Discovered a chargeback today on my website for an order which was already delivered. It’s incredibly frustrating especially for a small business entering into the holiday season. A chargeback means the money is removed instantly from my bank account. This money is given back to the person immediately and even if I win, I must wait 60-120 days. If there hadn’t been enough money in my bank account to cover it, I’d have faced fines and penalties from my bank. It means I also am charged a $20 fine from Shopify. In addition, I’m still out the cost of the shipping label and Shopify fees associated with the order. Too many chargebacks could result in my shop being closed. This order was for ~$100 which isn’t a big deal for me at this point in my life, but for some it could mean the difference between paying rent or being evicted. Or going hungry for the month. In addition, I must spend valuable time and energy to gather evidence against this customer and present it. Time and energy that could have been spent making new creations, communicating with current customers, sleeping, or pretty much any other productive task.
So from an online seller to potential customers. Please.
- Read what you are buying and read all the store policies to avoid any confusion later down the line. For example, If they don’t accept refunds and you have buyer’s remorse, a chargeback is not the appropriate solution. Don’t make a purchase if you don’t agree to the terms and conditions.
- Save receipt emails. If you don’t recognize an item on your bank statement, try to match the $ amount with recent purchases with a receipt. Or call the bank and ask for more information on the transaction. If you have given your card to anyone else to use, ask them if they made the charge.
- If a friend or family member placed an order without your consent because you gave them access to your card, please think twice before doing a chargeback. Legally, you are protected from any unauthorized use of your card, even if it was a friend or family member, even your minor child. Morally if you wouldn’t be willing to call the police and report your friend or family member to face legal consequences, then you probably shouldn’t expect a seller to be responsible either. Try to work things out between yourself and the friend/family member or try to contact the seller directly and explain the situation. Offer to return any goods that are sent to you.
- TALK TO THE SELLER before initiating a chargeback. Even if there is a billing error or issue with your order, they’ll likely be happy to fix any issues vs. a chargeback. Please don’t jump to any conclusions until you speak to them. If they are being rude or unwilling to help, by all means, contact your bank. But please give us a chance to make things right.
- Understand the consequences of a chargeback for you. For example, the seller may no longer be willing to do business with you. I refuse to sell to anyone who has done a chargeback in the past and I will ban them on social media if I can. It isn’t worth the risk for me to do business with them again. I’m not the only one either, even large companies like Sony will ban you from their services. Then there is the chance you could lose. Yes, even people who legitimately were the victims of fraud can lose a case. You’ll be required to pay all the money you received back again. Even if you spent it all. If a bank decides you were attempting to commit fraud, you may even face a lawsuit or loss of your credit card and banking privileges with that company. While it is difficult and costly, and therefore unlikely, a merchant can also choose to sue you to recover the goods if you kept them or force you to pay for the goods.
And from me to other sellers. Protect yourselves.
- Track all orders. A common scam is to say an item wasn’t received when it was. Tracking will show otherwise. Require signature confirmation on expensive orders.
- Keep all records for purchases. Don’t throw them away after a few weeks as customers can have a window of 60-120 days to dispute.
- Insure any items you can’t afford to have damaged in transport.
- Don’t accept an address change via email on large order if you can’t afford the loss. Cancel the order and ask them to place a new one with the correct address as in many cases you will be required to ship to the original address in order to keep your protections as a seller. An email asking for change of address may not be proof enough if the customer is trying to scam you.
- Take advantage of fraud protection tools. Shopify shows me, for example, that the billing address matches the shipping address. That the CVV was correct. That there was only 1 payment attempt with 1 credit card, that the location of the IP address is local to the customer, and it even gives me their IP address. These are all things I can use to help me prove that the cardholder is the one who placed this order.
- Provide good customer service and be willing to work with your customers. I’m not suggesting you violate your policies or harm your business to please your customers, but if there is a billing issue or you sent the wrong item, resolving it quickly can help avoid a chargeback.
So that’s my very long PSA of the day. As for me, I am annoyed and frustrated, but sadly no stranger to chargebacks. And, given the amount of evidence I have, I’m confident that in 60-120 days I will have the money returned to me and I will take my boyfriend out to sushi and we will have a good laugh.
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