Paid a scammer by card, or the goods never arrived? Chargeback is the card networks' (Visa, Mastercard) dispute procedure that lets your bank pull the money back from the seller's bank. This guide covers the real deadlines, your rights under EU payment rules, and what to do when the bank says no. All time limits verified against the current Visa, Mastercard and SEPA rulebooks (2026 editions).
1. What chargeback is and when it applies
Chargeback is not a Lithuanian law — it is a card-scheme procedure. Your bank files the dispute on your behalf; a cardholder cannot approach Visa or Mastercard directly. The main scenarios:
| Scenario | Bank's deadline | Counted from |
|---|---|---|
| Payment made without your consent (stolen card data) | 120 calendar days | Transaction processing date |
| Goods or services not received | 120 calendar days | Transaction date or the day delivery was due (max 540 days from the transaction) |
| Goods not as described / defective | 120 calendar days | Transaction date or the day you received the goods (max 540 days) |
Key points:
- The deadlines belong to the bank, not you. 120 days is the limit for your bank to file the dispute in the scheme. Go to the bank early so it has time to prepare the paperwork.
- For undelivered goods the clock can start on the promised delivery date — so a dispute is often still possible months after payment.
- Before a goods dispute the card rules require you to try resolving it with the seller first — the bank may need to wait 15–30 days from your contact with the merchant (waived if the merchant is insolvent or the deadline would pass).
2. The line that decides everything: did you confirm the payment yourself
This is where most "I was scammed" disputes fail. Card rules bar a fraud chargeback when the payment was properly confirmed with strong authentication — 3-D Secure (e.g. approval in your banking app or Smart-ID) or a PIN:
- If a scammer stole your card details and the payment wasn't made by you — a fraud dispute is available.
- If you confirmed the payment yourself, even though you were deceived (fake shop, "investment platform", impersonator) — a fraud chargeback under card rules is unavailable. What may remain are "goods not received" or "not as described" disputes, if the facts fit.
- Crypto purchases are called out explicitly: Visa rules bar the fraud dispute when the cardholder participated in the transaction — including crypto tricked out of you and sent to a fraudster.
Tip: even when a card chargeback is unavailable, EU statutory rights and civil claims remain — see sections 3 and 6.
3. Unauthorized payments: the bank must refund
Independently of card-scheme rules, the EU payment services directive (PSD2), transposed in Lithuania by the Law on Payments, sets your rights when a payment was made without your consent:
- Notification window — 13 months from the debit. Miss it and the refund right is lost.
- Refund — no later than the end of the next business day after you report it (unless the bank has reasonable grounds to suspect fraud by you and notifies the supervisory authority in writing).
- Your liability before reporting — max EUR 50 (e.g. a stolen card). You bear the full loss only if you acted fraudulently or breached your card-safety duties intentionally or with gross negligence.
- After you report the card lost or stolen, you are not liable for subsequent payments.
Lietuvos bankas confirms these rules on its consumer pages.
4. SEPA transfers: no chargeback, only a recall
Chargeback does not exist for account-to-account (SEPA) transfers. Under SEPA rules there are only two routes:
- Recall (initiated by the bank) — three grounds only: duplicate transfer, technical error, or a fraudulently originated transfer. For fraud your bank can file within 13 months; the recipient's bank must respond within 15 business days.
- Request for refund (when you sent the money yourself) — e.g. goods never arrived. The bank forwards the request to the recipient's bank within 13 months of the debit, but must warn you: return depends entirely on the recipient's consent.
In both cases recovery is not guaranteed: the recipient's refusal, an empty or closed account are all valid grounds to keep the money. That is why the first hours after paying a scammer are critical — before funds are cashed out. See our guide on the first 24 hours.
Since 9 October 2025, all payment service providers must check before a SEPA or instant transfer that the payee name you entered matches the IBAN holder (Verification of Payee). If the system warns "name does not match" — stop: it is one of the clearest fraud signals.
5. How to file the dispute with your bank
- Contact the seller in writing (for goods disputes) — keep the correspondence: card rules require proof you tried to resolve it.
- Contact your bank by phone or in the app and say you want to dispute a card transaction (chargeback).
- Provide evidence: account statement, order confirmation, the promised delivery date, correspondence with the seller, screenshots.
- If it's fraud — also report to the police (ePolicija.lt) and register the case on Apgavo.lt so your report links with other victims of the same scammer.
6. The bank refused — where next
Refusal is not the end. The route below follows Lietuvos bankas procedure:
- Written complaint to the bank — no later than 3 months from learning your rights were violated.
- The bank must answer within 15 business days (up to 35 in exceptional cases).
- Unsatisfied or no answer — within 1 year of the complaint, take the dispute to Lietuvos bankas (most conveniently via the electronic dispute system). The procedure is free of charge.
- The Lietuvos bankas decision is a recommendation (not binding), but it is public; if you disagree you can still go to court.
7. Realistic expectations
Chargeback is a strong tool, but not a universal one:
- The most common rejection reason — you confirmed the payment yourself (see section 2). The bank is not being difficult: card rules simply do not allow that dispute.
- SEPA transfer recovery depends on the recipient — scammers cash out fast.
- The seller can fight back with proof of delivery — the dispute runs on documents, so evidence quality decides the outcome.
When the banking routes are exhausted, the legal ones remain: report to the police and register the scammer on Apgavo.lt — when more victims of the same scammer come forward, our partner law firm evaluates a group lawsuit and the costs are shared. See also Where to report fraud.
Deadlines and rules verified on 2026-08-05 against the current Visa (18 Apr 2026), Mastercard (19 May 2026) and SEPA SCT (2025) rulebooks plus PSD2 / Lietuvos bankas guidance. Rules change — confirm with your bank before acting. Found an inaccuracy? Write to [email protected].