The Chargebacks tab in the Incentivio Dashboard provides operators with an easy-to-use solution for viewing, challenging, and accepting chargebacks. This article will give a tour of the Chargeback section and a step-by-step guide for disputing or accepting chargebacks.
Contents
Overview
Disputes, or chargebacks, allow customers to dispute the validity of transactions and request refunds directly from their banks, bypassing merchants. They typically occur due to various reasons, such as fraud, unauthorized transactions, dissatisfaction with products or services received, or errors in processing.
For merchants, chargebacks not only result in financial losses due to the reversal of funds and associated fees but also threaten their reputation and credibility. Effectively understanding and managing chargebacks is essential for merchants to mitigate these risks, safeguard their business interests, and maintain positive relationships with their customers and payment service providers.
Here are some resources that dive deeper into chargebacks and provide valuable insights to help you better dispute chargebacks:
Stripe - How Disputes Work - Learn about the high-level lifecycle of payment card disputes.
Stripe - Dispute Response Best Practices - Learn how to format the most convincing evidence to challenge a dispute.
Viewing the Chargeback Tab
- Navigate to the Incentivio Dashboard. The link is www.[CLIENT-NAME].dashboard.incentivio.com. (This will be the same client name as your Admin portal, but with Dashboard in the URL instead of Admin. For example, if the link to your Admin portal is www.myrestaurant.admin.incentivio.com, then your dashboard link will be www.myrestaurant.dashboard.incentivio.com.)
- Select Payments > Chargebacks from the menu on the left-hand side.
Here, clients will see all disputed transactions associated with any account they have access to. Each dispute will show the Amount, Status, Reason, Customer Name, Original Transaction ID, Created Date (when the customer initiated the Chargeback), and Response Deadline (the latest date that all evidence is due).
There are four primary statuses that can be associated with a chargeback, which may change depending on the actions taken by the client for each one. These are:
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Needs Response - Action has yet to be taken on this. The dashboard will show a countdown of days left to respond.
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In Review - Evidence has been submitted for this Chargeback, and the customer's bank is currently reviewing the dispute.
- Won - This dispute has been completed, and the bank resolved it in the merchant's favor. Any funds that were removed from your account associated with this dispute will be returned.
- Lost - This dispute has been completed, and the bank resolved the dispute in the customer's favor. Any funds removed from your account associated with this dispute will not be returned.
In addition to the status, all disputes will show an associated Reason for the dispute. These include:
- Fraudulent - The customer believes their account has been compromised and did not complete this transaction.
- Product Not Received - The customer paid for a product/service but did not receive it.
- Duplicate - The customer believes they were charged multiple times for a transaction.
Clients have the following options for responding to chargebacks:
- Counter Chargeback - This allows merchants to challenge the Chargeback and provide evidence that it is a valid transaction. If the bank finds the evidence sufficient, they will return the funds to the merchant. If the bank considers the evidence insufficient, they will rule in favor of the customer and will not return the funds to the merchant.
- Accept Chargeback - The merchant accepts that this dispute is valid. The funds will not be returned to the merchant.
- Take no action - The customer's bank will find the dispute in the customer's favor if no action is taken. The funds will not be returned to the merchant.
Accepting Chargebacks
If the customer submits a chargeback and the merchant believes this is a valid dispute, they can accept it without submitting evidence to counter it. To accept a dispute:
- Navigate to the Incentivio Dashboard. The link is www.[CLIENT-NAME].dashboard.incentivio.com. (This will be the same client name as your Admin portal, but with Dashboard in the URL instead of Admin. For example, if the link to your Admin portal is www.myrestaurant.admin.incentivio.com, then your dashboard link will be www.myrestaurant.dashboard.incentivio.com.)
- Select Payments > Chargebacks from the menu on the left-hand side.
- Click on the Chargeback you would like to accept.
- On the right-hand menu, select Accept Chargeback.
Countering Chargebacks
If the customer submits a chargeback and the merchant believes this is an invalid dispute, they can counter it by submitting evidence to fight against it. Generally, merchants have 7-21 days to respond to a dispute before the bank automatically rules in the customer's favor, so it is important to check the Chargeback dashboard frequently to ensure sufficient time to counter chargebacks.
To counter a dispute:
- Navigate to the Incentivio Dashboard. The link is www.[CLIENT-NAME].dashboard.incentivio.com. (This will be the same client name as your Admin portal, but with Dashboard in the URL instead of Admin. For example, if the link to your Admin portal is www.myrestaurant.admin.incentivio.com, then your dashboard link will be www.myrestaurant.dashboard.incentivio.com.)
- Select Payments > Chargebacks from the menu on the left-hand side.
- Click on the Chargeback you would like to challenge.
- On the right-hand menu, select Counter Chargeback.
- From here, it would be best to include as much evidence as possible to support that this is a valid transaction. The first screen will prompt for more information about the products/services rendered to the customer and customer details (which will pre-fill as much as possible.) Once you have completed as much as possible here, click Next to submit evidence.
- On the Evidence screen, click the toggle on the right-hand side of each evidence type to select which categories of evidence will be included.
These categories include:
Customer Signature Evidence that someone signed for the products when they were picked up or delivered. Customer Communication Any communication with the customer that you feel is relevant to your case. Receipt Any receipt or message sent to the customer notifying them of the charge. Refund Details Information about a refund that you issued to your customer. Cancellation Details Information related to subscription cancellation. Duplicate Charge Details The customer claims they were charged multiple times for the same product or service. Service Details Documentation showing that the service was provided to the cardholder. Shipping Details Shipping Information such as address, carrier, and date. Digital Details
Server logs and IP addresses. Other Information Any additional information that doesn't fit the categories above.
Each category will require a different set of information, but all categories allow merchants to upload supporting documentation. Only one document/file can be submitted for each type.
- Once you are satisfied with the evidence, click Review. Finally, click Submit.
After submitting evidence, the customer's bank generally has 60-90 days to make a final decision. The status of the dispute will be updated in the Incentivio Dashboard as updates occur.