Card disputes and how to resolve them

• Goods/services not received.
• Goods/services not as described/defective.
• Credit not processed.
• Recurring payment was not cancelled.
• Duplicate transactions.
• Discrepancy in amount charged.
• Paid by other means.

• You may lodge a dispute via Internet or Mobile Banking, over the phone or in a Branch.
• We’ll confirm receipt of your dispute via email/SMS. Or if you prefer, we can communicate to you via mail.
• In this receipt, we’ll provide you with a unique Dispute Reference Number. Have this reference number handy if you need to contact us about your dispute.
• We'll act as a liaison between you and the merchant's bank. In some instances, we may request information and evidence to progress the dispute resolution. We’ll keep you informed while the investigation is underway.
• While the dispute is in progress, we may provide you with a conditional dispute credit. If a conditional dispute credit is applied to your credit card, you must still make at least the minimum repayment amount to avoid charges such as late payment fees and additional interest. However, interest on the disputed transaction will pause during the dispute process. 
• If you’re disputing a PartPay transaction, repayments will be paused while the dispute is in process. Depending on the outcome of the dispute, repayments may restart. ​
• A merchant may challenge your dispute, and if you are registered for Internet or Mobile Banking, we’ll send you documents via your Internet or Mobile Banking Messages for you to review and respond, otherwise we’ll contact you via mail.
• On receipt of the documentation, you’ll need to either accept, or provide evidence to further dispute the transaction.
• If you accept the outcome provided by the merchant, any conditional dispute credit will be reversed.
• If you wish to continue the dispute, we’ll require you to provide a written reply (email or mail) to the documentation we sent to you.
• Upon receipt of a written reply (email or mail), further investigation will be carried out and a decision reached.
• If the decision is in your favour the funds will be permanently credited to your account.

Note:
If we do not receive a reply to any correspondence sent to you requesting information within 15 days, you may lose your rights to dispute the transaction and any conditional dispute credit will be reversed.

Card disputes cover purchased transactions using your Debit card or Credit cards. Below are the options to load a dispute:

Option 1: In the Westpac App / Online Banking, you may lodge a dispute by clicking on the transaction you are wanting to dispute, then selecting the 'Report this transaction' button.

Option 2: Contact us on 1300 651 089 (8am – 8pm AEST) and request to lodge a dispute.

You can request assistance with all posted debit transactions on your statements. 

You should only lodge a dispute after you have attempted to resolve your dispute with the merchant directly and haven’t succeeded. Majority of issues can be resolved without initiating a formal dispute claim.

• Prior to lodging the dispute, contact with the merchant must have been attempted to resolve the matter.
• Double check your receipts, including email and text messages, and confirm with additional cardholders. 
• Next if you don’t recognise the merchant name, do an online Google or ABN search. The trading name on your statement could be different to the actual merchant name – even though they are the same company.

However, if you have done your preliminary investigating without a resolution, you can lodge your dispute. We encourage you to notify us as soon as possible to initiate the formal disputes process. If you don’t recognise the transaction and believe you are a victim of fraud, you must call the Westpac fraud line on 1300 364 294 (select Card Fraud when prompted).

We will work quickly to resolve your disputed transaction, often working with you, the merchant where the transaction occurred and their bank. The turnaround time can vary, however, we will keep you informed throughout our investigation. Currently we are resolving the majority of disputed transactions within 45 days once you have responded to the initial request for information.

No, we will withhold any applicable interest charges on the item while the dispute is under investigation. If after investigation your dispute is unsuccessful, the withheld interest charges for the transaction will be added to your account, and interest will continue to accrue on the transaction moving forward. If your dispute is successful, withheld interest charges for the disputed transaction will not be added to your account.

You must still make at least the minimum repayment amount to avoid charges such as late payment fees and additional interest. Any conditional dispute credit applied during the dispute does not change the balance owing, nor does it change the minimum monthly payment required. You will not be charged interest on your disputed transaction while the dispute is in progress.

A chargeback is when your bank challenges the merchant against the charge you have disputed, within card scheme rules.