It’s happened again. You get yet another alert that a credit card chargeback has occurred. Now your funds are tied up until the dispute process is complete. You might win the process, you might lose the process. Either way, though, you’re dealing with a frustrating situation that you shouldn’t have to fight. It impacts your business, and it could hurt your customer base. How can you manage chargebacks better and get your business back on the road? Take a look.
Understanding the Process
What are chargebacks, exactly? A chargeback occurs when a customer is unhappy with the charges on his or her card, and contact the card company. The funds are debited from your account, then held in escrow while the investigation takes place. You’ll be asked to take a closer look at the order in dispute, then provide any evidence that the chargeback is not valid.
Customers typically file a chargeback if they didn’t receive the product or service, the product or services weren’t as described, or they claim the transaction was fraudulent for one reason or another or the cardholder may simply want to avoid accepting his or her financial responsibility and blatantly defraud the business. As the merchant, you have to decide whether to fight the chargeback or give the customer his/her money back.
End the Chargebacks
Obviously no business wants to deal with or manage chargebacks, but there are a few things you can do to help eliminate disputes.
First, start by creating a process your employees can follow easily that helps to reduce any potential errors on your end. For example, something like processing a transaction more that once or entering the wrong amount can cause a chargeback.
Educate your employees so they know how to use the system well. You’ll also want to know and understand the signs of credit card fraud. While this can be a bit tougher if you work with a digital system or phone-based sales, but developing a program to help educate your employees to spot and deal with fraud can help immensely.
Finally, keep your focus on your products and services. Answer customer questions promptly. Make sure your advertising matches your products, and follow your industry regulations carefully.
Chargebacks are never a fun process, but we can help to simplify things a bit. To learn more about how Y2Payments handles chargebacks, contact us today.