Retail Customers, Unexpected Chargebacks
Customers experience unexpected chargebacks after seemingly successful custom orders. This creates a frustrating situation for both the customer and the business, involving lost revenue and potential reputational damage due to the unexpected financial reversal. The process appears to have been confirmed and approved by the customer initially.
SOURCES (60)
“Out of curiosity, did you proactively notify those customers about their shipments being delayed?”
“I couldn't survive it, either, so I started a different business devoted solely to helping merchants fight chargebacks! LOL That was nearly 15 years ago, and from my vantage point, the problem is just getting worse. Consumers expect more, buyers don't understand how the system is supposed to work, and banks are inundated with both valid and invalid claims they have to deal with. I wish I had a more helpful response.”
“I've spoke to someone Saturday who said it's put on hold in another department , spoke to someone today and they've resolved it and said they will refund, I think setting up a direct debit for minimum payments has resolved the problem(potentially), although it's a strange occurrence. I believe they mentioned the dates are 18 statement and following 14 for payment.”
“By the way, don't automatically ban customers that charge back. Many of our most loyal customers have charged back previously. Sometimes they re elderly and get confused when banks tell them to just charge back if they don't recognize or remember the charge. Sometimes husbands will charge back with out wife's knowledge. Once a gentleman emailed to cancel subscription because his wife had passed. His wife emailed us a week later alive and well and to reactivate the subscription. We be”
“Exactly. That’s the uncomfortable part: you can have the stronger evidence and still make the wrong business decision if another dispute hurts the account more than the order is worth. Since you’ve already submitted it, I hope this one closes the issue. Has Shopify actually warned you about the ratio, or are you trying to stay ahead of it?”
“I tried this, but if customer did not respond to any of our emails, then the chargeback still fails. Its really disheartening.”
“Yes but you said you would take it back and provide a refund. At worst, could you send a free return shipping label as a one time courtesy?”
“That’s rough. I’d treat the second dispute as a separate case since the reason changed. Are you still inside the response window? And what exact reason code did Shopify show? That probably changes whether the useful evidence is the return policy, the emails showing you offered a return, or the refund timeline.”
“I don't know... but is it worth the risk? The next one might be 'item not as described' or whatever.”
“Just heads up: just because you process a chargeback doesn't mean he can't still claim you owe him. If no work was done, not really an issue but some people think that just because the card issuer processes a charge back they're all done, where that may actually not be the case. But yea 100% chargeback and file a police report. He may tell you he's refunding you, but he also told you he'd do work for you how'd that go?”
Hello, I accidentally sent the buyer the wrong item, but I immediately shipped the correct replacement at no additional cost and let them keep the original item. The buyer left a 2-star…
“he could try it as a not as described charge back. if he paid for individualized mentoring and didn’t receive it he could win”
“Well, chargeback only temporarily refunds you the money while they investigate. The merchant has to provide proof they provided the services, and if they can prove it, it will be reversed. It's typically unlikely you will win if the reason is because you are unsatisfied with the product / service. That's like eating at a restaurant and then charging back cause you didn't like it. You still ate it. It'll ultimately probably end up being a legal matter. You can try but it'll li”
Where do the credits show up? In Paze or on the credit card?
“Are there not limits on the reasons for a charge back? If the item has arrived and you have a policy that clearly shows how to do a return and you do a refund once you get the return, what other reasons are there?”
“I have to imagine the card companies will eventually cancel a card that the customers repeatedly do chargebacks….but then they got paid either way, so maybe not.”
“It's a refund abuse tactic. Fraudsters frequently create "fresh" accounts (using a new email address) to bypass system filters, but they keep the same shipping address. Claiming "the pump is broken" or "it arrived damaged" is the easiest way to exploit a merchant. There is a very specific reason why she refused a replacement and demanded a refund, professional refunders always push for refunds. A replacement is useless to them. Their goal is immediate liquidity.”
“I didn’t add that on my website but I just did add that in my terms and condition. Thanks for reminding me!”
“I won the first chargeback. They then came in with a second. I think the concern is that even if I win the second, they'll come in with a third and then a fourth chargeback. That could compromise my Shopify Payments account, even though it's grossly unfair.”
“Why would you do that? You offered a path to a refund, they actually have to send the product back to get said refund. Why would a bank side with them? Does this feel like a scammer trying to see if you can be scammed for free product? Would that leave you open in the future to more of the same? The ball is in their court. They can keep the item, send it back while paying for shipping and then you can close out their account and ban them. That is what people say big stores do. They permanently b”
“So I have a customer who ordered a product and claims the pump is broken. She didn’t take a replacement just wants a refund. Now 3 months down she used a new email and is ordering the same product. I don’t trust her. I think she’s trying to get free product again. So I’m not sure if I should cancel her order. What happens in Shopify when you cancel an order? submitted by /u/kona-coffe [link] [comments]”
“I made an order on the 3rd of July the item turned up on Saturday the 11th. Unfortunately, when it arrived, it had leaked. I tried to contact the shop on the 11th about 8 pm but on Tuesday the 14th at 4:45 I still hadn't received any response, so I asked for a refund from Etsy only problem is, I’ve just checked their shop and it’s now empty. There are no items in there whatsoever they seem to have disappeared. What can I do? submitted by /u/BE_Noone [link] [comments]”
“Hi all, A while back a customer contacted us asking where his order was. We explained it was in transit and within the normal delivery window as promised in the shipping policy. A day or two later he issued a chargeback on the grounds of 'item not received'. We appealed, the bank sided with us (tracking by that point clearly showing the item had arrived.) Customer then complained to us that he didn't like the quality of the item and wanted to return it. No problem, we said. But they”
“They contacted me earlier asking why I had changed them 3 times, which I obv hadn't. I asked them to wait to see if the pending charges dropped off (as my bank app occasionally shows multiples in a glitch, but they drop off later), and contact Etsy or their bank. I personally can't have charged them 3 times. When I searched, I found 1 order, but they were showing as a repeat customer. They have been in contact again asking for refunds. When I searched this time 2 orders came up weeks apa”
“Thank for the advice and added confidence, reading some of the other posts here yes my refund is not large at all lol.”
Went through this a bunch. Tracking alone is kind of a trap honestly and it proves the package showed up, but if the dispute is "I don't recognize this charge," that's a…
“just be honest. tell them that you don't have stock right now but if they can wait then you'll give them small gift or they can get their money back.”
“I'm confused how some people say they always win. I think I've had 4 chargebacks on Shopify and lost every single one of them even with damning evidence. I'm really curious as to how this works.”
“If the customer actually received the product you can easily fight and win those chargebacks by submitting the tracking history and delivery confirmation directly to your payment processor because banks will reverse it if you show proof of delivery do not just let them keep your hard earned money and the product at the same time it is incredibly draining but fighting back with hard data is the only way to protect your business margins”
“That’s the other side I keep hearing. Are you mostly losing fraud claims, item not received claims, or pretty much every type?”
“Was it mostly a clear timeline and delivery proof, or did it suggest anything you would not normally have included?”
“That’s exactly what confuses me. If the customer confirmed they received it, you’d think that would be strong evidence. Do you remember what reason code the dispute had?”
“Interesting. Was that mainly for item not received disputes, or did it work for fraud claims too?”
“That makes sense. Do you normally put everything into one PDF, or still upload some of the evidence separately?”
“Hi there, We had someone send us a small donation (less than $100) through our online one-time donation button. This person has now submitted a chargeback with their credit card company saying it was done in error and we ignored their requests for refund. We've received no emails or calls from this individual at all. Honestly I'd have gladly sent them the refund if they asked for it. Is this sort of thing common? Do I bother disputing this or just accept it and move on? submitted b”
“The thing is, you are going to spend hours putting this information together and then still lose the appeal. Happens to me every time.”
I used chatgpt, followed what it said, submitted delivery proof and won.
“I wonder how it works. I even had customer's messages telling me they received it but I still lose the chargeback.”
“Interesting! Thanks for the insight here. I can imagine that this accounts for a lot of the issues in the UAE”
“Don't just add text to the generic shopify form. Add and annotated pdf. Things to add beside signature and delivery confirmation screenshots. Screenshots of: Property Records showing customers names and address IP address and host name of customer and their email address Map showing location of IP address used to place order Map showing the area code of customers phone number Any email communication from customer indicating they received product. Carriers GPS tracking record for the delivery”
“I keep seeing merchants say they submitted tracking and delivery proof but still lost the dispute. For people who have actually won one, what seemed to matter most? Customer emails, AVS or CVV, order history, a clear timeline, or something else? And when you submit everything manually in Shopify, do you upload the files separately or put the case into one simple sequence so the reviewer can quickly understand what happened? I’ve seen a lot of conflicting advice on this, so I’d rather hear from m”
“A nothingburger reply, again. You’ve said this same thing multiple times before. You called on Friday but conveniently didnt finish the call for further information. So you’ll call tomorrow. Then you’ll come back here and repeat the same nothingburger comments about your previous account from years ago is confusing you and you wish you just knew what to do (report it) because you just cant figure out why they have your last 4 digits on ssn. You’ll keep saying the number and address is real but n”
“I’m setting up a call with eBay tomorrow dude. Calm down. Also, the letter states “in review of our records, we may have incorrect name/tax identification number” on the first page. As I stated, I used my nickname for my eBay account, alongside not having full ssn.”
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