Klarna On‑Site Messaging

WARNING! Do not use Klarna with Shopify payments! If a customer reports a return in Klarna it automatically comes through as a dispute due to a Shopify error. Even after providing the evidence with a dispute they are always automatically 'lost' because it isn't a real dispute (but created by a software error)
Check this community thread for people loosing hundreds or even thousands due to this issue https://community.shopify.com/c/payments-shipping-and/shopify-opens-disputes-for-returns-via-klarna-payments/m-p/2824337
Shopify support claim nothing can be done from their end about 'disputes' although it is their error that creates it. On our store Klarna as an independent payment platform does not create this issue, it is specifically related to it being used with Shopify payments.

Do not waste your time. The application was working with some errors, for example it did not appear if the product was more than 1500 euros. But it was working. Suddenly it has disappeared from the web. In the template it appears but then it does not appear on the web. The application tells me that I have vintage mode but I have a 2.0 theme. Has anyone been able to contact support to fix anything it is impossible. Anyway run away while you can.

I should have taken heed of the other 1-star reviews. I almost never leave reviews, but in this case, I feel I have to - to help others avoid wasting time and energy.

Despite spending over 4 months actively trying to integrate Klarna with my Shopify store - including countless emails, troubleshooting steps, and back-and-forth with support - the experience was one of the most frustrating and unproductive I’ve encountered. Despite countless emails, screenshots, and explanations, the app never functioned properly - and support continuously offered surface-level responses without resolving the issue.

The app lacks clarity, error messaging is non-existent, and the support process is incredibly inefficient.

I’ve removed Klarna from my store and will moving to another provider. I strongly recommend others avoid this app unless you’re prepared to spend months troubleshooting with little to no progress.

Same experience as other users: the app doesn't work and the customer is nowhere to be found. Opened a ticket 8 days ago...

The app used to work on our store, but wouldn't translate for German customers. We were advised to reinstall it, which completely broke it.

First of all it was extremely confusing to set up and i've no idea what the online messaging thing is actually supposed to do, but even worse, they're registering return requests as chargebacks.

Klarna's own site state that you need to register an account with them to be able to offer the service with Shopify, while Shopify said exactly the opposite, just enable Klarna and it will work. It did, but by then we had already set up an account with Klarna so I don't know whether we needed it or not.

As others have said, support is awful. I contacted them three times and eventually got a reply, which had literally nothing to do with the questions I had asked them.

But the worst was to come. We have only had Klarna set up for a couple of months, have received a few orders (would we have got those orders without Klarna? None were high value) but here's the problem: If a buyer wants to return an item they apparently have to report it to Klarna. Klarna them register this return as a chargeback and you're charged £10 for the privilege.

Having NEVER had a chargeback in 6 years we have now had 3 in 2 days, one for an order that was never sent because the buyer asked to cancel - it seems Klarna need to be notified and then register this as a chargeback.

A second order from the SAME buyer which WE cancelled and this was also then registered as a chargeback, and a third one today, after a customer had asked to return an item and we agreed and gave him return details only to be notified 2 hours later that he had filed a chargeback.

This time we asked the buyer why he had filed a chargeback as we had already accepted his return request and he insists he hasn't, only that he had to inform Klarna he was returning the item. This is how we found out what was happening. It's absolutely farcical - we're charged £10 and have to fill in a chargeback defence claim even though the buyer (apparently) hasn't filed a chargeback. It seems that it's just Klarna being Klarna.

Needless to say we have now disabled the payment option and unless we get a full personal explanation and assurances that it won't happen again we will not be using Klarna in the future.

REPLY TO KLARNA'S RESPONSE:

I'm well aware that this is for the on-Site Messaging app and not the Klarna Payment System but it is important that business owners understand what they are getting into, and you have provided a classic example of the problem here:

You state that "If you have enabled Klarna via Shopify Payments, returns registered by customers through the Klarna app will come through as disputes. You must respond to them via email to avoid the chargeback. Chargebacks will only occur if you do not respond, at which point Klarna will close the dispute in favor of the customer."

Well I'm sorry, but that's absurd. Why would a return be logged as a dispute? Every business on here will tell you that returns are common and there is no reason whatsoever that you should be logging them as a dispute. Furthermore, it puts us in a very difficult position because we have no idea what the buyer has said to Klarna. If Klarna are to intervene at all it should only be as a last resort. In my case I had a buyer who asked for a refund before the item had even been dispatched and you logged it as a dispute, another order from the same buyer which we cancelled because of the first dispute (we didn't want to risk another dispute but she reported it AFTER we had cancelled the order and you logged it as a dispute anyway, and this third one.

This third one is a relatively high ticket item that the buyer has returned, falsely claiming it is faulty. we have rigorously tested and inspected the item and it is working perfectly. Despite this, from day one it has been logged as a dispute.

It is now 5 days since the buyer returned the item and we have since tried to contact the buyer. However, in a previous email, when we advised him that the item needed to be tested he replied stating that "we had no reason to contact him" and email are now being returned undelivered, indicating that he has blocked us. Why? Because, according to him, Klarna has ALREADY REFUNDED HIM. If that is the case he was refunded before we even received the item back from him.

His return is well past the window for unwanted purchase returns and there is nothing wrong with the item, as we suspected, so he is not entitled to a refund under the terms of the Consumer rights Act but it seems you've given him one anyway.

This order has NOT been cancelled because he is not entitled to a refund but we haven't even had the chance to put our case forward. According to the details on our Shopify dashboard. "The inquiry response has been submitted. The customer’s bank will receive the response on March 14, 2025 at 11:00 pm".

Where does this leave us? Because we are therefore still owed 100% of the payment. Sorry, but you cannot treat people this way. Retailers have rights too. You should not have taken ANY action without communicating with us first, you should absolutely not be making decisions based on nothing more than the fact that the buyer asked to return an item and we should not have to chase for a payment that has already been made then apparently taken away from us again, which is precisely what will happen when you finally get around the looking at this case on March 14.

Regardless of the outcome you should not be placing us in this position in the first place. There's no way I will be reintroducing Klarna if this is how you deal with returns, there is no need for you to intervene at all.

REPLY TO 2nd KLARNA RESPONSE:
You're damned right we should not have received chargebacks, and needless to say the main one has now been found in the buyer's favour despite providing thorough representation explaining that after extensive tests we found absolutely nothing wrong with the item the buyer returned claiming it was faulty. A conclusion that despite contacting us many times, including several abusive messages, simply stating that he is not paying NOT ONCE has the buyer contested our findings. Yet Klarna still found the case in his favour. As my chance to present our case closed at midnight on 12 March and the decision was made just 4 hours later, at 04:00 a.m., clearly this decision was made by bot.

Absolute farce and I will indeed be contacting you by email, because if this decision isn't reversed we're going to court.

NEW UPDATE - FUNDS REIMBURSED:

I want to be as fair as possible so I have agreed to update the review. Klarna have contacted me and said they would look into this matter, and as a result I have been refunded for the full amount of the chargeback that was taken from me.

However, how and why all of this happened I still have no idea or any real explanation. The payment should not have been taken from me in the first place and I've only got back what was rightfully and legally mine after a lot of hassle so I'm not really sure what I'm expected to say. I do appreciate the refund but this should never have happened. The help received from the Messaging team is very much appreciated but I still think the whole system lacks a lot of clarity and unfortunately it's a case of "once bitten twice shy" for me. I'm not sure if Klarna expected the review to be removed but there's no getting away from what happened.