In this article:
- How do chargebacks happen?
- How chargebacks are reviewed
- Preventing and disputing chargebacks
- How to dispute a chargeback
How do they happen?
It’s a really frustrating feeling getting a chargeback. But the best way to avoid them is to understand them.
They happens when the cardholder contacts their bank or card scheme and requests a refund. The bank look at the claim details and, if it meets their criteria, they raise the chargeback. The bank then refunds the cardholder via Dojo which can result in you being charged for the transaction.
However, Dojo may try to fight the chargeback on your behalf if it's defendable.
But why exactly do chargebacks happen?
Chargeback trigger one
A customer sees a purchase they don’t recognise on their bank statement and asks their bank for a refund.
Why it can happen:
A customer doesn’t authorise their card to be used
A customer doesn’t recognise your business name
A fraudster comes to your business and uses stolen card details
A customer is charged twice for a transaction
Chargeback trigger two
A customer’s unhappy about their service and asks their bank to refund them.
Why it can happen:
Your customer buys a faulty product
Your customer doesn’t receive a refund in time
Your customer doesn’t receive their order
Your customer is charged twice for the same transaction
How chargebacks are reviewed
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Your case is reviewed We look at what happened with the disputed transaction and assess whether it’s possible to defend the chargeback, if it is, we’ll hold onto it |
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| You receive the chargeback We pass the chargeback back to you plus an admin fee, that’s because your business is legally liable for your transactions |
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| You can choose to dispute Send us evidence, and if we think it’ll work, we’ll pass it to the issuing bank and the cardholder to fight your corner |
We pass these cases straight onto you
Chargebacks – preventing and disputing them
Chargebacks are quite hard to predict and can be really inconvenient. But some transactions, like manual (card not present) transactions, are riskier than others. If you know what those are, there are plenty of steps to take to make chargebacks much less likely.
Two major ways to prevent chargebacks
Cardholders can trigger chargebacks for two basic reasons – they’re unhappy with a product or service, or they suspect fraud. Here’s what you can do to stop it happening in the first place.
Perfect your refund and returns policies
- Be ready to make refunds
- Have a clear and easily-accessible refund policy (and stick to it)
- Make sure you refund to the same card the customer paid with
- Include your policy for ecommerce in T&Cs
- Refund customers ASAP
- Be proactive and quick with customer communications, especially if you’re shipping to them - and keep records of those conversations
Keep your customers safe
- Avoid taking manual transactions
- Make sure your trading name matches what will appear on your customer’s bank statement (you can contact us any time to update it)
- Track your terminals so nobody else could access them
- Check for suspicious behaviour when customers are paying – being hurried or paying with a few different cards can be a sign of fraud
Extra tip:
Always avoid manual transactions
- This is any time you physically type in card details into your Dojo
- They’re also much harder to dispute
How to dispute a chargeback
If you question a chargeback, you can dispute it. And to do that, it’s all about good record keeping. This is what you should try to send us to dispute a chargeback:
| Receipts, especially with signatures | |
| Emails or any written conversation with the customer, especially if their details match the genuine cardholder’s | |
| Proof that the customer was happy with their service e.g. a positive online review or email from the customer | |
| The shipping date, carrier, tracking number and confirmation for the delivery | |
| Evidence a subscription wasn’t cancelled e.g. conversations you had or usage data after the disputed cancellation date |