Handling a chargeback as a school owner

A chargeback (also called a dispute) is when a family contacts their bank and says a charge from you was wrong. The bank pulls the money out of your account, gives it back to the family, and asks you to prove the charge was valid.

You have a limited window to respond. Here is how to win.

First 24 hours

• Read the chargeback notice. Stripe emails you. Open it. Note the deadline.
• Pull up the family's account in Rosterra. Search by name or email.
• Read what they are disputing. The dispute reason is in the Stripe dashboard. Most common: "Did not authorize," "Charged in error," or "Subscription canceled."

Do not panic. Most chargebacks are winnable with the right evidence.

Get the evidence

Rosterra is your friend here. Open the family's profile and gather:

• The signed waiver with their name, date, and IP address.
• The original enrollment record showing what they signed up for and when.
• Attendance history. This is the single most powerful evidence. If they say they did not authorize the charge, attendance proves they were getting the service.
• Email history. Every email you sent to them, including receipts and confirmations.
• Family interactions log showing they used the portal or mobile app recently.

Each of these is one click in Rosterra. The system was designed with this in mind.

Make sure you have not already lost

A few situations where you should not fight:

• You actually charged them by mistake. Refund and apologize. The fee is small. Disputing wastes everyone's time.
• They canceled and you missed it. Stripe sees the cancellation date. Refund the charges after that date and apologize.
• The dispute is for a fraudulent charge that was actually a fraud. Someone got their card and used it at your school. Refund and move on.

These cases are rare in a well-run school, but they happen.

Prepare the response

Stripe lets you upload evidence. In a typical response, include:

1. A summary statement. One paragraph explaining what happened. Plain language.

• "This charge is the monthly tuition for {child name} who is enrolled in {program}. The family signed the waiver on {date}. The most recent attendance is {date}. The family also has an active session on their parent portal as of {date}."

1. The waiver. Upload the signed PDF.

1. Attendance log. Export a CSV from Rosterra showing attendance dates.

1. Email history. Show recent receipts and confirmations.

1. The terms of service. A copy of your enrollment terms.

Each piece of evidence should support the main argument: the family knew about the service, signed up for it, used it, and was charged for it.

Submit

In Stripe, upload everything. Submit. Done.

Stripe forwards the evidence to the card network. The card network reviews and decides in 60 to 75 days. You do not need to do anything else in the meantime.

What happens if you win

• The disputed money is returned to your account.
• You do not pay any dispute fee.
• The dispute is closed.

What happens if you lose

• The money stays withdrawn.
• Stripe charges a 15 dollar dispute fee.
• The dispute is closed.

You can choose whether to keep the family as a paying customer going forward. Most schools that lose a dispute also have an existing relationship problem with the family. You might decide to not re-charge them.

Preventing chargebacks

Most chargebacks come from families who forgot they were on autopay. Three things help:

1. A heads-up email before any unusual or large charge.
2. A clear cancellation path in the parent portal. Easy cancellation = fewer disputes.
3. Fast response to "what is this?" emails. Families who get a fast answer rarely dispute. Families who feel ignored go to their bank.

The single biggest cause of chargebacks is bad communication, not bad billing.

When chargebacks pile up

If you are seeing more than 0.5 percent of charges disputed, Stripe will flag your account. Above 1 percent, Stripe may pause your account.

To stay under, audit your last 50 charges. Was there one cause? Bad messaging on a price change? A canceled family who kept getting charged? A confusing enrollment form?

Fix the cause, not the disputes one by one.

Files to keep

For each chargeback (whether you won or lost), keep:

• The dispute notice.
• The evidence you submitted.
• The outcome.

These are useful if you ever need to talk to Stripe support or your accountant. Rosterra keeps a copy of everything in the family's profile under "Billing history."