The Credit Card Dispute: When to Represent

Credit Card Chargebacks - What You Need to Know
You’ve been alerted to a customer chargeback, and you know that this is a fraudulent claim. So, what do you do? You can do nothing and silently stew and simmer with anger and frustration. Or you can take action and decide to represent the credit card dispute.
Fighting chargebacks and disputing these fraudulent claims is your right as a merchant. You have the right to represent yourself and prove that the customer is making a fraudulent claim and abusing the chargeback process. The problem is that so many merchants wrongly believe that this is a wasted effort that is guaranteed not to succeed.
Well, here’s the honest truth: you need to know that you can dispute these chargebacks. This is the only way your voice can be heard, by speaking up and fighting for your rights when you’ve been wrongly charged and are now a victim of chargebacks. Just as chargebacks were created to protect customers, you need to use the chargeback dispute process to protect yourself.
Now is the time take action. But first, you need to be fully prepared and ready to win the dispute. This means you need to know what to do, what not to do, and how to judge when you should actually walk away from the representment process.
Ready, Set, Take Action
As part of your initial preparation to respond to the chargeback, it’s important to know how not to get caught up in the common mistakes that many merchants make during chargeback representment. These are some common mistakes you should learn to avoid:

  • Assuming that issuers don’t want you to represent: In fact, the opposite is true. From an issuer’s perspective, they want people to know that credit cards are secure. Public perception is that credit card theft and fraud is running rampant, hence the frequent default position behind why so many people file fraudulent chargeback claims. If you stand up and fight these invalid credit card disputes and charges, you’re helping to show that credit cards are secure and safe. To do this effectively, you need to legitimately know which claims are valid and which are not. This is not something you can guess at, rather you need a solution such as our Intelligence Suite, which allows you to get the best balance of fraud protection for your business.
  • Ignoring the chargeback reason codes: These reason codes are key in effectively winning a dispute. The reason code determines the information you need to provide when filing a representment. Are you up-to-date on the latest reason codes from each issuer (yes, each issuer has their own reason codes)? Do you know the evidence requirements for each code? Do you know all the rules and regulations surrounding the representment process? Not knowing these details can and will hurt your ability to win a dispute.
  • Giving up too early: This dispute process is not simple, and we don’t want you to give up when you begin to feel overwhelmed. There are resource, money, and time requirements, but these should not be a barrier. The long-term rewards are worth this preemptive effort and investment. You’ll reduce the chance of a customer making a second fraudulent chargeback claim, you’ll encourage issuers to be more diligent about analyzing customer claims, and you’ll inevitably reduce the instances of chargeback claims.
  • Neglecting your customer service team: Your customer service team is critical in preventing chargeback claims. When customers know that they can quickly and effectively resolve their concerns with your customer service team, they’re less likely to become frustrated and file a credit card dispute, now and in the future. Equally, you need to make sure that your customer service team is keeping thorough records of every customer interaction. This includes keeping emails, recording or documenting conversations, and ensuring they have evidence of the efforts made to resolve the customer concerns. When you have easy access to this information, you can make a strong representment case.
  • Trying to do it alone: Chargebacks are complicated, winning a dispute is complicated, and this is why you can’t always do this alone. Too many merchants get motivated to take action, but they often overlook that they lack the expertise needed to successfully represent a chargeback. Working with a representment partner allows you to focus on your business, so you can be at ease with the knowledge that the real chargeback experts are working for you to win the credit card dispute. This all adds up to less time spent, money saved, less stress, improved customer confidence, and higher win and success rates.

Ready to Represent
We frequently work with merchants who have unknowingly made these mistakes and are left wondering why they didn’t win their dispute.
We urge you not to succumb to making these common mistakes and accepting a mere “Honorable Mention” in your business achievement. We want you to be motivated to represent and win the business “Blue Ribbon.” And we want you to do it when you’re ready. We understand these challenges, and this is why we’re here to help you. We urge you to learn more about the common mistakes that merchants make during the dispute process, and know that we are on your side. The more merchants like you who take action and successfully win credit card disputes, the better it is for everyone involved––customers, business owners, issuers, investors, and everyone who plays a part in the whole payments ecosystem.