How do I know which deductions I can dispute?

A deduction is disputable when you hold a specific document that contradicts the retailer's claim, and not disputable when the same document confirms it. Map the code to one of the six categories (Shortage, Concealed shortage, Compliance, Pricing, Incorrect UPC, Packing); the category tells you which artifact you need, and the per-code entry states the exact condition.

What evidence do I need to dispute a shortage chargeback?

A shortage dispute turns on a signed bill of lading showing the full billed quantity was received, and each retailer names who has to sign it. Burlington accepts only a BOL signed or stamped by its own receivers, not the driver. Bealls turns on the driver-signed VICS BOL (three copies, all driver-signed, with the carton count and the “freight counted by driver” notation). Dollar General turns on the DC-receiving-stamped RECEIVED count for prepaid loads, or the carrier-signed BOL for collect. In every case, reconcile the signed document against the PO quantity ordered and the invoice billed quantity.

Do I dispute retailer chargebacks by email or by portal?

It depends on the retailer and, for Burlington, on the track. Burlington shortage and price debits (DMQ / DMC) are disputed by email to Vendor Relations, while its Vendor Compliance (VC) debits are disputed through the Traverse Portal (https://burl.traversesystems.com). Bealls and Dollar General are disputed by email (Dollar General to a mailbox keyed to the issue type, for example VNCDisputes@dollargeneral.com). Kroger's compliance contact is vendorcompliance@kroger.com and its debit memos are viewed on the Lavante portal, but a step-by-step dispute-submission workflow is not named in the guide, so confirm before filing. Kohl's publishes no dispute channel in its guides at all; confirm the current channel with Kohl's directly.

What is a concealed shortage and how is it proven?

A concealed shortage is a carton-count concept in the guides that address it: the shipment is short against the carton count documented on the bill of lading. Burlington holds the vendor liable when the cartons found on the pallet are fewer than the BOL carton count, and a shipper-sealed trailer delivered with its seal intact negates that carton-shortage liability. Bealls codes its version as 901 (Concealed Shortage, invoiced greater than received). Neither guide defines concealed shortage through unit-level weight reconciliation, so do not argue it that way.

What does an ORAD chargeback from Kroger mean?

ORAD stands for Original Requested Day of Arrival: Kroger requires the PO to be gated in at the DC on the exact requested date, not within a window. A vendor-caused late delivery draws the ORAD Compliance Fee of 3% of the invoiced amount, which is negated by a buyer exception email or exempted when the vendor holds a 93% or better On-Time Delivery rate over the current 4-week period.

How does Dollar General penalize compliance misses, and what is the smallest deduction it will review?

Dollar General assesses flat-rate dollar penalties, not percentages, with a minimum of $25 on all vendor-performance deductions, and it does not review quantity discrepancies under $100. Its mandated EDI footprint is 850, 810, and 997 for DC (810 and 997 for DSD), with 820 as the EFT remittance transport, so a Dollar General dispute never turns on an ASN, a 945, or a 754.

Deduction Codes

Deduction Code Library

A plain-English reference for retailer deduction and chargeback reason codes — what each code means, why it gets issued, and whether it's disputable.

A retailer deduction (chargeback) reason code is the short code a retailer puts on a remittance to say why it withheld payment, and whether you can win that money back depends on the code and on one specific piece of evidence. This page is a sourced reference library covering five retailers: Kohl's, Burlington, Bealls, Dollar General, and Kroger. It maps each retailer's published codes and fees to their plain-English meaning, the condition under which a charge is disputable, the single artifact that overturns it, and the channel you submit through.

Coverage is deliberately honest about what each retailer actually publishes. Kohl's publishes compliance requirements but no public reason-code or amount list, so it appears here as a compliance-requirements entry with no disputable-code table. Burlington, Bealls, Dollar General, and Kroger each publish real chargeback codes or fee schedules, and those are reproduced from the guides below.

Disputability is a condition on evidence, not a guaranteed outcome. A code is disputable when a named document proves the retailer's claim is wrong, and it is not disputable when the same evidence confirms the claim. Across the industry, chargebacks and deductions run at roughly 5% of shipped value, which is why a fast, code-level answer to "what is this and can I get it back" matters to the teams working these every day.

Deduction vs chargeback: the terms are used interchangeably on a remittance. A deduction is the retailer subtracting money from what it owes you; a chargeback is the coded reason it gives for that subtraction. You resolve both the same way: identify the code, match it to a category, and assemble the evidence the category requires.

This library is written for deduction analysts and wholesaler AR/AP teams who have just been hit with a coded deduction and need to resolve it now, without a sales call.

Definitive code list (system of record): the definitive code list for each retailer is that retailer's current published vendor guide. This page mirrors those guides as of the revisions cited in each Source line; when this page and a retailer's latest guide disagree, the retailer's current guide governs. Confirm any code against the latest guide before you file.

The six canonical dispute categories

Every retailer code rolls up into one of six dispute types — Shortage, Concealed shortage, Compliance, Pricing, Incorrect UPC, and Packing. The type determines what evidence can overturn the charge. These are the canonical buckets a case is routed into before any retailer-specific verification runs, and each maps to a small set of documents that either contradict or confirm the retailer's claim.

Shortage

Retailer says it received fewer units than billed, up to full non-receipt.

Applies to: Burlington, Bealls, Dollar General.
Core evidence: bill_of_lading (signed, carton count) plus proof_of_delivery; carton-count tie-out vs invoice.

Concealed shortage

The carton count signed for is correct, but the shipment is short against the documented carton count on the BOL.

Applies to: Burlington (carton count vs BOL carton count), Bealls (code 901).
Core evidence: bill_of_lading carton count vs pallet carton count; seal-intact record.

Compliance

Vendor-guide program violation on how or when goods shipped — routing, ASN, labeling, pallet, late ship, appointment — not on quantity.

Applies to: Kohl's (requirements, no codes), Burlington (VC codes), Bealls (2xx transport, 151/351 labeling), Dollar General (flat-rate penalties), Kroger (ORAD / appointment / load-compliance).
Core evidence: EDI timestamps (asn 856, ship confirmation), appointment_confirmation, carrier-signed BOL.

Pricing

Retailer paid a cost different from the vendor's; a price/cost discrepancy.

Applies to: Burlington (DMC), Bealls (code 903), Dollar General.
Core evidence: invoice (EDI 810) vs purchase_order (EDI 850) price terms.

Incorrect UPC / vendor accuracy

Wrong UPC/GTIN shipped vs the UPC the retailer's PO expected.

Applies to: Dollar General.
Core evidence: Inbound 850 expected UPC vs the item's consumer UPC.

Packing

Goods not packed, labeled, or ticketed as ordered; carton marking, pre-ticketing, labeling.

Applies to: Kohl's (GS1-128 label requirements), Burlington (475/885/890), Bealls (351/151/301-306), Dollar General (carton-marking penalties).
Core evidence: packing_list / carton-level detail; asn carton segments; compliant carton labels.

Compliance is the widest bucket. It collapses routing, ASN, labeling, pallet quality, late-ship, and appointment conformity into a single category, because the evidence that answers each one is the same shipping-and-EDI timeline.

Concealed shortage is a carton-count concept, not a weight concept. The published guides that address it define it as cartons on the pallet falling short of the carton count documented on the bill of lading. Unit-level weight reconciliation is not a concept any of these retailers' guides publish, so this library does not assert it.

Which chargebacks are worth disputing? Any category is disputable when you hold the evidence that contradicts the retailer's claim: a signed BOL for a shortage, the documented carton count for a concealed shortage, an EDI timeline for a compliance charge, the PO-vs-invoice price terms for a pricing charge, the expected-UPC comparison for a vendor-accuracy charge, and the pack or ticketing configuration for a packing charge. The rest of this page states that condition per retailer and per code.

Kohl's

Kohl's is a compliance-requirements entry, not a code library: its two published guides define how vendors must route, label, and deliver, but they publish no reason codes, no dollar amounts, and no dispute channel. The guides confirm that a Vendor Compliance Schedule of Charges exists and that non-compliant shipments and carriers are subject to chargebacks, yet they do not enumerate the codes, the amounts, or the mechanism to contest them. Treat everything below as the shipping and labeling program you must meet, and confirm the actual chargeback codes and dispute path directly with Kohl's, because the public guides do not state them.

Guide-backed compliance requirements

Kohl's routes shipments through its Transplace TMS. Vendors complete a TMS Vendor Access form, Kohl's assigns the carrier, and routing is requested against a Monday start-ship window.
A carrier-signed Bill of Lading in PDF is required within 24 hours of shipment departure (Master and Individual BOL detail).
Vendors must be EDI and ASN active, and the ASN (856) must be submitted before the carrier books its delivery appointment.
Live-unload appointments are booked at least 24 hours prior; a missed appointment is rescheduled; freight is not stacked above 84 inches.
Every carton requires a compliant Kohl's GS1-128 carton label (Zones A through I, one label per carton, SSCC-18, defined placement rules; certified via Bar Code Graphics Inc.).
A Vendor Compliance Schedule of Charges Chart exists and lists chargebacks, and non-compliant shipments or carriers are subject to chargebacks. The guide publishes no codes, no amounts, and no dispute channel; that is the honest limit of what Kohl's makes public.

Source: Kohl's Routing Guide (2019); Kohl's GS1-128 Label Specifications (Appendix SP-2, UCC 128 Label Requirements).

Burlington

Burlington splits its deductions into two tracks with two different dispute paths, and the AP prefix on the debit tells you which track you are in. Shortage and price debits (the DMQ and DMC prefixes) are disputed by email to Vendor Relations; Vendor Compliance debits (the VC prefix) are disputed through the Traverse Portal. Both tracks carry a six-month window. The one artifact that governs a shortage dispute is a bill of lading signed or stamped by Burlington's receivers, not the driver, and a shipper-sealed trailer that arrives with its seal intact defeats a carton-shortage claim outright.

AP deduction prefixes (guide p.27): DMQ = shortage (the number after DMQ is the invoice number); DMC = price difference, discount, or substitution (a pricing debit, not compliance); CMQ = reversal of a DMQ; CMC = reversal of a price difference; R = received short, Recall, or RTV; VC = vendor-compliance chargeback.

Burlington's EDI footprint is X12 v4010 and covers documents 810, 824, 850, 856, 860, and 997. It does not send 940, 945, or 754, so a missing 754 or 945 is never evidence of anything. The ASN (EDI 856) is required for all orders and must be received no later than 24 hours after carrier pickup.

Prefix / code	Track	Disputable when	Key evidence	Channel
`DMQ`	Shortage	The Burlington-receiver-signed BOL shows the full quantity received	Receiver-signed/stamped BOL vs PO and invoice quantity; Shortage Dispute Form	Email to Vendor Relations
`DMC`	Pricing	The invoice matches the negotiated PO cost	PO vs invoice cost reconciliation	Email to Vendor Relations
Concealed carton shortage	Concealed shortage	The trailer arrived shipper-sealed with the seal intact	Seal-intact record; BOL carton count vs pallet carton count	Email to Vendor Relations
`VC`	Compliance / packing	The EDI or label evidence shows the program element was met	ASN 856 timeline, carton labels, pre-ticketing proof	Traverse Portal

Shortage (DMQ)

Meaning: A DMQ debit means Burlington received fewer units than were invoiced. The digits after DMQ are the original invoice number.
Disputable?: Disputable when a BOL signed or stamped by Burlington's own receivers shows the full invoiced quantity was received and carries no short annotation. It is not disputable when the receiver-signed BOL shows a short receipt.
Evidence that disputes it: The only acceptable proof of delivery is a BOL signed or stamped by Burlington receivers, not the driver. Two executed BOL copies accompany each shipment, and each 9-digit PO is listed with its carton-count subtotal. Reconcile the received quantity against the PO quantity ordered and the invoice billed quantity.
Dispute channel: Email to Vendor Relations, with a completed Shortage Dispute Form and backup, within six months of the check-remittance date. Burlington researches shortage disputes within 60 business days.

Source: Burlington Stores, Inc. Domestic Vendor Partnership Manual (March 2025), pp. 4, 6, 13-14, 24-25, 27.

Price difference (DMC)

Meaning: A DMC debit is a price difference, discount, or substitution adjustment. Despite sitting next to the shortage prefix, it is a pricing debit, not a compliance charge.
Disputable?: Disputable when the invoice was billed at the negotiated PO cost and the reconciliation shows no true gap.
Evidence that disputes it: A PO-versus-invoice cost reconciliation on the disputed lines.
Dispute channel: Email to Vendor Relations, within six months of the check-remittance date.

Source: Burlington Stores, Inc. Domestic Vendor Partnership Manual (March 2025), pp. 4, 6, 13-14, 24-25, 27.

Concealed shortage (carton count vs BOL)

Meaning: Burlington's concealed-shortage concept is a carton-count concept: when the cartons found on the pallet are fewer than the carton count stated on the BOL, the vendor is liable. There is no unit-level or weight-reconciliation test in the manual.
Disputable?: Disputable when the trailer was a shipper-sealed load delivered with its seal intact, which negates carton-shortage liability. It is not disputable when the pallet carton count falls short of the documented BOL carton count on an unsealed or broken-seal delivery.
Evidence that disputes it: The seal-intact record for a shipper-sealed trailer, plus the BOL carton count reconciled against the pallet carton count.
Dispute channel: Email to Vendor Relations.

Source: Burlington Stores, Inc. Domestic Vendor Partnership Manual (March 2025), pp. 4, 6, 13-14, 24-25, 27.

Vendor Compliance codes (VC prefix)

Meaning: A VC debit is a vendor-compliance chargeback for a labeling, pre-ticketing, ASN, or port-of-entry program miss. The VC track is disputed through the Traverse Portal, not by email, within six months.
Disputable?: Disputable when the EDI or label evidence shows the program element was actually met: an ASN 856 transmitted within 24 hours of carrier pickup rebuts a 1150 or 2261, and carton-label or pre-ticketing proof rebuts a 475, 885, or 890.
Evidence that disputes it: The ASN 856 and its transmit timeline, the carton labels, and pre-ticketing documentation, submitted with the dispute.
Dispute channel: Traverse Portal (https://burl.traversesystems.com), within six months. VC debits are not disputed by email.

Code	Violation	Charge
475	No UCC-128 shipping label	$25 per carton, max $1,500
885	Merchandise partially pre-ticketed	$250 to $2,500
890	Merchandise not pre-ticketed	$250, or $.25 per unit
1150	No ASN at receipt	$125 to $1,500
2261	ASN not received on time	$125 to $1,500
2487 / 2461 / 2460	Port-of-entry (POE) demurrage	Per the POE demurrage schedule

Source: Burlington Stores, Inc. Domestic Vendor Partnership Manual (March 2025), pp. 4, 6, 13-14, 24-25, 27.

Bealls

Bealls uses numeric reason codes, and the number tells you the track: 9xx codes are accounts-payable claims (shortage, non-receipt, cost, freight), 2xx codes plus 602 are transportation, and 151/351/301-306 are carton-marking, ASN, and UCC-128 labeling. Disputes are raised by correspondence within six months of the expense-offset check date; domestic expense offsets run $25 to $275 plus freight and handling per code, and all import chargebacks carry a flat US$250 admin fee. The decisive artifact for any Bealls shortage or freight-claim code is the driver-signed VICS bill of lading, and Bealls routes domestic DC shipments through its Control Tower application plus an EDI 856 ASN, with no EDI 753/754 or 940/945 in play.

Code	Meaning	Disputable when	Key evidence	Channel
901	Concealed Shortage (invoiced greater than received)	Documented receipt matches what was invoiced	Driver-signed VICS BOL carton count	Email (correspondence)
902	Merchandise not received	The BOL shows the goods were tendered and received	Driver-signed VICS BOL vs PO and invoice	Email
903	Cost difference on invoice vs PO	The invoice matches the PO cost	PO vs invoice cost reconciliation	Email
904	Carrier / Freight Claim, shorted cartons or SLC	Carton count on the driver-signed BOL ties out	Driver-signed VICS BOL (freight counted by driver)	Email
201-218, 602	Transportation (routing, facility, pickup, shipping window)	The routing and pickup evidence shows compliance	ASN 856 timeline, routing records, carrier-signed BOL	Email
351, 151, 301-306	Carton marking, ASN, UCC-128 labeling	The label and ASN evidence shows conformity	Carton labels, ASN 856	Email

Shortage and non-receipt (codes 902, 904)

Meaning: Code 902 means merchandise was not received; code 904 is a carrier or freight claim for shorted cartons or SLC (Shipper-Load-Count).
Retailer(s): Bealls (and Bealls Outlet under the same policy).
Disputable?: Disputable when the driver-signed BOL carton count ties out to what was ordered and invoiced, and the goods are not signed short. Code 904 in particular turns on whether the freight was counted and signed by the driver.
Evidence that disputes it: The driver-signed VICS bill of lading is the decisive artifact. It ships in three copies, all driver-signed, and records the carton count and the "freight counted by driver" notation. Reconcile it against the PO quantity ordered and the invoice billed quantity.
Dispute channel: Email correspondence.

Source: Bealls Inc. Chargeback Policy (domestic expense-offset key), pp. 1-2; Bealls Inc. Domestic Routing Guide (Effective August 2024), pp. 3, 5, 7; Bealls Import Vendor Chargeback Violation Key (Last Updated September 1, 2018), pp. 1-6.

Concealed shortage (code 901)

Meaning: Code 901 is Bealls' Concealed Shortage code: the amount invoiced is greater than the amount received.
Disputable?: Disputable when the documented receipt matches what was invoiced. It is not disputable when the received quantity confirms the short.
Evidence that disputes it: The driver-signed VICS BOL carton count, reconciled against the invoice.
Dispute channel: Email correspondence.

Pricing / cost difference (code 903)

Meaning: Code 903 is a cost difference between the invoice and the PO.
Disputable?: Disputable when the invoiced cost matches the PO cost, overturned by a PO-versus-invoice cost reconciliation.
Evidence that disputes it: The PO and invoice, reconciled line by line to show the invoiced cost equals the agreed PO cost.
Dispute channel: Email correspondence.

Transportation (codes 201-218, 602)

Meaning: The 201 through 218 range plus 602 are transportation violations. Examples: 201 unassigned carrier, 206 wrong facility, 214 unassigned PO or incorrect routing, 217 failure to schedule and confirm pickup within one business day, and 602 merchandise shipped in violation of the PO shipping window or against a cancelled PO.
Disputable?: Disputable when the routing and pickup evidence shows the shipment was scheduled, routed, and dispatched in line with Bealls' requirements. Bealls routes domestic DC shipments through its Control Tower application plus an EDI 856 ASN.
Evidence that disputes it: The ASN 856 timeline, the Control Tower routing records, and the carrier-signed BOL. Bealls uses no EDI 753/754 or 940/945, so a missing 754 is expected and is not evidence of a routing failure.
Dispute channel: Email correspondence.

Carton marking, ASN, and labeling (codes 351, 151, 301-306)

Meaning: Code 351 is wrong carton marking, code 151 is a missing, late, or unusable ASN, and codes 301 through 306 are UCC-128 labeling violations.
Disputable?: Disputable when the carton labels and the ASN evidence show conformity: a usable ASN 856 transmitted on time rebuts a 151, and compliant carton labels rebut a 351 or a 301 through 306.
Evidence that disputes it: The carton labels and the ASN 856 with its transmit record.
Dispute channel: Email correspondence.

Import chargebacks (US$250 admin fee)

Meaning: A flat US$250 admin fee applies to all import chargebacks. The import violation set uses its own key: the C-1, FL*, OG-1, AS-*, POE*, CM-1, PV-1, CR-1, PL-1, OB-1, IS-1, D-1 through D-18, CT-*, TR-1, and FT-* codes.
Retailer(s): Bealls (import program).
Disputable?: Disputable per the specific import code's evidence, with the US$250 admin fee attaching to the chargeback regardless of the underlying code.
Evidence that disputes it: The document the specific import code turns on, per the Import Vendor Chargeback Violation Key.
Dispute channel: Email correspondence, within six months of the expense-offset check date. No specific dispute mailbox is stated in the guides. Operational contacts exist (Bealls_IB_Route@beallsinc.com for transport, SupplyChainInbound@beallsinc.com for PO compliance) and should be treated as operational contacts, not a dispute inbox.

Dollar General

Dollar General runs a flat-rate penalty program with per-event dollar amounts, disputed by email to a specific mailbox keyed to the issue type, and its EDI footprint is narrower than most: mandatory 850, 810, and 997 for DC (810 and 997 for DSD), with 820 as the EFT remittance transport. There is no 856, 945, or 754 in Dollar General's mandate, so nothing in a dispute should turn on an ASN or a 754 routing record. The decisive shortage proof is the DC-receiving-stamped BOL, because the stamped RECEIVED amount, not the plain drop BOL, is what proves how many cases the DC accepted.

Code / category	Meaning	Disputable when	Core evidence	Channel
Shortage / non-receipt	Fewer cases received than billed	The stamped RECEIVED count matches what was billed and the BOL is not signed short	DC-receiving-stamped BOL (prepaid) or carrier-signed BOL (collect), plus invoice copy	Email
Incorrect UPC	Received UPC does not match the quote-sheet / system UPC	The received UPC matches the quote-sheet UPC	Vendor quote-sheet UPC vs received UPC	Email
Compliance (labeling / pallet / appointment)	Flat-rate program violation	The flat-rate event did not occur	Labeling, pallet, and appointment records	Email
Pricing (cost difference)	Invoiced cost differs from the negotiated PO cost	The invoice matches the PO's negotiated cost	Negotiated PO cost (850) vs invoiced cost (810)	Email

Shortage / non-receipt

Meaning: A Dollar General shortage means the DC received fewer cases than were billed, up to full non-receipt.
Disputable?: Disputable when the DC-receiving-stamped BOL (for prepaid) or the carrier-signed BOL (for collect) shows a RECEIVED case count matching what was billed and the BOL is not signed short. The DC stamp's RECEIVED amount is the deciding proof: a plain drop BOL is proof of a shipment, not proof of the number of cases received.
Evidence that disputes it: The stamped or signed BOL plus the invoice copy. Reconcile the stamped RECEIVED count against the billed case count.
Dispute channel: Email. Short-paid-invoice and shortage disputes go to the A-through-J or K-through-Z accounts-payable mailbox (apvendora-j@dollargeneral.com or apvendork-z@dollargeneral.com) by vendor name. The subject line carries the vendor number, invoice number, PO number, and amount; one issue per email; original emails only.

Source: Dollar General Vendor Guide (Domestic, Non-Import), rev. 12/2/2025. EDI pp. 20-22; shortage/POD pp. 57, 65; UPC and penalty schedule pp. 72-73; vendor disputes p. 74; pricing/accounting p. 66.

Incorrect UPC / vendor accuracy

Meaning: A Dollar General incorrect-UPC charge means the UPC on the goods received did not match the UPC on the vendor quote sheet or in Dollar General's system.
Disputable?: Disputable when the received UPC matches the UPC on the vendor quote sheet. Dollar General charges $1,000 when there is no UPC or a UPC other than the quote-sheet UPC, and $250 when the UPC is valid but for the wrong SKU.
Evidence that disputes it: The vendor quote-sheet UPC compared against the received UPC and the item on file.
Dispute channel: Email to VNCDisputes@dollargeneral.com for vendor-performance deductions, with the vendor number, invoice number, PO number, and amount in the subject; one issue per email; original emails only.

Compliance (labeling, pallet quality, appointments)

Meaning: Dollar General assesses flat-rate dollar penalties, not percentages, for carton-marking and labeling, pallet quality, and appointment misses.
Disputable?: Disputable when the flat-rate event did not occur, shown by the labeling, pallet, or appointment record. A minimum of $25 applies to all vendor-performance deductions.
Evidence that disputes it: The labeling, pallet, and appointment records that show the charged event did not occur.
Dispute channel: Email to VNCDisputes@dollargeneral.com; one issue per email; original emails only.

Violation	Flat rate
Short Quantity	$375
Excess Quantity	$200
Incorrect Price	$250
No UPC / UPC Issues	$1,000
Incorrect UPC	$250
No BOL / Manifest	$150
Incorrect BOL	$100
No Packing List	$150
Concealed Damages / Pallets	$150
Poor Quality Pallets	$50
Slip Sheet	$50
Load Shifting	$50
Missed / No / Late Appointment	$200 to $375

Pricing / cost difference

Meaning: A Dollar General pricing charge means the invoiced cost differs from the negotiated PO cost.
Disputable?: Disputable when the invoice was billed at the PO's negotiated cost. Vendors must invoice at the PO's negotiated cost and are responsible for identifying cost disputes. The dispute is argued from the negotiated PO cost (EDI 850) against the invoiced cost (EDI 810).
Evidence that disputes it: The EDI 850 negotiated PO cost compared against the EDI 810 invoiced cost.
Dispute channel: Email. Post-audit deductions route to postaudit@dollargeneral.com.
Windows: Short-paid-invoice disputes are waived after 90 days from payment; vendor-performance deductions are not repaid beyond 6 months; claims against Dollar General are filed within 9 months of shipment; and quantity discrepancies under $100 are not reviewed by Dollar General.

Kroger

Kroger chargebacks, covering Fred Meyer, Ralphs, and Smith's, are keyed to ORAD, the Original Requested Day of Arrival, meaning delivery must be gated in at the DC on the exact requested date, not within a window. The guide names a compliance contact and a memo-viewing portal but no step-by-step dispute-submission workflow, so the dispute channel stays hedged. Debit memos begin with DMQ (quantity or cost) or DMC followed by the vendor's original invoice number and are viewed on the Lavante portal; compliance questions and disputes route to vendorcompliance@kroger.com. A dedicated dispute-submission portal is not named in these guides, so confirm the submission method before filing. Kroger policy is updated yearly via the VNC Program Updates PDF, and the full policy lives on Supplier Hub.

Note on the legal agreement: the Standard Vendor Agreement's "Dispute" clauses (Dispute Notice, mediation, binding arbitration, Ohio law) are contract dispute resolution, not a chargeback-dispute workflow, and must not be cited as the dispute channel.

Fee / trigger	Meaning	Penalty (guide)	Disputable? / condition	Channel
ORAD Compliance Fee (late delivery)	PO late because of vendor-caused issues, not gated in on the exact ORAD	3% of the invoiced amount (per PO)	Buyer exception email negates it; or a 93%+ On-Time rate over the current 4-week period exempts	vendorcompliance@kroger.com; submission workflow [unverified — confirm against the current vendor guide]
Case Fill Rate ('In Full'), under 95%	PO filled at less than 95%	3% of the value of the missing items (per PO)	Condition on the actual fill rate; confirm against the current guide	vendorcompliance@kroger.com; submission [unverified — confirm against the current vendor guide]
Late to scheduled appointment (over 30 min gate-in)	Gated in more than 30 minutes after the scheduled appointment	$200 per shipment	Appointment confirmation / DC scheduling fault	[unverified — confirm against the current vendor guide]
No scheduled appointment	No delivery appointment scheduled	$200 per shipment	Disputable if DC scheduling failed; else vendor responsibility	[unverified — confirm against the current vendor guide]
Documentation fee	No Packing List, No BOL, no POs on BOL, or Packing List and BOL errors	$200 per shipment	Condition on the document actually present and correct	[unverified — confirm against the current vendor guide]
Load / labeling / pack compliance list	Case labeling, case pack, UPC, hazmat, short-dated / mixed dates, overage / wrong product, freight shifted / overhang	$500 per PO (pest / odor / spill: $500 per Load)	Condition on the specific date / label / pack evidence; confirm against the guide	[unverified — confirm against the current vendor guide]
Fred Meyer GM $500 (Clackamas OR / Chehalis WA GM only)	Four date triggers: shipped before ship window, shipped after cancel date, received early, received late	$500 per shipment (plus extra inbound / outbound transport)	Buyer exception email; per-DC variant; pin which of the four triggers fired	Phone-appt DCs (Chehalis +1 (360) 740-6638)

ORAD Compliance Fee (late delivery)

Meaning: ORAD (Original Requested Day of Arrival) means delivery must be on the exact date, not a window: On-Time Delivery is a PO gated in at the applicable Kroger DC on the ORAD. Loads after midnight of the ORAD but within DC receiving hours still count on-time. When a PO is late because of vendor-caused issues, the ORAD Compliance Fee is 3% of the invoiced amount (per PO), not a flat $500.
Retailer(s): Kroger / Fred Meyer / Ralphs / Smith's.
Disputable?: Disputable on two independent conditions: (a) a buyer exception email, a buyer-of-record written approval of an alternate date, negates the non-compliance entirely; or (b) the vendor achieved a 93% or better On-Time Delivery percentage for the current 4-week period, which exempts it from ORAD Compliance Fees for that period (the exemption is assessed at the end of the current period for the prior 4-week period). The threshold rose from 90% to 93% effective Jan 1, 2025 and is reviewed annually. Cancel-after-date rules apply only to collect vendors per the Standard Vendor Agreement; prepaid vendors are judged on ship-to-arrive, not on the cancel date.
Evidence that disputes it: buyer_exception_email (key evidence, a written prior approval negates the non-compliance), appointment_confirmation (DC scheduled the disputed date), proof_of_delivery (actual gate-in), and the vendor's rolling On-Time rate. The vendor's live on-time-rate readout is not named beyond "Supplier Hub"; treat the 4-week, 93%, gated-in-on-ORAD definition as the sourced basis.
Dispute channel: Compliance contact vendorcompliance@kroger.com; the step-by-step submission method is [unverified — confirm against the current vendor guide] (the guide names no dedicated dispute portal). Debit memos (DMQ / DMC plus the original invoice number) are viewed on the Lavante portal. Confirm before filing.

Source: Kroger VNC Program Updates 2025 (Non-Compliance Fee Schedule, pp. 4-7); Kroger Vendor Routing Instructions (Appointment Scheduling, p. 10); Kroger Standard Vendor Agreement (Shipping / ship-cancel window, p. 13).

Late-to-appointment / no-appointment ($200/shipment)

Meaning: A Kroger appointment fee means the load was gated in more than 30 minutes late to a scheduled appointment, or there was no scheduled delivery appointment at all; each is $200 per shipment. A related $200-per-shipment documentation fee applies to "No Packing List, No BOL, no POs on BOL, or Packing List and BOL errors."
Retailer(s): Kroger / Fred Meyer.
Disputable?: Qualitatively yes when the DC scheduling process failed rather than the vendor. The vendor must schedule with enough lead time; most DCs use One Network, but Chehalis WA and Clackamas OR (Fred Meyer GM) cannot use One Network and take appointments by phone only (and fees are not imposed for those phone appointments). Confirm whether the PO was on or off One Network. Specific accept/dispute thresholds are [unverified — confirm against the current vendor guide] beyond the sourced $200/shipment and greater-than-30-minute gate-in triggers.
Evidence that disputes it: appointment_confirmation, carrier_tracking (gate-in timestamp), scheduling records showing DC-side failure.
Dispute channel: [unverified — confirm against the current vendor guide]; phone-appointment DCs use Chehalis +1 (360) 740-6638 for scheduling (not necessarily disputes). Compliance questions route to vendorcompliance@kroger.com.

Fred Meyer GM $500 flat fee (Clackamas / Chehalis GM only)

Meaning: The Fred Meyer GM $500 fee is a per-shipment fee at the Fred Meyer General Merchandise DCs (Clackamas OR, Chehalis WA), firing on four distinct date triggers: shipped before the ship window, shipped after the cancel date, received early, or received late, plus all extra inbound and outbound transportation costs. It is distinct from Kroger's enterprise-wide $500-per-PO load, labeling, pack, UPC, and hazmat list, which is a separate fee schedule that is not Fred-Meyer-only.
Retailer(s): Kroger / Fred Meyer (GM only, those two DCs).
Disputable?: Qualitatively yes: a buyer exception email is the key dispute evidence for ship-window and ORAD violations, and per-DC penalty variants apply (Chehalis and Clackamas differ from general DCs). Which of the four triggers fired must be pinned to the specific date evidence before disputing.
Evidence that disputes it: buyer_exception_email, purchase_order (ship window / cancel date), bill_of_lading (actual ship date), proof_of_delivery (actual receipt date).
Dispute channel: [unverified — confirm against the current vendor guide]; GM DCs are phone-appointment (Chehalis +1 (360) 740-6638). Compliance questions route to vendorcompliance@kroger.com.

Frequently asked questions

How do I know which deductions I can dispute?: A deduction is disputable when you hold a specific document that contradicts the retailer's claim, and not disputable when the same document confirms it. Map the code to one of the six categories (Shortage, Concealed shortage, Compliance, Pricing, Incorrect UPC, Packing); the category tells you which artifact you need, and the per-code entry states the exact condition.
What evidence do I need to dispute a shortage chargeback?: A shortage dispute turns on a signed bill of lading showing the full billed quantity was received, and each retailer names who has to sign it. Burlington accepts only a BOL signed or stamped by its own receivers, not the driver. Bealls turns on the driver-signed VICS BOL (three copies, all driver-signed, with the carton count and the “freight counted by driver” notation). Dollar General turns on the DC-receiving-stamped RECEIVED count for prepaid loads, or the carrier-signed BOL for collect. In every case, reconcile the signed document against the PO quantity ordered and the invoice billed quantity.
Do I dispute retailer chargebacks by email or by portal?: It depends on the retailer and, for Burlington, on the track. Burlington shortage and price debits (DMQ / DMC) are disputed by email to Vendor Relations, while its Vendor Compliance (VC) debits are disputed through the Traverse Portal (https://burl.traversesystems.com). Bealls and Dollar General are disputed by email (Dollar General to a mailbox keyed to the issue type, for example VNCDisputes@dollargeneral.com). Kroger's compliance contact is vendorcompliance@kroger.com and its debit memos are viewed on the Lavante portal, but a step-by-step dispute-submission workflow is not named in the guide, so confirm before filing. Kohl's publishes no dispute channel in its guides at all; confirm the current channel with Kohl's directly.
What is a concealed shortage and how is it proven?: A concealed shortage is a carton-count concept in the guides that address it: the shipment is short against the carton count documented on the bill of lading. Burlington holds the vendor liable when the cartons found on the pallet are fewer than the BOL carton count, and a shipper-sealed trailer delivered with its seal intact negates that carton-shortage liability. Bealls codes its version as 901 (Concealed Shortage, invoiced greater than received). Neither guide defines concealed shortage through unit-level weight reconciliation, so do not argue it that way.
What does an ORAD chargeback from Kroger mean?: ORAD stands for Original Requested Day of Arrival: Kroger requires the PO to be gated in at the DC on the exact requested date, not within a window. A vendor-caused late delivery draws the ORAD Compliance Fee of 3% of the invoiced amount, which is negated by a buyer exception email or exempted when the vendor holds a 93% or better On-Time Delivery rate over the current 4-week period.
How does Dollar General penalize compliance misses, and what is the smallest deduction it will review?: Dollar General assesses flat-rate dollar penalties, not percentages, with a minimum of $25 on all vendor-performance deductions, and it does not review quantity discrepancies under $100. Its mandated EDI footprint is 850, 810, and 997 for DC (810 and 997 for DSD), with 820 as the EFT remittance transport, so a Dollar General dispute never turns on an ASN, a 945, or a 754.
Where is the authoritative list of these codes?: The definitive code list for each retailer is that retailer's current published vendor guide. This page mirrors those guides as of the revisions cited in each Source line; when this page and a retailer's latest guide disagree, the retailer's current guide governs. Confirm any code against the latest guide before you file.