last date the cardholder expected delivery, with a hard cap of 540 days from processing.

Picture a customer who orders a lamp and a rug, receives the lamp on Tuesday and never sees the rug. If the rug was backordered and promised for March, the dispute window stays open well past the usual 120 days. Where no delivery date was given at all, the issuer waits 15 calendar days from the transaction date before disputing.

Put a date on the second shipment, in writing, at checkout.

What does the FTC expect when part of an order is late?

The FTC's Mail, Internet or Telephone Order Merchandise Rule expects a seller to have a reasonable basis for shipping within 30 days of a properly completed order. When a delay comes, the seller has to offer the buyer a choice between accepting it and cancelling for a prompt refund. A seller who cannot produce records of its shipping systems is presumed to have lacked a reasonable basis to promise the date.

A split order with no delay notice and no shipping log is a poor position to defend in front of an issuer, whatever the network rules say. Send the delay notice as soon as a box slips, and keep the shipping log.

What proof does each box need?

Each box needs a delivery record that stands alone, because a tracking number for the lamp says nothing about the rug. Stripe tells merchants that proof of delivery has to show the full delivery address, not only a city and postcode. A different ship-to name, as with a gift, needs an explanation.

For every parcel, keep:

• a separate shipment confirmation;
• its own tracking number;
• the full delivery address;
• the carrier's delivery record, filed next to the matching order line.

Stripe lets you submit evidence once, and it cannot be edited afterwards, so the right document has to be attached the first time. What else a not-received case needs is covered on the Visa 13.1 not-received reason code page.

What should you do when a box is lost for good?

Issue a partial refund for the lost box before any dispute exists. Stripe is explicit that a merchant cannot refund outside the dispute process while a dispute is open. If the customer then disputes the full amount, respond and show the amount and date of the refund; if the dispute is lost, only the un-refunded part is forfeited.

A dated refund for the rug turns a full-amount claim into a dispute over the lamp, which the delivery record answers.

Carriers keep their own clocks, and they run per parcel. USPS accepts lost-mail claims after 15 days, or 7 days for Priority Mail Express, and no later than 60 days from mailing, while UPS asks for a claim within 60 days of the scheduled delivery.

Because USPS counts from mailing, a second box mailed three weeks after the first has its own clock starting on that later date. Track each parcel from its own label. If you ship from several warehouses, check that every location records a scan at hand-off to the carrier.

Takeaway: what to do this week

1. Date the second shipment at checkout. A written date gives you a delivery deadline you can meet and show.
2. Confirm each parcel separately. Send its own shipment confirmation with the full address, and file its carrier record with its order line.
3. Refund a lost box before a dispute opens. On Stripe, once a dispute is open, you cannot refund outside the dispute process.
4. Diary carrier claim deadlines per parcel. USPS allows up to 60 days from mailing and UPS 60 days from the scheduled delivery.

Sources: Visa Core Rules and Visa Product and Service Rules (18 April 2026), Table 11-92; Stripe Docs, "Dispute evidence best practices"; Stripe Docs, "How disputes work"; Stripe Docs, "Respond to disputes"; eCFR, 16 CFR Part 435, sections 435.2(a) and 435.2(b); USPS, "Filing a claim"; UPS, "File a claim" (page modified 25 February 2026). All checked 24 October 2026.