Dispute a PO On-Time Accuracy Chargeback

Dispute a PO on-time accuracy chargeback with evidence that directly contradicts Amazon's recorded data, and file it through Operational Performance within 30 days of the notification. The strongest submission is not a long explanation. It names the wrong field, supplies the matching PO or carrier record, and asks Amazon to reverse the specific chargeback.

That is the answer to the message that landed in our queue: "Vendor Central just hit us with a PO on-time accuracy chargeback we believe is wrong. How do we dispute it before the 30-day window closes?" I gave the chargeback record and PO context to our agent through the Selling Partner MCP, with Amazon Agent Atlas grounding the dispute rules.

A plain ChatGPT or Claude chat hits three walls. It has no access to your data, so it cannot compare the chargeback with the PO, appointment, or dispute history. It has no way to take action, so a person still has to find the record and submit the response. It has generic knowledge, not Amazon's, so it can confuse this Vendor Central operational chargeback with a consumer payment dispute. The result is disconnected, generic, manual work that ships silent mistakes.

The first dispute is a 30-day evidence deadline, not a support case

Amazon's How to Dispute a Chargeback in Vendor Operational Performance says the initial dispute is due within 30 days of the notification date. If Amazon rejects it, the second dispute is due within 30 days of the first refusal notification. Those are separate clocks, so the agent records both dates instead of treating the first deadline as the whole lifecycle.

Start in Reports > Operational Performance, open the full chargeback list, locate the chargeback ID, and confirm that Dispute this chargeback is available. The same help content limits a chargeback to two disputes. After two rejections, it is no longer eligible, and a Contact Us case cannot substitute for those two dashboard submissions.

The practical rule is simple: preserve the first attempt. Submit the cleanest contrary record you have, keep the dispute ID and attachments together, and reserve the second attempt for new evidence or a precise correction to Amazon's refusal reason.

The evidence must contradict the exact PO on-time data point

Amazon's Vendor Central Chargebacks Support and Policies says PO on-time accuracy covers confirmed products that miss the PO window, including items placed on backorder. The indexed policy measures the prepaid case against the carrier requested delivery date (CRDD). A statement that the shipment was "on time" is weak; an appointment record showing the CRDD inside the delivery window directly contests Amazon's recorded value.

Smart Aggregation gives the agent four routes, and choosing the wrong one can end the review before the evidence is considered.

The Vendor Central Chargebacks - Smart Aggregation Dashboard says Dispute by data can validate a core attribute such as a PRO and return a near-real-time indication of whether the evidence is sufficient. External-events exceptions are for circumstances such as severe weather; an unrelated accuracy complaint submitted there is automatically denied. Smart Aggregation is also limited to supported vendors and chargeback types, so the agent falls back to the legacy dashboard when the record is not present.

A useful dispute letter names one error and one contrary record

The agent produced the following dispute letter after matching the chargeback ID, PO, defect field, and attachment names. Keep the merge fields intact until the corresponding record has been verified. Do not submit a field whose evidence you cannot attach.

Subject: PO on-time accuracy dispute for chargeback {{CHARGEBACK_ID}}

We dispute PO on-time accuracy chargeback {{CHARGEBACK_ID}} for
PO {{PO_NUMBER}}, notified on {{NOTIFICATION_DATE}}, in the amount of
{{DISPUTED_AMOUNT}}.

Amazon's chargeback record shows:
- Defect type: {{DEFECT_TYPE}}
- Recorded value: {{AMAZON_RECORDED_VALUE}}

Our source record shows:
- Correct value: {{VENDOR_SOURCE_VALUE}}
- Source: {{SOURCE_SYSTEM_OR_DOCUMENT}}
- Record date: {{SOURCE_RECORD_DATE}}

The attached {{ATTACHMENT_NAME}} ties the PO and shipment to the correct
{{CONTESTED_FIELD}}. It contradicts the value shown in the chargeback record.

Please review the attached evidence and reverse chargeback
{{CHARGEBACK_ID}}. If another field is controlling the decision, please name
that field and its recorded value in the resolution.

For a duplicate, replace the source-record paragraph with both chargeback IDs and state which amount is duplicated. Amazon's Smart Aggregation guidance explicitly says to raise a dispute when duplicate chargebacks appear so the duplicate can be reversed. For a second dispute, lead with the first dispute ID and Amazon's refusal reason, then identify the new evidence that answers that reason.

The letter stays short because the evidence carries the claim. Every sentence either identifies the disputed record, links the contrary evidence to it, or requests a correction.

Smart Aggregation separates previews, confirmed charges, and reversals

The Vendor Central Chargebacks - Smart Aggregation Dashboard surfaces unconfirmed chargebacks in the Processing tab every seven days. Those rows are projections, not invoices. Once confirmed, a chargeback moves to Confirmed. Starting April 30, 2024, Amazon's indexed guidance gives 30 days' notice before invoicing PO on-time accuracy chargebacks.

That preview creates useful working time. The agent can open an evidence task while the item is still processing, pull the PO and carrier references, and flag a likely duplicate before the confirmed amount reaches the dispute queue. Smart Aggregation groups chargebacks at the most granular available attribute, shows the final confirmed amount, and removes duplicates from that view. If a duplicate still appears, the guidance says to dispute it.

The status is part of the workflow. Under review means wait for the dispute team. Reversed means the payment returns in the next payment cycle. Waived means Amazon did not charge it. Charged means the amount was enforced and remains eligible for the dispute process if the button is available.

What happens next

Turn the dispute into a reviewed recurring Skill, not an auto-submit rule. On each seven-day Processing refresh, the Skill identifies new PO on-time records, collects the controlling PO and carrier fields through the Selling Partner MCP, checks the deadline and prior-attempt count, then prepares the letter and attachments for human approval.

The complete workflow runs through the Amazon Agent Data layer: the Selling Partner MCP supplies live PO and catalog context, Amazon Ads MCP supplies the advertising side of the same business when needed, Atlas grounds the chargeback rules, and Skills preserve the evidence and approval trail. The final submission remains a deliberate operator action.

The letter is the last step; the winning work is matching one chargeback data point to one contrary record before the clock expires.

Next, see why MCP workflows need run logs when a reversal, refusal, or second dispute depends on what the agent did the first time.