How disputes work

What is a payment dispute?

A dispute starts when a buyer asks their bank to review a payment. They may not recognize the charge, believe they did not authorize it, or report a problem with their purchase. The reason shown in your payment comes from the payment provider; it is the buyer’s reported reason, not a finding that you did something wrong.

We handle the case

Our team reviews purchase, delivery and access records and decides how to respond. We prepare and submit the response through Stripe when we defend a case. You do not need to authorize a paid defense.

Your payment’s case history shows recorded updates. Information received by our team is different from a response submitted to the bank. The bank determines the outcome. We may also accept a dispute after reviewing the case; that decision is handled by our team.

Send any evidence that may help

Providing information is optional. We keep handling the case using our records even if you do not send anything. Open Provide evidence in the payment to copy the email address, subject with the case reference, and message template. You send the email yourself to disputes@creatorprogram.app.

You can include relevant buyer communications, proof of delivery or access, and an explanation of what happened. Include the case reference so we can match your email. Do not send passwords, full card numbers or unrelated personal information. Copying the template does not send the email or mark it received.

If a Send evidence by date appears, use that deadline in your local time. Our deadline allows time to review your information before the bank’s deadline. A case can close earlier, and sending information does not guarantee that it can be included after our response is finalized.

What happens to buyer access?

We revoke access to the disputed purchase to help prevent fraud. This does not mean fraud has been proven. A payment inquiry alone does not revoke access. A successful result does not override another unresolved dispute, a refund or another access restriction affecting the purchase.

Which amounts are charged?

The disputed purchase amount reduces your creator balance. A temporary hold reserves an amount while it is being reconciled; it is not an extra charge. When the actual deduction is recorded, we do not deduct that same amount a second time.

You bear the original payment processing cost unless the provider actually refunds it. Creator Program pays the provider’s charge for receiving the dispute and any charge for defending or submitting a response. We do not deduct those dispute charges from your earnings.

The platform commission is separate from the original processing cost and the disputed purchase amount. Its treatment follows the policy recorded for that purchase. Stripe’s cash balance, your creator balance and money already paid out to you are different records.

If the dispute is won, lost or closed

If we win, recovered purchase funds are returned to your creator balance when the recovery is recorded and available. A win can appear before the money is available. Pending return means the amount has not yet been credited as available funds. We do not promise a fixed return time. The platform commission remains charged on a win.

If the dispute is lost or our team accepts it, the disputed purchase amount is not deducted again. Where the purchase’s recorded policy provides a proportional commission return, we credit the eligible platform commission for the lost portion. The original processing cost is not automatically returned.

A refund of a dispute charge paid by Creator Program belongs to Creator Program. If the provider refunds an original processing cost you paid, we reconcile that credit to you. Payment reversed means the payment was reversed; we only say the bank did not allow a response when that is verified.

If only part of a payment is disputed

Only the disputed portion is handled as disputed principal. For a lost partial dispute, an eligible commission return is proportional to that portion under the purchase’s policy, with previous credits taken into account so the same commission is not returned twice. Each case has its own amount, result and history.

If you already withdrew the money

A dispute can leave your creator balance below zero after a payout. Future net earnings offset that negative balance. Withdrawals require enough available funds. A negative creator balance does not mean we have recovered a completed payout or automatically charged your bank account.

Common questions

Do I have to send evidence? No. Your information can help, but our review and the bank’s decision do not wait for it.

Can there be several disputes? Yes. A payment can have more than one case. Open each case’s history to see its own updates.

Where can I see the result? Open the payment from Earnings. Amounts deducted, amounts returned and any pending return are shown separately.

How is emailed information handled? Our authorized team reviews it and may include relevant material in the provider response. Email, provider-held material and financial records follow their applicable retention policies; deleting a message in one system does not delete copies held by another provider.