The Dreaded Chargebacks

If there is one word most Internet marketers quiver at the sound of, it is Chargebacks. A chargeback is a dispute over a charge - usually an unauthorized or fraudulent charge- between the customer and the company. The merchant must pay back the entire amount along with any credit card fees. This amount is automatically deducted from your merchant account.

There are three main problems about chargebacks that concern the merchant:

1. They lose the payment and also the inventory if it was sent,

2. Fees associated with every chargeback are between $15 to $25, and worse of all

3. Chargebacks don’t look good, and you may lose your merchant account. Merchant services are pretty finicky; they do not just hand out accounts to anyone.

The customer could either be dissatisfied with the product, or there could be a duplicate order, or it could be fraud. Whatever the reason may be, it is crucial to your online business to keep chargebacks to a minimum. One way to stop chargebacks is to stop fraudulent orders by checking to make sure the order seems legit. This may mean you may have to call each customer to confirm the order. You do not want to accept an order if it appears fraudulent. Be suspicious, because in the end, receiving too many chargebacks will damage your profit line.

If, on the other hand, your customer is simply dissatisfied with the product, give them a call and send them an email. Ask them what it is they didn’t like about the product. Ask them if there is anything you can do for them to satisfy them. If they still seem reluctant to drop the chargeback, your last resort would be to ask them if they wouldn’t mind dropping the chargeback and you can offer them a full refund. Most people wouldn’t mind this option. You will find that a simple phone call to the upset customer may actually turn things around in your favor.