Reasons For Chargebacks

The Credit Card Processing Industry has a very long list of reasons that a customer can charge back merchandise for. It is unfortunate that all credit card fraud and protection laws are written with the consumer in mind and not the business owner.

It’s ludicrous to imagine that a consumer has no accountability for loosing their credit card and having someone who finds make fraudulent purchases on it. But, at the same time, a business is completely accountable for accepting a stolen card.

This list includes most of the reasons that a customer could request a chargeback for.

Chargeback Reasons:

• Card holder requests a copy of the transaction receipt.
• Card holder did not authorize the transaction.
• Non-matching account number.
• Transaction was processed more than once.
• Transaction receipt was not imprinted.
• Refund not processed.
• No authorization.
• Customer never received merchandise.
• Invalid T & E transaction
• Card not used within valid expiration date.
• Services not rendered.
• Error in transaction amount.
• Transaction receipt is incorrect, incomplete, or illegible.
• Transaction processed for incorrect amount.
• Product different from what was described or promised.
• Counterfeit transaction.
• Transaction not processed within Visa or MasterCard time frames.
• Failure to obtain card-holder signature.
• Signature on the card was blank.
• Signature on receipt different from card.
• Card-holder never authorized transaction.
• Card-holder claims merchant changed transaction amount without permission.
• Merchant knowingly participated in a fraudulent transaction.
• Incorrect Transaction Date.
• Card-holder claims invalid mail or telephone order transaction.
• Card-holder was denied ability to return item.
• Transaction was not canceled successfully.

Many of these reasons are overlooked by some businesses, until they receive a chargeback and are unable to fight it. The rules that are the easiest to protect against are the hardest chargebacks to fight. Sometimes stolen cards get processed, but accepting a card without a signature is completely avoidable.