Visa's non-receipt code, decided on proof the cardholder received what they paid for, or reasonably should have.
Visa 13.1 is not a fraud claim in most cases. The buyer acknowledges the transaction; they are saying the merchant did not perform. That distinction matters because the evidence that decides a fraud chargeback (cardholder identity, IP location, AVS match) is irrelevant here. The issuer wants to see what was delivered, when, and to whom.
How the dispute actually arrives
A merchant on Stripe, Shopify Payments, or any major processor gets a chargeback notification that names reason code 13.1 and includes the cardholder's claim in a sentence or two. The notification arrives somewhere between 3 and 90 days after the original transaction. The merchant has 30 days from receipt of the notification to respond. Miss the deadline and the dispute is closed against the merchant, regardless of what evidence existed.
A 13.1 against a physical-goods seller is usually a buyer claiming a package never arrived. A 13.1 against a SaaS or course business is usually a buyer who signed up, did not use the product, and is now disputing the charge as if no product existed. The same code, two very different evidence pictures.
What the issuer is looking for
Issuers reviewing a 13.1 ask one question: did the merchant deliver what the buyer paid for. Proof of delivery to the billing or shipping address is the centerpiece for physical goods. Login records, session timestamps, and usage history are the centerpiece for digital products and subscriptions. A communication trail in which the buyer acknowledged receipt, asked a follow-up question about the product, or used it before disputing strengthens either case.
The terms the buyer agreed to at checkout matter more than most merchants realize. If checkout language defines delivery as access granted to the customer's account, and the access logs show the account was active, the dispute is a different argument than if the terms were silent. The issuer reads what the buyer agreed to.
Common scenarios merchants see
A package marked delivered that the buyer says never reached them. The shipping carrier's tracking is the first line of defense, but a confirmation that says delivered is not always sufficient on its own. Issuers in 2026 increasingly want a signature, a photo, or a delivery to a verified address on file.
A subscription, course, or membership the buyer never logged into. The platform's audit log is the evidence. If the buyer's account was provisioned, the welcome email opened, the first lesson started, the case looks different than if the account sat dormant from day one.
A service appointment the buyer claims was never performed. Technician notes, GPS timestamps from the field-service tool, and the customer's signature on a work-order form are the evidence. The absence of a signed completion form is often the reason these disputes are lost.
A digital download where the buyer says the link never worked. Server logs showing the file was downloaded, or a support thread in which the buyer never reported the issue before the chargeback, are the relevant records.
What this code is not
Reason code 13.1 is not fraud. If the buyer claims their card was used without authorization, the dispute will arrive as a 10-series code such as Visa 10.4 (card-absent fraud), not 13.1. The two require different rebuttals and different evidence. Merchants who treat every chargeback the same lose 13.1 cases by submitting fraud-style evidence (AVS, CVV, IP) the issuer never asked for.
Where this fits in our service
Visa reason code 13.1 is one of the more common chargebacks we draft rebuttal letters against. The letter is built from the specific evidence the merchant has, the issuing bank's recent decision patterns on this code, and the merchant's business model. A 13.1 letter for a physical-goods seller and a 13.1 letter for a SaaS business share almost no sentences. If you are reading this because you just received one, you can start with a free first letter.
Official source: Visa rules. Last reviewed 2026-05-11.