7 Tips for Crafting a Chargeback Response

7 tips for crafting a chargeback response illustration

Usually during a chargeback, the credit card company will side with their cardholders – leaving you to foot the bill. It’s particularly painful if you didn’t do anything wrong and the chargeback was initiated because of a misunderstanding, buyer’s remorse, or chargeback fraud. Carefully crafting your chargeback response is important when you’re trying to convince the card company to side with you.

A complete, detailed chargeback rebuttal could mean the difference between your losing revenue and recovering some of your money. A chargeback response is simply evidence you’ve collected to refute a cardholder’s claim.

There are 151 reasons for a chargeback, and the reason will dictate what evidence you include. However, we’re sharing seven tips for responding to any chargeback to help the process go more smoothly for you and increase your chances of winning the case.

Respond Quickly

Don’t drag your feet when writing a chargeback response. The faster you respond, the faster the process will be over with. Depending on the bank you’re dealing with, the process can take days or weeks.

If you don’t respond (or don’t respond in time), the credit card’s issuing bank will usually just go ahead and issue the chargeback.

Cut to the Chase

Credit card companies have a lot of responses to go through every day, so they don’t really care about the history of your company or what makes your product worth the price (save that for your marketing campaigns).

Instead, stick to the facts about the sale. Tell them when the customer purchased the product or service, when it was shipped, when it was delivered, etc. Skip all the heartwarming stuff.

Don’t Forget the Important Information

Just because you’re sticking to the facts and cutting to the chase doesn’t mean that you should leave out potentially relevant information. The information you include (or don’t include) could be the difference between compelling evidence and an incomplete response.

If you have phone logs or email correspondence with the cardholder, include it. Include anything you used to validate the cardholder’s identity and show that they approved the transaction.

After you’ve compiled your evidence and written your response, have someone else in your company review it. Ask them to make sure it makes sense and includes everything necessary.

Make It Easy

Depending on why the chargeback was initiated, you could have to include a lot of information. To make sure the issuing bank doesn’t miss something important, include a table of contents to show what’s included and where it is.

Highlight or bold the most important points.

Show Proof of Authorization

A lot of chargebacks are initiated because of fraud or because the cardholder claims they didn’t authorize the purchase. In these cases, proving that the cardholder was aware of the purchase and approved the transaction is vital.

Any information you have is incredibly important – AVS matches, CVV2 confirmations, signed receipts, the originating IP address (for online purchases), etc.

Include Your Terms of Service & Refund Policy

When you’re including your Terms of Service, highlight the parts that are most relevant to the chargeback case.

For example, if the person is claiming that you refused a refund, highlight the refund policy and show that they didn’t follow the proper steps to get a refund.

Don’t Forget the Case Number

When the credit card company notifies you of the chargeback, they’ll send you the case number assigned to the chargeback. Make sure to include that number on every single page of your rebuttal. If you don’t include it, the issuing bank might ignore your response.

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