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uk Money & financial emergencies

What to do if…
a buyer dispute or chargeback puts money you received on hold

Produced and maintained by PanicStation.org Published: Last reviewed: Editorial policy UK guide

Short answer

Open the payment provider or marketplace through its official app or website, note the dispute reason and response deadline, and answer through the case page with relevant evidence. Treat the held money as unavailable and do not send a separate refund until the provider confirms how that would affect the dispute.

Do not do these things

  • Do not ignore the notice or leave the response until the deadline.
  • Do not sign in through links in unexpected emails, texts, or buyer messages.
  • Do not send a refund outside the dispute process unless the provider confirms what to do.
  • Do not alter, invent, or delete listings, messages, receipts, photographs, tracking information, or other records.
  • Do not threaten, pressure, or publicly identify the buyer.
  • Do not spend money marked as held, pending, reserved, or unavailable.
  • Do not take costly credit immediately just to replace the held amount.
  • Do not assume that a message is genuine merely because it includes transaction details.

What to do now

  1. Sign in through the provider’s official app or website. Confirm that the dispute appears in your account and record the amount, transaction, stated reason, case reference, status, and response deadline.
  2. If the dispute does not appear there, stop engaging with the message. Contact the provider through details on its official website and change your password if you entered it on a link you no longer trust.
  3. Read the provider’s instructions and the exact reason given for the dispute. Check whether it is a marketplace complaint, payment dispute, or card chargeback, because the evidence requested may differ.
  4. Save the dispute notice, transaction record, listing, invoice, buyer messages, and the provider’s current instructions. Keep the original files where possible.
  5. Gather evidence that directly answers the buyer’s claim. This may include the item description, agreed service details, proof of postage, tracking, delivery confirmation, collection record, dated photographs, refund records, or messages confirming receipt or completion.
  6. Submit the evidence through the official case page before the stated deadline. Keep the explanation brief, factual, and in date order, and save the submission confirmation.
  7. Keep any contact with the buyer calm and on the marketplace or provider where possible. Do not promise or send a separate refund without checking how it would interact with the open case.
  8. Check what the provider says may happen to your available balance, reserve, linked payment method, or account under its terms. Plan on the held amount remaining unavailable for now.
  9. If an essential bill may be missed because of the hold, contact the payee before it is due and ask what temporary payment arrangement may be available.
  10. If you suspect account takeover, a false notification, or fraudulent buyer activity, report it through the provider’s security route. Use the official UK phishing and fraud-reporting routes if you shared information, lost money, or were hacked.
  11. If a marketplace appears to have mishandled the case, use its internal appeal or complaints process. If a regulated financial provider or merchant acquirer appears to have mishandled a chargeback, make a formal complaint to that firm and keep its response.
  12. Depending on the provider and your eligibility, the Financial Ombudsman Service may later be able to consider a complaint after the financial firm has had the opportunity to resolve it.

What can wait

You do not need to decide now whether to begin court action, use debt recovery, close your selling account, accuse the buyer of fraud, or change your whole business model. Tax treatment, detailed accounting adjustments, long-term cash-flow changes, and any legal claim can wait until the dispute process is clearer and your records are secure.

Important reassurance

A hold is not necessarily the final outcome of the dispute. The result may depend on the stated reason, the provider’s or card scheme’s rules, the agreement governing the account, and the evidence submitted; a prompt factual response helps the case to be considered but does not guarantee a particular decision.

Scope note

This guide covers immediate steps to protect your account, evidence, and essential finances. Later decisions about complaints, recovering money, contracts, consumer law, accounting, or court action may require advice specific to the transaction and provider.

Important note

This is general information, not legal, financial, accounting, fraud-investigation, or other professional advice. Marketplaces, payment providers, merchant acquirers, and card schemes use different procedures and deadlines, so follow the instructions displayed in your own verified account.

Additional Resources

Closely connected guides that may be useful during the same situation or its immediate aftermath.

About this guide

This guide was produced and is maintained by PanicStation.org using its published editorial process. Official and specialist sources are checked where relevant, and AI-assisted tools may be used for drafting, organisation, and consistency checks. The site operator remains responsible for publication, revision, and removal decisions.

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