Having the ability to conduct credit card processing is definitely a positive element. However, sometimes merchant accounts can have their downsides. One situation that will come along no matter how amazing your products are is customer chargebacks. Customer chargebacks can hurt your business because the money is returned to the customer, and you may not be able to recover your product. Aside from that, the merchant account company may charge a fee for the chargeback that was out of your control. Luckily, you do have some recourse if this happens to you. You can fight a customer chargeback and possibly have it removed if you remember to always take the following steps:
Verify the Customer’s Identification
You will want to always ask for identification from anyone who is using a debit or credit card to pay for your goods or services. If the name on the credit card does not match the name on the identification, then you have every right to refuse the transaction. Processing a shady transaction may come back to haunt you in the form of a chargeback in the future.
Keep Records of Everything
You must keep records of every one of your transactions so that you will have the ammunition to fight an unjust chargeback. If you can set up surveillance cameras in your store, then they will help you to record not only the customers but also their method of payment. Additionally, a camera could take a picture of a person who is signing the receipt for a credit card purchase.
You must always ask a customer to sign the receipt whenever he or she uses a credit card to make a purchase. You can use that information when it comes time for you to fight a chargeback.
How to Fight a Chargeback
The proper way to dispute a chargeback is to contact the credit card company so that you can give the statement of what happened and prove the credit card processing incident. You will need to fax the credit card company all the information that you have that proves your customer legally made the purchase. If you can prove the validity of the transaction, then you may receive the funds that you lost back into your merchant accounts. After you win a chargeback case with a customer, that person will be less likely to try to issue a false chargeback in the future.