Chargebacks and dishonours
A chargeback and a dishonour both start at the renter's bank, not in Fleetola: the bank pulls back money you were already paid. They can only happen to money collected online through the Online Payments module - a cash or transfer payment you recorded by hand cannot be pulled back. The two behave very differently, so here they are one at a time.
A card chargeback
A chargeback is a renter asking their bank to reverse a card payment - most often with the words I don't recognise this charge. Stripe holds the money back from your balance while the case runs and may charge a dispute fee. Win, and the money comes back.
Fleetola tells you the moment one arrives: a red Payment disputed bell alert with the respond-by date, and an email naming the renter, the amount and the reason. The alert stays in your bell until the case is decided. The payment itself stays Paid while the dispute runs - a chargeback is not a refund, and if you win, nothing ever moved.
Where you respond
You respond in your Stripe dashboard, not in Fleetola. You are the merchant of record: the dispute is between you and the renter's bank, and Fleetola's job is to record it and make sure you hear about it in time.
- Note the respond by date on the alert or email. It is a hard deadline set by the card network.
- Gather your evidence from the contract: the signed agreement PDF, the handover photos, the payment's Stripe reference.
- Log in to Stripe, find the dispute and submit the evidence before the deadline.
Tip: Miss the respond-by date and the dispute is decided without your evidence - the money and the fee go with it.
A BECS dishonour
A dishonour is the bank-debit version, and it is final: an Australian direct debit can be reversed by the payer's bank with no evidence window and no appeal. The money and a dispute fee leave your Stripe balance the moment it happens, even after the payment appeared to settle.
Because the money is really gone, Fleetola moves the record: the payment flips back to unpaid, due from its original date, and its detail shows the clawback as Reversed by bank - never Refunded, because you refunded nothing. A refund is money you chose to send back; this is money the bank took, and your books keep the two apart. Both sides are emailed - the renter is told the payment is due again and can pay it from their portal.
Autopay after a dishonour
Autopay on that rental switches itself to manual, because re-debiting a dishonoured account usually dishonours again and every attempt costs another fee. You can switch it back on from the contract's Payments tab, but do it after the renter has saved a different payment method - or collect the money another way. How autopay itself runs is its own guide - see Autopay and direct debit.
Heading them off
Most chargebacks are a renter not recognising the charge. The name on their card statement is the business name you gave Stripe when you set up payouts - make it your trading name, not a company number. And the evidence that wins a dispute is what Fleetola already keeps: a signed agreement and handover photos are hard to argue with.
Where to find it: Settings → Your account → Payouts
Related guides
- Take and record payments - Record what each renter pays, and see every bond you are holding.
- How weekly billing works - Rent on a cycle: what falls due, what you record, and late fees.
- Card payments online - Renters pay by card from their portal, at signing, and from reminder emails.
- Bonds on the card rails - Manual, held on card, or charged to card - and what capture, release and refund do.