Payment failures & grace period

If an auto-charge against your saved Stripe payment method fails, CargoSurge starts a 14-day grace-and-recovery sequence. This article explains what to expect and how to recover before suspension.

The 14-day timeline

Day	What happens	What you should do
0	Invoice raised on your billing day; auto-charge attempted	Nothing if successful — you'll get a receipt. If failed, see day 1.
1	First payment-failed email sent; Stripe automatically retries daily	Read the email — it includes the failure reason (insufficient funds, expired card, etc.).
2–6	Daily Stripe retries continue silently	Update your payment method or pre-fund the card.
7	Suspension-warning email sent	Act now. Update payment or pay manually via bank transfer.
8–13	Daily retries continue; access still works	Last chance to resolve before suspension.
14	Account suspended — users can't log in	Pay now to immediately reactivate.

Once payment succeeds (any day in the window), the Stripe webhook fires, the invoice is marked paid, and access is restored within seconds.

Common failure causes

Card declined / insufficient funds

Most common. Stripe returns "card_declined" or "insufficient_funds".

Fix:

• Top up the card or move funds.
• Or update to a different card via Settings → Subscription → Manage payment methods.

Expired card

Stripe returns "expired_card".

Fix: add the new card. Old card stays on file but isn't the default; you can remove it once the new one is confirmed working.

3D Secure / SCA challenge

European cards may require 3D Secure authentication. Auto-charge can't complete one — Stripe sends a verification email asking the cardholder to authenticate.

Fix: cardholder clicks the email link, completes 3DS, then CargoSurge retries the charge automatically.

Bank fraud-block

Some banks flag platform-billing charges as "subscription fraud" on first attempt. Stripe returns "do_not_honor" or "fraudulent".

Fix: cardholder calls their bank, confirms the charge as legitimate, then CargoSurge retries.

Manual recovery — pay before suspension

If auto-charge keeps failing and you don't want to wait for retries:

1. Settings → Subscription → Platform Invoices → click the unpaid invoice.
2. Open the invoice PDF — the bank-details footer has the wire-transfer info.
3. Pay via wire to the listed bank account, quoting the invoice number in the remittance reference.
4. Email [email protected] with proof of payment so we can mark it paid before the wire arrives (typically 1–3 business days).

I was suspended — how do I reactivate?

1. Update payment method (Settings → Subscription → Manage). Suspended-tenant users still have access to this surface for self-recovery.
2. The next auto-charge attempt happens immediately — usually within 1 minute.
3. On success, all users can log in again.

If your card simply won't work and you need an emergency reactivation, email [email protected]. Platform admin can manually mark the invoice paid and reactivate while you sort out the card.

Common pitfalls

Disputing a charge

If you believe an invoice is wrong:

1. Pay it (don't let it block you), then dispute.
2. Email [email protected] with the invoice number and the line item you're disputing.
3. Platform admin can issue a credit note that offsets the disputed amount on a future invoice, or refund the difference if appropriate.

Don't dispute via Stripe chargeback — that costs CargoSurge a $15 fee and triggers an automatic account review. We'd much rather resolve directly.