Disputed Charges
A disputed charge is one in which a financial institution takes back a payment or payments from the merchant. Financial institutions can take this action without notifying those responsible for the payment details used in the transaction.
When a dispute is made, the charge(s) are investigated to determine whether or not they are valid for the payment details used. It does not dispute the validity of the charge for the IONOS account(s) involved.
Receiving a refund of payments made to IONOS through a dispute where IONOS has no ability to present its side will be treated as a breach of our Terms & Conditions. This can lead to suspension of services or even cancellation. Upon receiving a dispute notice, we will need to determine whether or not the payment details used with the IONOS account are permitted to be used as such. Accordingly, this also puts into question whether or not the account itself is valid.
To prevent further charges from happening while the investigation occurs, we will lock the entire account immediately upon receiving a disputed charge.
When will my account unlock?
Upon receiving documentation from the financial institution stating that the dispute has been dropped or that IONOS won the dispute, we will automatically unlock the account.
Please reach out to the financial institution and let them know that the charge is valid as soon as possible. If done in time, this will ensure that IONOS will win the dispute.
There is no ETA on how long financial disputes can take and there is no way for IONOS to speed up the process as it involves the financial institution.
I’m in the US or Canada and need my account unlocked as soon as possible!
There is a small form that can be filled out by the IONOS account holder to unlock the account while the investigation is ongoing. This form states that the customer acknowledges the charge is valid for the IONOS account and agrees to a $20 processing fee for handling the dispute. If a customer updates the payment details on the IONOS account and provides us this form, we can unlock the account while waiting for the investigation to be completed.
Dispute Fees
Handling disputed charges is a costly process. To mitigate some of these costs, IONOS will charge a $20 fee for handling each dispute that IONOS loses. The fee will not be charged for any dispute that IONOS wins.
Lost Disputes (US & Canada)
If IONOS loses a dispute, the financial institution has decided that the charge is not valid for the payment details in question.
At this point, if the IONOS account is not determined to be fraudulent, the account will stay locked until we have received updated payment details and the completed form acknowledging that the charges are valid for the IONOS account and agreeing to the $20 fee for handling the dispute.
Unfortunately, we are only authorized to use the form for US and Canadian ionos.com accounts. All ionos.com accounts from countries outside of the US or Canada, upon receipt of documentation from the financial institution stating that IONOS has lost the dispute, are immediately canceled. The fee for handling the dispute as well as the balance from the “refund” as a result of the lost dispute will be a valid balance on the canceled account.
Need help?
If you have any questions about this topic, feel free to contact IONOS Customer Service.