Payment disputes (chargebacks with your bank)
Disputing a payment suspends the license while the dispute lasts; if lost, the subscription stops and the license is revoked; if won, everything resumes.
Updated on Oct 5, 2026, 1:36 p.m.
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In short. A dispute (or chargeback) is when you contest a payment with your bank or card issuer. Agora cuts nothing off abruptly, but the license is suspended during the dispute.
Before disputing, write to us: a self-service refund or a support ticket settles almost everything, faster, and without a suspension.
When the dispute opens #
- The license becomes suspended. Your installation keeps everything for 3 days, then the MDT and Pro features drop to the free tier. The forum stays open.
- Your subscription is paused (no more charges).
- A mere information request from your bank is not a dispute: nothing changes.
- In My purchases, the purchase concerned says so clearly: "A dispute is open with your bank: the license is suspended and the subscription paused until it is settled." The refund button disappears.
If the dispute is lost (the money goes back to you) #
- The subscription is cancelled.
- The license is revoked: its key will no longer be accepted, and the Stripe subscriptions attached to it are cancelled immediately (no further charge).
- The purchase shows as Refunded in your space, with the message "Dispute lost: the payment was taken back by your bank and the license is revoked". There is no refund left to request: your money has already come back.
Special case: a tier upgrade. If the lost dispute concerns an upgrade (Basic → Pro), your license is not revoked: it goes back to the previous tier, with the expiry you had already paid at that tier. The suspension set by the dispute is lifted and you are told by email. A lost dispute is final: a late "won" does not restore the upgrade. For the difference paid when going from lifetime Basic to lifetime Pro, it is your lifetime Basic license that remains. See Change tier (trial, Basic, Pro).
If the dispute is won #
- The suspension set by the dispute is lifted: everything comes back immediately in your Agora.
- The paused Stripe subscription resumes.
During a dispute: no refund #
A disputed payment cannot be refunded until the dispute is settled (the provider refuses). The site tells you so instead of stopping your subscription for nothing: see Request a refund.
If you disputed by mistake #
Withdraw your dispute with your bank, then open a ticket on the support Discord so the team follows the case. See Open a ticket.
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Related articles
- Request a refundSelf-service refund, approved automatically: 7 days for a month, 30 days for a year or a lifetime license; no prorating.
- Change tier (trial, Basic, Pro)From trial to paid, you keep your installation; between Basic and Pro on a paid license, you change tier yourself, same key, prorated.
- Suspended or expired license: what happensAn expired license leaves 14 days of grace; a suspended one, 3 days before the free tier; either way, the forum never closes.
- Open a support ticketSupport works through tickets, on Agora's Discord, on the site or by email: a short form, a reply from the team, and the transcript when it closes.