Chargeback fraud is a real risk for freelancers

A client pays £800 by credit card. You deliver. A week later, they dispute the transaction with their bank — “service not received.” The bank reverses it. You’ve lost the money, paid a £20 processing fee, and the client has your work.

This is called friendly fraud. The “friendly” refers to the absence of a stolen card. Just a client using a legitimate consumer protection mechanism to avoid paying.

Card chargebacks were designed to protect consumers from fraudulent merchants. For freelancers selling services, the protection runs the wrong way.

How the mechanics work

When a client files a chargeback, their bank pulls the funds from your processor — Stripe, PayPal, Square — and holds them. You get a dispute notification. You have a response window, typically 7 to 21 days depending on the platform, to submit evidence. The processor reviews it and decides.

The default assumption favors the cardholder.

If you win, the funds are released. If you lose, the reversal stands, you absorb the chargeback fee (€15 to €30 per incident), and the dispute is recorded on your account. Two or three chargebacks can trigger a Stripe account review. A chargeback rate above 1% of your monthly volume can get your payment account suspended entirely.

The three documents that win disputes

Banks evaluate one thing: did you deliver what was agreed?

A signed contract. Not an email thread. A document that defines what you agreed to deliver, the price, and the payment terms. Signed via DocuSign, HelloSign, or a PDF — something with a timestamp and a signature. An email saying “yes sounds good” might establish intent, but it won’t hold up as a contract. If you’re unsure what a freelance contract should include, the essential clauses are here.

A delivery email. An explicit written message from you confirming what you delivered, when, and to whom. Not a Dropbox link dropped into a chat. An email that says: “Here is the final version of [project], including [specific deliverables], as agreed.” Timestamped. In your sent folder.

Client acknowledgment. This is the one that closes a dispute. Any message from the client confirming they received and reviewed the work — a revision request, feedback on the deliverable, even “looks great, thanks.” A bad-faith client planning a chargeback often goes quiet after delivery precisely because engagement creates a paper trail. Sending a delivery email that explicitly asks for a quick acknowledgment pushes them to either confirm receipt or go silent in a way that’s harder to justify later.

Payment methods with different risk profiles

Bank transfer — SEPA, BACS, SWIFT — has no chargeback mechanism. Once the funds clear, there’s no reversal window, no dispute system, no third party. For any project above a few hundred euros, this is the straightforward answer.

Stripe and card processors carry the highest exposure. That’s not a reason to refuse cards — many clients prefer them — but it means documentation matters more.

PayPal sits in between. Business accounts have some seller protection, but a card-funded PayPal payment can still be disputed at the card level. Not equivalent to a bank transfer.

Wise and Revolut Business settle on the receiving end as bank transfers. Lower exposure than Stripe.

The practical default: list bank transfer details first on your invoice. Most clients don’t have a strong preference — they’ll use whichever option is easiest. If bank transfer is at the top, many will just use that.

If you’re already in a dispute

Act immediately. The window is short, and missing it means an automatic loss.

Collect: the signed contract, the delivery email, any client messages after delivery (acknowledgments, revision requests, sign-off), and the invoice. Submit everything through your processor’s dispute portal with a factual, timestamped sequence.

Keep it dry: “Client signed the attached contract on [date]. Deliverables were sent on [date] — see delivery email. Client responded on [date] with revision requests, confirming receipt.” No narrative, just documents.

A chargeback is distinct from a client who disputes the invoice amount directly — in that case, you negotiate. In a chargeback, a processor makes the decision based on evidence. Two different situations, two different responses.

If you lose and the amount is significant, some processors offer a second arbitration step. The fee is usually €50 to €250, so it only makes sense above €1,000.

The structural fix

For projects over €500, a deposit upfront changes the risk profile significantly. You collect 30 to 50% before starting. The client has already committed money to the project. The remaining balance at delivery is smaller. And because they paid the deposit without disputing it, the “never received the service” claim becomes much harder to make.

Final source files, assets, and access credentials transfer on receipt of the final payment — not on delivery of the work. The client can review and approve the deliverables, but the files don’t move until the invoice clears. This is a standard clause, not unusual or aggressive. Put it in the contract before work starts.

If you track your time by client — dates worked, deliverables produced — that record also supports a dispute. Timescanner builds that log automatically from your calendar. If a chargeback ever asks whether work was actually performed, the calendar history answers it.

Timescanner works with any iCal-compatible calendar — Google Calendar, Outlook, iCloud, Proton Calendar, Notion Calendar, and others.