13.6

Visa Reason Code 13.6: Credit Not Processed

A cardholder says you promised a refund and it never arrived. Here is what 13.6 means and how to answer it.

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Visa reason code 13.6 is called Credit Not Processed. It sits in the 13 Consumer Disputes group, one of the four categories Visa now uses. A cardholder files it when you gave them a credit or a voided receipt, and the money never came back to their card. If you got a notice with this code, the issuer wants proof the refund happened. Or it wants proof the claim is wrong.

What is Visa reason code 13.6?

A Visa dispute is how a card issuer sends a contested transaction back to you. Under 13.6, the cardholder got a credit or a voided receipt from the merchant that was never processed. Put simply, the cardholder says you agreed to give the money back. But the refund never showed up on their card bill.

This is not a fraud claim. The cardholder admits the purchase was theirs. The fight is only about the refund. So 13.6 is one of the easier codes to answer. The case turns on one question. Did the credit reach the cardholder?

If the dispute is valid, the acquirer takes the disputed amount from your merchant account and tells you. You can accept the dispute. Or you can reject it by sending papers to your card processor. Each step has a set time limit, so a late answer can lose the case.

When does a 13.6 dispute apply?

A cardholder can file a 13.6 dispute when:

  • You issued a refund, but it never posted to their card.
  • You gave them a voided receipt, and the void never went through.
  • You promised a credit for returned goods or a canceled service, then did not send it.
  • They sent the item back under your rules. You never gave the money back.

The common thread is a refund you owed but did not deliver. The cardholder is not claiming the charge was fake. They are claiming you broke a promise to give the money back.

When is a 13.6 dispute invalid?

A 13.6 dispute is not valid for a fuel pump sale. Visa calls this an Automated Fuel Dispenser Transaction. It is also invalid when the cardholder calls the sale a fraud. A fraud claim belongs in the 10 Fraud group, not here. If the notice mixes a fraud story with this code, that is a reason to push back.

The dispute can also fail when the credit did go through. If the refund posted to the cardholder's account before the dispute was filed, the claim has no legs. Check the transaction history before you write your response.

How to respond to a 13.6 chargeback

To answer a 13.6 dispute, show a credit the issuer did not address, or that the dispute is invalid. That gives you two paths.

The first path is proof of refund. Send records that show the credit was issued and posted. A transaction record with the refund amount and date is the core document.

The second path is to show the dispute is not valid. Show the sale does not fit this code. A fuel dispenser sale is one example. Or show the cardholder filed a fraud claim under the wrong condition.

An acquirer may respond only once to the original Visa dispute. So make that one response count. Put your strongest documents in it. Evidence must be easy to read and in English, or come with an English translation.

If you are new to these notices, start with how to read a chargeback notice.

Evidence tips for a 13.6 response

Good evidence for this code is narrow and specific. Send:

  • The refund transaction record, showing the amount, date, and the card it went to.
  • A copy of the voided receipt, if that is what you gave the cardholder.
  • Proof the credit reached the cardholder's account. A processor settlement report works well here.
  • Your refund policy, if you are arguing the cardholder was not owed a credit at all.
  • Any email or message where you told the cardholder when to expect the refund.

Do not send delivery records or signed order forms. Those answer fraud and receipt claims, and they do nothing here. Proof only helps if it speaks to the refund question.

13.6 lives in the 13 Consumer Disputes group. Under the VCR Initiative, Visa consolidated its 22 legacy reason codes into four dispute categories. These are 10 Fraud, 11 Authorization, 12 Processing Errors and 13 Consumer Disputes. Other codes in the consumer group cover nearby claims.

Say the cardholder canceled the service but kept getting billed. That is closer to a recurring billing claim. American Express has a code for this. It is C28, canceled recurring billing. A claim that goods came back to you and you refused the refund is different again. Amex covers that under C04, goods or services returned or refused.

A cardholder who says they never got what they paid for is making a different claim. Amex addresses that under C08, goods or services not received. And a cardholder who paid by another means and wants this charge back falls under C14, paid by other means on the Amex side.

If your response goes in and the issuer still disagrees, the case can move to a later round. Read what happens after you answer a chargeback to see those steps before they surprise you.

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