> ## Documentation Index > Fetch the complete documentation index at: https://docs.reap.global/llms.txt > Use this file to discover all available pages before exploring further. # Dispute Reasons > Pick the reason that matches what the cardholder is telling you. Every dispute is filed under one reason, sent as `reason` on [File dispute](/cards/disputes/overview#file-a-dispute). The reason drives how the card network handles the case, so picking the closest match matters more than picking quickly. Two fields are derived from it and returned on the dispute, so you never send them: | Field | What it tells you | | ----------------------------- | ----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- | | `category` | The group the reason belongs to, one of the four below. Useful for organising a reason picker, and available as a filter on [List disputes](/api-reference/disputes/list-disputes). | | `requiresCardholderSignature` | Whether the cardholder has to sign before the case can move. See [Collect the cardholder signature](/cards/disputes/overview#collect-the-cardholder-signature). | The signature requirement follows the category: every fraud and consumer reason needs one, no authorization or processing error reason does. Read `requiresCardholderSignature` off the response rather than encoding that rule in your client. *** ## Fraud The cardholder did not authorise the charge. All require a signature. | Reason | Use when | | ------------------------------------------- | ------------------------------------------------------------------------------- | | `FRAUD_EMV_LIABILITY_SHIFT_COUNTERFEIT` | A counterfeit copy of the card was used in person. | | `FRAUD_EMV_LIABILITY_SHIFT_NON_COUNTERFEIT` | The genuine card was used in person by someone else after being lost or stolen. | | `FRAUD_OTHER_CARD_PRESENT` | Fraudulent use of the card in person that no other fraud reason covers. | | `FRAUD_OTHER_CARD_ABSENT` | The card details were used online, by phone, or by mail. | | `FRAUD_VISA_MONITORING_PROGRAM` | Fraud at a merchant Visa has placed under its fraud monitoring program. | Reach for `FRAUD_OTHER_CARD_PRESENT` when you know the transaction was fraudulent and the card was used in person, but not how it was compromised. Use `FRAUD_OTHER_CARD_ABSENT` for the equivalent case online - it is where a confirmed [fraud alert](/cards/fraud-alerts) of type `ACCOUNT_NUMBER_MISUSE` lands when the cardholder still holds the card. The two `FRAUD_EMV_LIABILITY_SHIFT_*` reasons carry a condition beyond the kind of fraud: they apply only where the merchant's terminal lacked the chip or PIN capability that would have prevented the transaction, which is what shifts liability to the merchant. Where the terminal was fully capable, the same fraud is filed as `FRAUD_OTHER_CARD_PRESENT` instead. *** ## Authorization The merchant took the charge without valid authorization. No signature required. | Reason | Use when | | ---------------------------------------- | ----------------------------------------------------------------------------- | | `AUTHORIZATION_CARD_RECOVERY_BULLETIN` | The merchant charged the card without authorization while it was blocked. | | `AUTHORIZATION_DECLINED` | The merchant charged the card after the authorization was declined. | | `AUTHORIZATION_NO_AUTH_LATE_PRESENTMENT` | The charge was never authorized, or was settled too long after authorization. | `AUTHORIZATION_NO_AUTH_LATE_PRESENTMENT` covers both situations under one reason, so use it whether the authorization was missing entirely or the merchant simply settled too late. *** ## Processing error The charge reached the cardholder in the wrong shape. No signature required. | Reason | Use when | | --------------------------------------------- | --------------------------------------------------------------------------------- | | `PROCESSING_ERROR_INCORRECT_TRANSACTION_CODE` | Processed as the wrong type, such as a charge instead of a refund. | | `PROCESSING_ERROR_INCORRECT_CURRENCY` | Processed in the wrong currency. | | `PROCESSING_ERROR_INCORRECT_ACCOUNT_NUMBER` | Posted to the wrong card number. | | `PROCESSING_ERROR_INCORRECT_AMOUNT` | Processed for the wrong amount. | | `PROCESSING_ERROR_DUPLICATE_PROCESSING` | The same purchase was charged more than once, or was already paid by other means. | | `PROCESSING_ERROR_INVALID_DATA` | Processed with invalid or incorrect data. | *** ## Consumer The charge was authorised but the merchant did not hold up their end. All require a signature. | Reason | Use when | | --------------------------------------- | ------------------------------------------------------------------------------ | | `CONSUMER_MERCHANDISE_NOT_RECEIVED` | The goods or services were never received. | | `CONSUMER_NOT_AS_DESCRIBED` | The goods or services were not as described, or arrived defective. | | `CONSUMER_COUNTERFEIT_MERCHANDISE` | The goods received were counterfeit. | | `CONSUMER_MISREPRESENTATION` | The merchant misrepresented what was being sold. | | `CONSUMER_CANCELLED_RECURRING` | A recurring charge was taken after the cardholder cancelled. | | `CONSUMER_CREDIT_NOT_PROCESSED` | The merchant agreed to a refund but never processed it. | | `CONSUMER_CANCELLED_MERCHANDISE` | The cardholder cancelled the order or returned the goods and was not refunded. | | `CONSUMER_ORIGINAL_CREDIT_NOT_ACCEPTED` | A payment pushed to the card was not accepted by the cardholder. | | `CONSUMER_NON_RECEIPT_CASH_ATM` | An ATM debited the card without dispensing the cash. | `CONSUMER_CREDIT_NOT_PROCESSED` and `CONSUMER_CANCELLED_MERCHANDISE` are the pair most often mixed up. Use the first when the merchant agreed to refund and never did. Use the second when the cardholder cancelled or returned per the merchant's policy and no refund followed.