A dispute (also known as a chargeback) happens when a cardholder contests your payment with their card issuer. A chargeback is begun as soon as the cardholder raises the formal dispute with their card network or bank.
How do disputes work at Legl
At Legl, disputes are handled between the law firm, Legl and Stripe or Adyen (Legl’s payment processing partners).
As soon as a dispute is issued, Stripe/Adyen immediately reverses the payment, debiting the total amount (including a chargeback fee) from Legl’s Stripe/Adyen account.
Legl will contact you (the law firm) as soon as a dispute has been issued, outlining any information provided by Stripe/Adyen, next steps and the dispute closure deadline.
Challenging a dispute
In most cases, you have the ability to challenge the disputed payment, as long as you submit strong evidence that counters the dispute claim before the deadline.
Submitting evidence directly to Legl, is the only way to overturn a dispute in a law firm’s favour. In turn, Legl will forward any/all evidence provided to Stripe/Adyen. Even in cases where your client claims to have raised the dispute in error (or claims to have withdrawn it), you must respond with evidence in order to challenge the dispute in your favour.
Example evidence may include, but is not limited to:
Context or details around the payment which may help Legl prove that it was an intentional and legitimate payment.
Relevant customer communication related to this payment (which may include):
Invoices
Payment receipts or confirmations
Emails related to the services provided
Signed Terms of Business or Services Agreement
Dispute outcomes
There are two possible outcomes:
The dispute is won in the cardholder’s favour: the reversed funds remain with the cardholder.
The dispute is won in the law firm’s favour: the funds are returned to Legl.
If the dispute is found in favour of the cardholder, you (the law firm) will be liable to Legl for the full amount of the Chargeback, including the associated Chargeback fee of £25 incurred by our payment processor.
The total amount will be included in the firm’s next Legl monthly invoice, and will be payable by the firm within 14 days of the date of the invoice.
Support with your dispute
If you have any questions and/or are looking for further support with a dispute raised, please contact Legl’s Customer Support Team who will be happy to assist.