A customer has disputed a payment with their bank 

Occasionally, a customer may contact their bank to dispute a payment they've made through eola. This is known as a payment dispute or chargeback.

In many cases, disputes are simply the result of a misunderstanding. For example, a customer may:

• Not recognise eola on their bank statement.

• Not realise that their membership was set to renew automatically.

• Be unhappy with the service or experience they received on site and choose to contact their bank rather than the site directly.

Wherever possible, handle misunderstandings directly

If a customer is looking for a refund, we recommend resolving this directly wherever possible, rather than asking the customer to dispute the payment with their bank.

If a customer has already raised a dispute with their bank, and you're able to resolve the issue directly with them, encourage the customer to cancel the bank dispute where possible. They can do this by contacting their bank.

This means you can manage the refund directly in line with your own refund and cancellation policies, rather than having the bank decide the outcome of the dispute.

We'll be notified if a customer cancels their dispute, so you don't need to take any additional action with eola.

If you agree that a refund is appropriate, processing it directly (once the bank dispute has been cancelled) allows you to resolve the issue quickly and avoids the additional steps involved in a bank dispute.

Please note: Once a customer has raised a dispute, don't assume that issuing a refund will automatically cancel it. The customer should contact their bank to cancel the dispute.

What happens when a customer raises a dispute?

When a customer disputes an eola payment with their bank, eola will be alerted.

A member of our team will then contact you for more information about the payment and the circumstances surrounding it.

There will be a deadline for responding, which is determined by the bank. We'll let you know what information we need and when it needs to be provided.

Give us as much information as possible

The more context you can provide, the stronger the case we'll be able to make when challenging the dispute on your behalf.

Depending on the reason for the dispute, useful information might include:

• Details of the booking or membership

• Confirmation that the customer attended or used the service

• Evidence that the customer agreed to the payment or membership terms

• Information showing that the customer was aware of an upcoming membership renewal

• Copies or details of relevant communication with the customer

• Details of any refund, cancellation or resolution you've already offered

• Any other information that helps explain what happened

Don't worry if you don't have everything listed above. Send us whatever relevant information you have, and we'll use it to build the strongest response possible.

What is a counter dispute?

If you believe the payment was valid, eola can submit evidence to counter the dispute on your behalf.

We'll use the information you provide, along with the relevant payment and booking information available to us, to prepare the response.

The bank then reviews the evidence and makes the final decision.

eola's support is free

eola does not charge you for handling or responding to a dispute. We'll support you throughout the process and submit the counter dispute on your behalf at no additional cost.

However, Stripe charges a £15 dispute fee if the counter dispute is unsuccessful. This fee is charged by Stripe, not by eola.

What happens if we win?

If the bank accepts the evidence and the dispute is successfully challenged, then nothing further is required. There is no eola fee for handling the dispute, and we'll let you know once we've received the outcome.

What happens if we lose?

If the bank upholds the customer's dispute, the disputed payment will be refunded to the customer. In this situation, Stripe will charge a £15 dispute fee, in addition to the amount refunded to the customer.

For example, if a customer disputed a £50 payment and the dispute was unsuccessful:

£50 refunded to the customer + £15 Stripe dispute fee = £65

The £15 fee is charged by Stripe and passed on to you. eola does not charge a fee for supporting you with the dispute.

We'll let you know if the dispute is unsuccessful and confirm the amount charged to you. 

Why might a customer dispute a payment?

A dispute doesn't necessarily mean that a customer is trying to do anything wrong. Often, it's simply a misunderstanding.

For example, a customer may not recognise eola on their bank statement, may have forgotten that their membership was due to renew, or may be unhappy with their experience and go directly to their bank for a refund.

That's why your input is so important. The more information we have about the transaction and what happened, the stronger the response we can submit to the bank.

What you need to do

If you receive a request from our team about a dispute:

• Respond as soon as possible - don't wait until the deadline

• Give us as much context as you can

• Share with us any relevant evidence or communication with the customer

• If appropriate, encourage the customer to cancel the bank dispute and contact their bank to do this

• Let eola handle the counter-dispute process if the dispute remains open

The more information we have, the more likely we are to successfully challenge the dispute and recover the payment for you. We'll keep you updated throughout the process and let you know whether the dispute is won or lost.