Disputing a card transaction in Greece: procedure, deadlines, evidence

How do I dispute a card charge for an order that never arrived or differed, and what will the bank ask for?

In the Greek market, disputing a card charge (a chargeback) always starts with the bank that issued your card, not with the shop and not with the company that collected the payment. There are two different legal bases: the unauthorised transaction, governed by the PSD2 directive, and the commercial dispute, where you approved the payment but the order did not arrive or differed, which the bank examines under card-network rules and its own policy.

The order is fixed: first a written complaint to the merchant, then a request to the bank with an evidence file, and only afterwards, if needed, an out-of-court route. Deadlines differ by bank and by card network, so this article gives one published example and sends you to your own bank's terms.

Two different bases

An unauthorised transaction is one you did not approve: stolen card details, a charge from an unknown merchant. The framework here is legal and European. A commercial dispute is one you approved yourself, with strong authentication or without. The subject of the dispute is delivery: the material did not arrive, or arrived different or damaged.

The distinction decides what you write in the request. If you declare «I did not authorise the transaction» when you approved it in 3D Secure, the request will be rejected and may damage your credibility. State exactly what happened.

What PSD2 provides

Directive 2015/2366 provides that for an unauthorised transaction the payment service provider refunds the payer immediately. Where there is a high suspicion of fraud by the user, it may investigate within a reasonable time. The payer is liable for a very limited amount, for which recital 71 names EUR 50, unless they acted fraudulently or with gross negligence ^[1].

The user must notify the provider as soon as possible ^[1]. Article 71 also sets an outer limit for notification, measured in months from the debit date, and Article 73 governs the refund time; read the exact text on EUR-Lex and in your bank's terms. None of these provisions concerns a disagreement about whether the order was delivered.

First step: a written complaint to the merchant

For a commercial dispute, the bank expects you to have asked the merchant for a solution first. One bank's published example says so for every category: you must first contact the merchant directly, and the bank asks for the manner and details of the reply you received ^[2].

Write by email, which leaves a trail, not only by phone. State the order number, date, amount, what was expected and what happened, and ask for a specific action by a stated date. If you have no receiving record at this stage, see the goods-in receiving checklist.

How the dispute reaches the bank

Filing is usually through the bank's telephone service, e-banking or a branch. The example we read comes from a Cypriot bank and is used here only to illustrate the structure, not as the terms of a Greek bank. For an order that was not delivered, once the expected delivery date has passed, it asks you to contact the bank 15 days after the charge date for Visa cards and 30 days for MasterCard. If the merchant has ceased trading, those periods do not apply, provided 540 days have not passed since the transaction ^[2].

For goods that are different or damaged, the same example asks that the product be returned to the merchant and proof of the return be provided. It gives the merchant 15 days from the return to refund or replace ^[2]. Your own bank may set different terms. The Banks' Code of Conduct, published by the Consumer Ombudsman, is the document that governs how banks treat customers; we could not extract its text here, so read it directly ^[3].

What evidence is asked for

Timeline and temporary credit

Do not assume a temporary credit. In the example we read, the disputed amount stays in the card balance, the minimum payment remains due as normal, and if the dispute is decided in your favour the account is credited ^[2]. If you normally pay the full balance, ask the bank how interest is treated on the disputed amount.

Mistakes that cost the request

The commonest mistake is waiting. The merchant promises «dispatch tomorrow» and the bank's deadline keeps running. A second mistake is cancelling the order with the merchant while also disputing the charge: if the merchant refunds while the request is pending, the bank sees two credits for one charge. Tell the bank about every development.

A third is a vague description. «I got nothing» is insufficient; «order number X, value Y, expected delivery Z, not delivered, and the merchant did not answer two written complaints» is a request the bank can process. A fourth is abandoning the case at the first refusal. Ask for the written reason and whether a second submission with new evidence is possible.

If the card is a business or institutional card, check whether the issuer's terms provide the same procedure. In many cases the organisation's internal policy also requires notice to the finance office within a set time. Record that in the file too.

If the merchant contests

The merchant may submit its own evidence: proof of dispatch, a signed receipt, its terms of sale. The bank compares the two files. The most useful preparation therefore happens before any dispute: a photograph of the packaging on receipt, a note of date and time, a reference to the courier.

If the bank rejects the request, you can ask for a written reason and use the bank's complaints procedure. The Consumer Ombudsman examines reports from consumers who are natural persons acting outside their professional activity, within one year, with no pending court case, and imposes no sanctions ^[4]. If you buy as a business or institution, that route is not open to you.

Keeping the dispute file

The file is documentation a third party could reconstruct. If you have to hand it over, it must make sense without you.

1. Order confirmation and invoice, with order number and amount.
2. Card statement entry with charge date and transaction number.
3. All written communication with the merchant, with dates and replies.
4. Tracking number and proof of delivery, or the courier's confirmation that it was not delivered.
5. Photographs and receiving notes, if you received anything.
6. Case number and the bank officer's name, with the date of every contact.

Everything described here concerns documenting purchases of materials strictly for research use, which are not intended for administration to humans or animals. Before your next order, read the dispute terms of the card you will use and note the deadlines.