when a payment goes sideways.
last updated
On-chain payments are final, so there's no dispute department — but almost every "failed" payment is one of six known situations with a clear resolution. Here is exactly what happens in each, honestly, including the cases where crypt.pe can't help because it never holds the funds.
I paid but the invoice still says awaiting
Detection usually takes seconds on fast chains (Tron, Solana, Base, Polygon) and a few minutes on Bitcoin or congested Ethereum. Check three things: (1) the transaction actually confirmed on a block explorer — your wallet's 'sent' is not the same as 'confirmed'; (2) you sent on the network shown on the invoice — USDT on Tron will never appear on an Ethereum invoice; (3) the invoice hasn't expired. If the tx is confirmed, on the right network, and the invoice is live, it will match automatically — the tracker keeps checking in the background even if you close the page.
I sent on the wrong network
On-chain transfers can't be redirected, so what happens depends on where the funds went. If you sent to the merchant's address on a network they also control (most wallets hold the same address across EVM chains), the funds are safe in the merchant's wallet — they just won't match the invoice, so contact the merchant and settle it directly. If you sent to a network the receiving wallet doesn't support (for example an exchange deposit address), recovery depends on that wallet or exchange, not on crypt.pe — we never hold the funds and cannot move them.
I sent the wrong amount (under- or over-paid)
Invoices match on the exact amount, so a mismatched transfer is flagged rather than silently accepted. The funds still arrived in the merchant's wallet — nothing is lost. For an underpayment, send the difference or ask the merchant to reissue the invoice; for an overpayment, ask the merchant to refund the difference to your address. Merchants can see the mismatched payment in their dashboard and tag it once resolved.
The invoice expired before I paid
Every invoice shows its own expiry so stale prices never bind either side. Dashboard invoices can be set anywhere from 1 hour to 7 days; API-created orders default to 30 minutes (configurable up to 7 days). If it expired unpaid, just ask the merchant for a fresh link — it takes seconds to reissue. If you paid right around expiry, the transaction still went to the merchant's wallet; the merchant can verify it on-chain and mark things settled manually.
How do refunds work?
There is no automatic reversal on a blockchain — a refund is simply a new payment in the opposite direction. Send the merchant your receiving address (on the same network you paid on) and they send the refund from their wallet. Merchants: tag the original payment as refunded in your dashboard so your records and CSV exports stay clean.
How do I know a payment page is really this merchant?
Check the handle: every crypt.pe page lives at crypt.pe/username, and receipts are verifiable on-chain. If someone sends you a lookalike domain or asks you to 'verify' with a seed phrase, it's a scam — no legitimate flow on crypt.pe ever asks the payer or the merchant for a private key or seed phrase.
Still stuck?
Merchants can open a support ticket from the dashboard's support tab. Payers should contact the merchant first — they hold the funds and can see the payment. For anything else, email legal@crypt.pe with the invoice link and transaction hash and we'll help trace what happened on-chain.
prevention beats resolution: prefer stablecoins for stable value, always match the network on the invoice, and let wallets pre-fill amounts from the QR. more in the merchant guides.