What Are Chargebacks, and How Can You Avoid Them?

What is a chargeback?

A chargeback is a reversal of funds that occurs when a cardholder asks their bank to cancel a credit card charge posted to their account. Chargebacks differ from refunds: merchants issue refunds, while card issuers handle chargebacks.

Customers might request a chargeback for several reasons, including the following: 

• They didn’t receive the product or service.
• The product or service description was inaccurate. 
• The product was damaged or lost during shipping.
• Duplicate billing occurred.
• Recurring billing was not canceled as requested.
• There was a technical error.
• The charges were fraudulent.

Some issues are outside your control. For example, a product may have become lost or damaged during shipping. However, it’s crucial for brick-and-mortar and e-commerce retailers to reduce other issues, like billing errors, to help prevent chargebacks. 

Monica Eaton-Cardone, co-founder and CEO of Chargebacks911, says credit card chargebacks represent a growing financial threat to merchants that can damage a business’s reputation with banks. “Banks gauge a merchant’s risk and reliability on the number of chargebacks they receive,” Eaton-Cardone explained. “Multiple chargebacks on a regular basis can lead to even greater merchant challenges down the road. Merchants are essentially ‘guilty until proven innocent.’ Chargeback fees and reimbursements are deducted from the merchant’s account automatically — no questions asked.”

Nydelis Ortiz, an underwriting manager at FFB Bank, emphasized that businesses that want to counter a cardholder’s chargeback claim have only a short time to gather information and submit a defense claim to the credit card issuer.

“The issuer will then review all documentation and determine who is liable for the transaction,” Ortiz noted. “If the merchant wins the dispute, then the liability either falls on the cardholder, the issuer or the acquirer to pay for the transaction in question, depending on the nature of the dispute and the supporting documentation. If the merchant loses the dispute, they are liable for returning the funds to the cardholder.”

How can you reduce and avoid chargebacks?

Eaton-Cardone advises businesses to adopt the following best practices to help reduce and avoid chargebacks: 

• Create standard procedures for accepting credit cards.
• Train employees to ensure everyone follows the protocol. 
• Evaluate your team periodically and update protocols as needed. 
• Use the address verification system to authenticate cardholders. 
• Consistently collect CVC2/CVV2 verification codes.

Here’s more advice and best practices on minimizing chargebacks in your business — many of which focus on providing an excellent purchasing experience that fosters customer satisfaction:

• Create clear, detailed product or service descriptions: Lead with transparency in your customer interactions. Let them know exactly what they’re purchasing by providing clear and detailed product and service descriptions. Clear communication and transparency help prevent chargebacks and protect your brand reputation.
• Enact a comprehensive, easy-to-understand refund policy: Businesses must have a clear refund policy to minimize chargebacks. Display your return policy at registers, post the information on your website and add the details to each paper or digital receipt. Be as specific as possible, stating the return window, restocking fees and exclusions.
• Use self-explanatory billing descriptors: Misunderstandings about what was purchased can cause chargebacks. To prevent this, ensure all product descriptions reference the product or service by name; they should be clear and understandable on receipts. When clients receive a credit card bill, they should see your store name, the transaction date and the correct purchase amount.
• Post company contact info clearly: Customers may open a chargeback out of frustration if they find it difficult to contact your customer service team. Set clear parameters for when customers can reach your business. For example, you may schedule customer service hours daily between 8 a.m. and 8 p.m. local time. Return client messages promptly to nip issues in the bud.
• Maintain and publish clearly defined shipping expectations: In the age of Amazon, many clients mistakenly expect lightning-fast shipping times. Small and midsize businesses must clearly explain their expected shipping times. Advertise shipping policies on your website and provide a copy after each purchase.
• Provide highly responsive customer service: Avoid customer service pitfalls like unanswered calls and emails. Nothing is more frustrating for customers than trying to contact a business about a problem with an order and not receiving a response. 
• Keep detailed sales records: If you have detailed records, you’ll be better equipped to fight the chargeback. You can analyze and review the disputed transaction carefully and submit supporting documentation. 
• Be wary of suspicious purchases: Watch for suspicious purchases made via credit cards. Before processing the payment, investigate the charge and confirm its legitimacy. Credit card companies have protocols, including fraud alerts, to help protect consumers and businesses.
• Understand chargeback regulations: Chargeback guidelines are updated regularly, so merchants must monitor regulations and adjust their procedures to reflect the most recent rules. 
• Investigate why you’re experiencing chargebacks: If your business’s chargeback rates increase, review your chargeback history and identify trends. “Are you receiving a lot of chargebacks due to fraud? This may be an opportunity to invest in an EMV-capable terminal,” Ortiz advised. “Are your chargebacks related to the quality of goods or services? This may be an opportunity to examine potential areas of improvement within the business.”
• Handle legitimate complaints promptly: At some point, you’ll encounter a customer who must legitimately dispute a fraudulent charge. If they contact you before filing a chargeback, remedy the situation as soon as possible. While you may incur shipping fees and lost revenue, it’s better than dealing with a chargeback dispute (that you’ll likely lose) and a nonrefundable fee.
• Work with a chargeback management service: Eaton-Cardone recommends using a chargeback management service with an end-to-end, multitier approach that helps fight chargebacks while reducing the risk of future chargebacks. “The best is a turnkey chargeback management system covering the entire chargeback process,” Eaton-Cardone advised.
• Use EMV-capable terminals: Ortiz advises brick-and-mortar businesses to adopt EMV-capable terminals (chip readers) to reduce their liability risk for fraudulent transactions. Businesses that process card-present transactions and are not EMV compliant are liable for fraudulent transactions.

What are the costs and consequences of chargebacks?

Here are a few financial and reputational consequences of chargebacks that can harm your business. 

Chargebacks lead to lost revenue.

The most obvious chargeback consequence is lost revenue. Even if a merchant wins a chargeback dispute, the credit card processing company charges a nonrefundable fee ranging from $20 to $50 per incident. This money is deducted from the merchant account for every chargeback filed. Additionally, the merchant is often liable for covering shipping costs and returning payment to the cardholder.

Chargebacks negatively impact a merchant’s reputation.

Chargeback claims impact how banks and card issuers view your business negatively. Even if you win a dispute, a chargeback reflects poorly on your company. If multiple claims are filed against you, you will be enrolled in a monitoring program, which becomes even more costly. 

“Chargeback monitoring requires the payment of another ongoing fee,” explained Eaton-Cardone. “Certain merchants might receive a grace period before becoming fee-eligible, but high-risk merchants are usually hit with fees as soon as they enter the program. Businesses in a chargeback monitoring program are also subject to periodic reviews of their mitigation plan — yet another fee.”

Merchants who fail to reduce their chargeback rates may be charged higher processing fees or have their accounts frozen. On top of that, merchants who engage in frequent forced payment reversals may be added to the Terminated Merchant File, which would result in your business being blocklisted for five years.

Is a chargeback reversible?

Although reversing a chargeback is technically possible, it’s not easy — and the odds aren’t in your favor. Card issuers typically side with cardholders and their guidelines reflect this bias.

“When a chargeback is issued, merchants must respond to the case with all of the supporting documentation they have to back their claim that a payment was processed without error and that the goods or services rendered were satisfactory,” Ortiz explained. “If they do not respond, they are liable. If they do not provide enough documentation to back their claim, they are liable. If the issuer has additional information from the cardholder that supports their claim, they are liable.”

In some cases, consumers will dispute a legitimate purchase for fraudulent reasons. “When it comes to merchants’ chargeback rights being violated, the single greatest threat comes from friendly fraud, also called chargeback fraud,” warned Eaton-Cardone. “Experts estimate that over 85 percent of all chargebacks may be caused by friendly fraud — meaning they file a chargeback without valid justification.”

There are multiple reasons for chargeback fraud, including buyer’s remorse, dissatisfaction with the products or services provided or confusion about the proper refund process.

“The only instance where a chargeback will be reversed is if the business submits a valid dispute backing their claim that the transaction was processed without error and the goods or services rendered were satisfactory,” said Ortiz. “Ultimately, it is up to the issuer to determine whether a chargeback will be reversed or not.”

How can you fight a chargeback dispute?

Never wait to fight a chargeback dispute. The sooner you address the issue, the more likely you’ll experience a favorable outcome.

To fight the chargeback, you must submit a chargeback rebuttal letter. When a company notifies you of a chargeback, a reason code is attached to the document. Review the code to learn the reason for the chargeback and any other pertinent details. The reason code also presents a timeline to fight the chargeback and shows what evidence is needed to reverse it.

Review your credit card processor’s policies to understand its chargeback dispute process. Your business may not have to handle all chargeback cases — the processor will provide automatic representation in some instances. Don’t waste resources on chargeback incidents being handled externally. If you must provide documentation, submit the completed rebuttal form with the requested files quickly.

Manage your chargeback claims

Although dealing with chargeback claims can be time-consuming, managing disputes proactively can save you from unnecessary, painful losses to your bottom line.

“My advice is to be proactive and take measures to help reduce the number of chargebacks you are initially exposing yourself to and, if you’re strapped for time, maybe prioritize managing chargebacks that are above a certain dollar amount,” said Ortiz.

As a small business owner, you should have chargebacks on your radar to monitor and rectify promptly.

Kimberlee Leonard contributed to this article. Source interviews were conducted for a previous version of this article.