University of Illinois System
Policies & Procedures

21.1.4 Respond to Disputed Transactions

Policy Statement

Cardholders have the right to dispute transactions they claim were not authorized or were charged in error.

Disputed transactions that remain unresolved can negatively affect the ability of the University of Illinois System to continue accepting credit/debit cards.

Procedure

To respond to disputed transactions:

  1. When a cardholder disputes a charge with their financial institution, Merchant Card Services is contacted.
  2. Merchant Card Services provides transaction details to the dispute resolution contact at the merchant unit. They ask the unit to provide supporting documentation (copy request) regarding the transaction.
  3. The unit dispute resolution contact has 2 business days to respond with the requested documentation.
    4. There is no grace period. If you miss this deadline, the revenue from the transaction will be debited from your unit's account.
  4. Merchant Card Services forwards the documentation (rebuttal) to the financial institution who reviews it and makes a decision. The unit may be asked to provide additional information.
  5. The disputed transaction is decided in favor of either the merchant unit or the customer. University Accounting and Financial Reporting (UAFR) posts any adjustments to the unit's C-FOAPAL.

Additional Resources

Cardholder Bank-Disputed Transactions
Payment Card Dispute Flow

Last Updated: May 23, 2019 | Approved: Senior Associate Vice President for Business and Finance | Effective: November 2008