Chargebacks and Retrievals

The most common reasons retrievals and chargebacks happen
A chargeback occurs when an item has been disputed by the cardholder or issuing bank, or when there is a violation of the rules and regulations established by Visa® or MasterCard®. Chase Paymentech reviews all chargebacks to determine their validity. We debit valid chargebacks from your checking account and forward the documentation to you.

Chargebacks represent lost revenue. There are many reasons why they occur and while some simply represent the cost of doing business, others are preventable:

• A merchant fails to respond to a request for a ticket copy within the prescribed time limits
• A cardholder disputes the item (does not recognize it, disputes the merchandise or service provided, etc.)
• A credit card is expired and no authorization was obtained at the time of purchase
• The item was charged to the cardholder's account more than once
• A merchant agrees to credit the cardholder for the transaction, and the credit never posts to the cardholder's account
• A mail or telephone order transaction was completed by an unauthorized user on the customer's card account
• A cardholder's account number is invalid or the number was improperly entered manually
• A card imprint or a cardholder signature is missing on the sales ticket

Tips for preventing chargebacks
Although it's probably not possible to eliminate chargebacks completely, there are some steps you can take to minimize the likelihood that they will occur:

• Never alter a sales draft.
• Always obtain an authorization for the exact amount of the transaction processed to the card.
• If authorization is declined for the full amount of the sale, don't try to get an authorization by "splitting" or lowering the amount of the transaction. If you can't get a single authorization for the full amount of the sale, decline the credit card transaction. Request another form of payment.
• Whenever a card does not successfully swipe and you have to key in a transaction, manually imprint the card and ensure the signature and all transaction information is transferred to the imprinted draft. Also ensure that the manual draft is imprinted with the merchant name and location.
• When a customer is due a credit and the original sale was made on a Visa®, MasterCard® or Diners Club® card, process the credit back to the original card number. Do not refund by check or cash. If credit is due on more than one sale, process each credit individually.
• Have your return policy pre-printed on the credit card sales draft and signed by the cardholder at the time of the original sale. The refund policy must be close to the cardholder's signature to be recognized by Visa or MasterCard.
• Always compare the cardholder's signature to the signature on the back of the card. If the signature panel is blank, have the cardholder sign it. If the cardholder refuses, you should request another form of payment.
• Respond to all returned retrieval requests with valid, legible documentation. After allowing Chase Paymentech two business days to process your response, call the automated voice system to confirm that your response was received and to get a confirmation number.
• Be sure to compare the credit card account number on an electronically printed draft to the credit card number embossed on the credit card. If the numbers don't match, call the Automated Voice Authorization Center and tell the operator that you have a "Code 10" authorization and that the card numbers do not match.