Disputes and chargebacks

There are two parallel systems for "I think this booking should be refunded":

1. A MoveMentors dispute: filed through the platform, adjudicated by our admin team.
2. A card chargeback: filed through the student's bank, adjudicated by the card network (Visa, Mastercard, etc).

They serve different purposes and have different consequences. Use the right one.

When to use a MoveMentors dispute

Almost always your first step. Use a dispute when:

• You think a refund is warranted and the host has refused or gone silent.
• Something happened that does not fit the standard refund flow (class never ran, venue was wrong, content was misrepresented).
• You want a neutral third party to adjudicate.

The dispute system is faster, cheaper, and lower-friction than a chargeback. It resolves in 1-3 business days.

See Disputing a booking for the full process.

When to use a chargeback

A chargeback is the nuclear option. Use it only if:

• The MoveMentors dispute was denied and you genuinely believe the charge was unauthorised.
• The host has gone fully unreachable and our dispute path is not resolving.
• The charge appears to be fraud (a card you do not recognise).

A chargeback should be a last resort, not a shortcut around the dispute system.

Why chargebacks are heavy

A chargeback has consequences for everyone:

• The host: pays a chargeback fee (usually $15) regardless of outcome. Their dispute rate goes up, which can affect Stripe's view of them.
• The student: their bank may suspend the card temporarily during investigation. Their relationship with the host is broken. They may get suspended from MoveMentors if the chargeback turns out to be inappropriate.
• The platform: if the chargeback rate across hosts climbs, Stripe could increase our platform-level scrutiny. We watch for patterns and intervene.

A MoveMentors dispute resolves the same issues without the fee and without the network-level friction.

How a chargeback works

1. The student calls their bank or files online: "I do not recognise this charge / this charge is not what I authorised".
2. The bank initiates a chargeback through the card network.
3. The funds are immediately removed from the host's Stripe balance and held in a "dispute" status.
4. Stripe notifies the host via email and the Stripe Express dashboard.
5. The host has 7-21 days (depending on the network) to upload evidence: the booking record, the email exchange, the receipt, anything proving the charge was authorised.
6. The card network reviews the evidence and decides: charge upheld (student gets the refund) or charge rejected (the funds return to the host).
7. The chargeback fee stays with the host regardless of outcome.

What hosts should do when they see a chargeback

Speed matters. Log into your Stripe Express dashboard immediately and respond:

1. Read the chargeback reason. The student's claim is shown ("Item not received", "Service not as described", "Unauthorised", etc).
2. Gather evidence:
   • The booking record.
   • Email confirmations.
   • Any communication with the student.
   • Proof the class happened (signed roster, photo if you have it).
   • The MoveMentors booking detail page.
3. Upload the evidence within Stripe's deadline (usually 7-14 days).
4. Wait for the network's decision.

If you do not respond, the chargeback is auto-decided against you. Always respond, even if you think you will lose; uploading the booking record is 5 minutes of work.

For repeat customers with whom you have a long history, chargebacks often turn out to be misunderstandings (the spouse used the same card and the student forgot, etc). Reaching out to the student directly during the chargeback window sometimes resolves it.

What students should know about filing chargebacks

Before you call your bank:

• Have you tried the host directly? Most refund cases resolve with a polite message.
• Have you tried a MoveMentors dispute? That is the right path 95% of the time.
• Is this really fraud? If the charge was authorised by you (you booked the class), it is not fraud, even if the class disappointed. Chargebacks for fraud reasons when you actually booked can backfire.

If you file a chargeback for a legitimate booking, your bank will eventually side with the host (since they have proof of booking + email + agreement to terms). You will not get the refund, AND the host pays the chargeback fee, AND we may suspend your account because chargeback fraud is a community-guidelines violation.

The correct path: dispute through MoveMentors first. We win these for students about 30% of the time. If we deny your dispute, you can still file a chargeback as a last resort, but you should reflect on whether the dispute denial was correct before doing so.

Friendly fraud

The industry term for "the customer remembers booking, then later changes their mind and chargebacks anyway". It is a real problem.

We watch for patterns. If a student chargebacks multiple times across multiple hosts, we suspend their account. The MoveMentors dispute system catches most of these before they reach the chargeback stage; the host has the chance to refund through us and avoid the chargeback fee.

How disputes and chargebacks interact

If a student files a MoveMentors dispute AND a chargeback simultaneously:

• The MoveMentors dispute is paused. We cannot resolve a financial decision while the card network has the funds frozen.
• We focus on the chargeback first. If the host wins, we then process the MoveMentors dispute as denied (since the network already adjudicated). If the host loses, the dispute is moot.
• The student does not get refunded twice. Whichever channel resolves first wins.

Common questions

Can I dispute AND chargeback at the same time? Yes but the dispute is paused while the chargeback is active. We strongly recommend picking one channel: dispute first, escalate to chargeback only if dispute fails.

The host won the chargeback but I still feel wronged. Now what? File a MoveMentors dispute referencing the chargeback. Admin will read both sides and decide. Outcomes here are not bound by the chargeback result; admin can still grant a partial refund if the case warrants it.

A student chargebacked me 4 months after the class. Is this normal? Sometimes. Most networks allow chargebacks up to 120 days (some up to 540 days for specific reason codes). Respond with the booking record; old chargebacks usually go the host's way because the records prove the charge was authorised and the service was delivered.

Can a chargeback affect my Stripe Connect status? A high chargeback rate (over 1% of charges) can. Stripe places restrictions on hosts with high dispute rates. Hosts in this position should focus on customer service to drive the rate down.

Next steps

• Disputing a booking (students): the platform dispute flow.
• Refunds: proactive refund mechanics.
• Stripe Connect explained: the underlying card infrastructure.