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Visa reason code 13.5: misrepresented terms of sale

Visa reason code 13.5 covers a mismatch between the merchant’s offer and accepted terms. Learn when it applies, valid defenses, evidence, and deadlines.

What Visa reason code 13.5 means and when it applies

Visa reason code 13.5, “Misrepresentation,” is filed when the cardholder claims that the merchant presented the terms of sale inaccurately or incompletely. In other words, what the merchant said or wrote before the purchase does not match the terms the cardholder accepted. The issue may be an undisclosed future charge or a sales promise that conflicts with the contract.

Code 13.5 concerns how the sale was presented. If the claim is solely about the quality or condition of the product or service delivered, 13.5 is invalid. That type of case belongs under code 13.3.

Source for the condition and the boundary with 13.3: Visa Core Rules §11.10.6.1, Table 11-116 (ID# 0030337), and §11.10.6.3, Table 11-118 (ID# 0030339).

In addition to meeting the deadline explained below, filing requires all of these requirements:

  1. The cardholder disputes the terms of sale. The cardholder must claim that the merchant’s verbal or written presentation does not match what the cardholder accepted.
  2. The cardholder tried to resolve the issue first. The attempt must be made with the merchant or, if the business is in liquidation, with the merchant’s liquidator.
  3. The amount is limited to the affected portion. The dispute covers only the unused portion of the canceled service or the value of merchandise the cardholder returned or attempted to return.

If the merchandise is held by a customs agency in the merchant’s country, the merchant remains responsible for it.

Source for the attempted resolution, amount limit, and customs rule: Visa Core Rules §11.10.6.2, Table 11-117 (ID# 0030338).

Visa also expressly includes these situations:

  1. A trial, promotion, introductory offer, or one-off purchase followed by later charges. The purchase occurred in a card-absent environmentA transaction completed without the physical card in front of the merchant, such as an online, phone, mail-order, or recurring transaction., and the cardholder was not clearly told that further transactions would follow the purchase.
  2. Services involving timeshare resale. These include reselling, advising on resale, and recovering fees tied to timeshare property the merchant does not own.
  3. Corrective financial services sold in a card-absent environment. These include debt consolidation, credit repair or counseling, mortgage repair, modification, or counseling, foreclosure relief, and credit card interest-rate reduction.
  4. Technical support or software advertised inaccurately. This also includes software that contains a malicious download.
  5. Promises of income or fund recovery. The rule includes business opportunities, additional purchases promoted as a way to generate income, promises to recover funds without providing the service, and outbound telemarketing.
  6. Investments with refused withdrawals. This includes products such as binary options or foreign-exchange trading when the merchant does not allow the cardholder to withdraw an available balance.

These situations do not remove the preceding requirements. They clarify the scope of the code; they do not waive the attempted resolution, amount limit, or deadline.

Source for the covered situations: Visa Core Rules §11.10.6.2, Table 11-117 (ID# 0030338).

Even when the cardholder claims that the terms differed, the dispute is invalid if at least one of these four exclusions applies:

  1. The transaction was classified as Straight Through ProcessingAn operational classification used by Visa. For this code, what matters is that the transaction record carries this classification because Table 11-118 excludes it from 13.5..
  2. The claim concerns Value-Added Tax (VAT).
  3. The claim concerns solely quality. It must be handled under 13.3.
  4. The claim concerns the cash-backCash handed to the cardholder by the merchant as part of a purchase. Under 13.5, only this cash portion is excluded. portion of a Visa Cash-Back transaction.

Source for the four exclusions: Visa Core Rules §11.10.6.3, Table 11-118 (ID# 0030339).

If the actual issue is different, review the corresponding code: 13.1 for merchandise or services not received; 13.2 for a canceled recurring transaction; 13.4 for counterfeit merchandise; 13.6 for a credit not processed; and 13.7 for canceled merchandise or services.

Deadlines for each party under Visa 13.5

1 block represents 30 calendar days.

  1. IssuerFile the 13.5 disputeThe clock starts when Visa processes the transaction or the cardholder receives the merchandise or services, whichever occurs later.
    Up to 120 calendar days
  2. IssuerFile the 13.5 dispute with documented prior negotiationsThe clock starts when the issuer receives the cardholder’s first notice of the dispute.
    Up to 60 calendar days
  3. IssuerProcess the 13.5 dispute within the absolute capThe clock starts when Visa processes the transaction.
    Up to 540 calendar days
  4. AcquirerSubmit a Visa-permitted defense pathThe clock starts when Visa processes the dispute.
    Up to 30 calendar days
  5. IssuerRespond to the acquirer’s defenseThe clock starts when Visa processes the acquirer’s defense.
    Up to 30 calendar days
  6. AcquirerRespond to the issuer’s pre-arbitration attemptThe clock starts when Visa processes the issuer’s pre-arbitration attempt.
    Up to 30 calendar days
  7. IssuerAsk Visa to decide the caseThe clock starts when Visa processes the acquirer’s pre-arbitration response.
    Up to 10 calendar days
These are the time limits set by Visa.Your deadline to submit documents may be shorter; confirm it with your acquirer.Source:Visa Core Rules, Tabelas 11-119 (ID# 0030340) e 11-2 (ID# 0030213)

Who files the dispute and what happens next

The issuer, the bank or financial institution that issued the card, files the 13.5 dispute on the cardholder’s behalf in VROLVisa Resolve Online is Visa’s system where the issuer files the dispute and the acquirer submits the response and case documents.. The merchant neither opens the case nor responds directly to Visa.

The issuer must provide all applicable items for the case. In addition to explaining how the merchant’s verbal or written statements differ from the accepted terms, the issuer certifies the attempted resolution and the date the cardholder received the merchandise or services. If there was a return or cancellation, the issuer provides the dates and, when applicable, the carrier, tracking number, the date the merchant received the merchandise, or the merchant’s refusal to accept the return.

For an investment dispute, the issuer also provides the account record showing the date, requested amount, and available balance at the time of the withdrawal request, together with the merchant’s acknowledgment that it received and would process the request. If the cardholder cannot access the website, the issuer must prove that the account is inaccessible or inactive.

Source for the documents required from the issuer: Visa Core Rules §11.10.6.5, Table 11-120 (ID# 0030341).

The issuer may use one of two filing windows:

  1. Standard 120-calendar-day path. The clock starts on the Transaction Processing Date or the date the cardholder received the merchandise or services, whichever is later.
  2. Alternative 60-calendar-day path. The clock starts when the issuer receives the cardholder’s first notice, but both conditions must be present: the notice contains evidence of prior ongoing negotiations, and those negotiations occurred within 120 days of the Transaction Processing Date. To use this path, the issuer certifies the dates and provides the negotiation evidence.

Under either path, the Dispute Processing Date cannot be more than 540 calendar days after the Transaction Processing Date.

Source for both paths and the cap: Visa Core Rules §11.10.6.4, Table 11-119 (ID# 0030340), and §11.10.6.5, Table 11-120 (ID# 0030341).

After filing, the acquirer, the institution that represents the merchant in the Visa network, has 30 calendar days from the Dispute Processing Date to submit a Dispute ResponseThe formal response the acquirer submits through VROL to contest the dispute using at least one ground Visa allows.. The merchant gives the documents to the acquirer within the operational deadline set by the acquirer or processor.

If the issuer maintains the dispute, it may initiate pre-arbitrationThe stage when the issuer addresses the evidence submitted by the acquirer before asking Visa to decide the case. within 30 calendar days of the Dispute Response Processing Date. If the acquirer’s response met the requirements, the issuer must certify that it showed the evidence to the cardholder and explain why the cardholder still disputes the transaction. The acquirer then has 30 calendar days from the Processing Date of the pre-arbitration attempt to accept financial responsibility or decline. If the parties do not agree, the issuer may request Visa arbitration within 10 calendar days of the Processing Date of the pre-arbitration response.

Source for the workflow and response deadlines: Visa Core Rules §11.2.3, Table 11-2 (ID# 0030213).

Before building a defense, check whether this dispute is invalidProving any one condition is enough to challenge the dispute's validity.
  • The dispute concerns solely the quality or condition of the merchandise or services delivered — that case belongs under code 13.3, not 13.5.
  • The transaction is a Straight Through Processing transaction.
  • The dispute concerns Value-Added Tax (VAT).
  • The dispute concerns the cash-back portion of a Visa Cash-Back transaction.
  • The cardholder did not first attempt to resolve the issue with the merchant or the merchant’s liquidator.
  • The dispute was filed outside the standard 120-day path without meeting the alternative 60-day path for prior negotiations, or after the 540-day cap.

Source:Visa Core Rules §11.10.6.3 — Invalid Disputes, ID# 0030339 (com §11.10.6.2, ID# 0030338, e §11.10.6.4, ID# 0030340)

How to reduce the risk of Visa 13.5 disputes

Prevention starts by keeping the same terms at every point in the sale. Visa recommends that ads, online pages, receipts, and telephone order-taking scripts describe the merchandise or services accurately, completely, and without misleading the customer.

Three practices preserve that consistency and a future defense:

  1. Keep what the cardholder saw and accepted. Archive the version of the ad, offer, and terms presented at purchase. Dates, times, and version histories help connect the document to the transaction, but Table 11-121 does not require a specific capture format.
  2. Obtain separate consent for future charges. For a card-absent trial, promotion, introductory offer, or one-off purchase, obtain express agreement at the time of the initial transaction. A generic reference hidden in the terms does not, by itself, demonstrate that agreement.
  3. Notify the cardholder before charging again. Send a notice that can be documented at least 7 days before the date of the disputed future transaction. The initial agreement does not replace this notice.

The return policy does not change the 13.5 analysis. Even if it is published, a restrictive or no-refund policy does not prove that the terms were presented accurately.

Source for the prevention guidance and return-policy rule: Visa Dispute Management Guidelines for Visa Merchants, Condition 13.5, pp. 43–44. Source for both future-charge obligations: Visa Core Rules §11.10.6.6, Table 11-121 (ID# 0030342).

Evidence the merchant needs to gather for a defense

Prove the accepted terms

Table 11-121 says “evidence of one of the following.” The acquirer must therefore prove at least one of these five grounds in the Dispute Response:

  1. An unaddressed credit or reversal. Provide proof showing the amount and the date the merchant already processed the credit or reversal.
  2. The dispute is invalid. Show that at least one of the four exclusions described above applies: Straight Through Processing, Value-Added Tax, a claim solely about quality, or the cash-back portion.
  3. The cardholder no longer disputes the transaction. Provide a letter or email from the cardholder stating that they no longer dispute it.
  4. The offer matched the accepted terms. Provide the accepted terms and documentation tying those terms to the transaction. The defense must address the specific difference alleged by the cardholder, not merely state that the sale was valid.
  5. The cardholder agreed to and was notified of future transactions. This path applies to a card-absent trial, promotion, introductory offer, or one-off purchase. Here, both pieces of evidence are required: express agreement to future transactions at the time of the initial transaction and notice of those transactions at least 7 days before the charge date. One without the other does not satisfy this path.

Source for the five grounds and the joint requirement in the fifth path: Visa Core Rules §11.10.6.6, Table 11-121 (ID# 0030342). Source for credit, withdrawal, and terms-of-sale documents: Visa Dispute Management Guidelines for Visa Merchants, Condition 13.5, p. 43.

For an investment dispute, Visa’s merchant guidance says to prove that no balance was available for withdrawal. The record must correspond to the time of the disputed request. If the merchant did process the withdrawal, that proof may support the general path showing that the terms were not misrepresented, but Table 11-121 does not create a separate sixth ground.

Source for the investment defense: Visa Dispute Management Guidelines for Visa Merchants, Condition 13.5, p. 43. Source for the path structure: Visa Core Rules §11.10.6.6, Table 11-121 (ID# 0030342).

If no ground applies and the cardholder’s claim is valid, Visa’s guidance is to accept the dispute. Adding more attachments does not fix the absence of an allowed defense path.

Frequently asked questions

When can a sale receive Visa chargeback code 13.5?

“Misrepresentation” is the dispute condition in which the cardholder claims that the merchant’s verbal or written statements do not match the terms of sale the cardholder accepted. The code concerns how the sale was presented, not solely the quality of what was delivered.

How is Visa 13.5 different from Visa 13.3?

Code 13.3 concerns the description, quality, or condition of the merchandise or services delivered. Code 13.5 concerns the terms of sale. If the claim is solely about quality, it is invalid under 13.5 and belongs under 13.3.

What defense can a merchant provide for a 13.5 chargeback?

The acquirer submits a Dispute Response through VROL within 30 calendar days of the Dispute Processing Date. The response must prove at least one ground from Table 11-121: an unaddressed credit or reversal, an invalid dispute, the cardholder’s withdrawal of the dispute, a match between the offer and the accepted terms, or, for certain card-absent transactions, express consent and advance notice.

What evidence does Visa require after a trial or promotional offer?

For a card-absent trial, promotional period, introductory offer, or one-off purchase, the merchant must prove two things together: the cardholder expressly agreed to future transactions at the time of the initial transaction, and the merchant notified the cardholder of those transactions at least 7 days before the charge date. One without the other is not enough.

Does a return policy help defend a Visa 13.5 dispute?

No. Visa’s merchant guidelines state that the return policy has no bearing on a 13.5 dispute. A restrictive or no-refund policy does not, by itself, rebut a claim that the offer differed from the accepted terms.

How long does the issuer have to file a 13.5 dispute?

The standard path allows filing within 120 calendar days of the Transaction Processing Date or the date the cardholder received the merchandise or services, whichever is later. An alternative path allows 60 calendar days from the cardholder’s first notice to the issuer when there is evidence of prior negotiations and those negotiations occurred within 120 days of the Transaction Processing Date. Either path is subject to a 540-calendar-day cap from the Transaction Processing Date.

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