Online Merchant - Protection From Fraud Chargebacks??

[olimits7]

What is the name of your state (only U.S. law)? New Jersey

Hi,

I own an online merchant site, and sometimes I receive chargebacks that are fraudulent. And of course 99.9% of the time even if I have an AVS match on the customer's address or tracking confirmation that the order was received by the customer; the credit card company always takes the customer's side and refunds their money.

This stinks on my end because then I lose my money, and I also lose my product since the customer states that it was never received but I have a tracking number that says it was delivered successfully.

Anyway, if the credit card company is going to refund the customer's money I at least want to try to get my product back.

Some people that I talked to said I could file a small claims, police report, or collections report on the customer/address of where the product was delivered. However, I have never done any of this before and I'm looking for some help on what my best options are when this occurs?

Would I be able to file:
a. Small Claims Court? If so, how would I go about doing this? What information would I need to provide them?
b. Police Report? If so, would I just call their local police department? What information would I need to provide them with?
c. Collections Agency? If so, what information would I need to provide them with?

Thank you,

olimits7

 

[racer72]

a. You will have to file in the buyer's home state. That will be up to you if it is worth the expense, things like travel and lodging are not recoverable.

b. The police will likely tell you it's a civil matter and not do anything.

c. It is highly doubtful a collection agency would accept these kind of debts without a valid judgment. You won't be able to provide an in default contract to prove the debt is valid.

 

[olimits7]

Hi,

Thank you for your quick reply...

So there is basically nothing I can do to get my product back?

Are there any other options I have to file something/anything against this fraudulent customer?

I feel like there has to be something I can do. I hate doing nothing and having this customer take advantage of me and my business...very frustrating!

Thank you, again!

olimits7

 

[Zigner]

Hi,

Thank you for your quick reply...

So there is basically nothing I can do to get my product back?

Are there any other options I have to file something/anything against this fraudulent customer?

I feel like there has to be something I can do. I hate doing nothing and having this customer take advantage of me and my business...very frustrating!

Thank you, again!

olimits7

Of course there is...sue the bad guys.
But, frankly, what you are dealing with is a cost of doing business in the manner that you have chosen. You do have the option of increasing your prices to cover losses such as this. Brick & mortar stores have been doing that for ages...

 

[olimits7]

Haha...yes, suing them is definitely an option!

I just wish there was some type of claim that merchants could put agains these fraud chargeback custoemrs; just so something shows on their record.

Because I would love to take them to small claims, but the money I will spend there is not worth spending over 1 product. But at the same time I hate knowing that they got away with this with no problems on their end.

I understand that the credit card companies protect their cardholders, but they have to understand that all their cardholders are NOT angels. There are plenty of cardholders that abuse the system and in the end the merchants are the ones that suffer.

Thank you,

olimits7

 

[TinkerBelleLuvr]

Sign for delivery confirmation. When they dispute with the CC company, you come back with the delivery confirmation.

 

[olimits7]

That's the funny part; I'm a member on another "ecommerce merchant" forum and I've received replies from other merchants that even with a signed delivery notification they still ended up losing the reversal on the chargeback.

I think one person said that one cardholder said they never signed for it and he was still hit with a chargeback.

olimits7

 

[FlyingRon]

Delivery confirmation means squat. I'm already in the midst of charging back a merchant that claims delivery that never arrived. The USPS are a bunch of idiots and will deliver into the some storage locker rather than figure out how to get it to the addressee.

 

[JessiesGirl]

Signature confirmation doesn't guarantee delivery of the product you sent. It just means "something", like even an empty box, was sent. I'm not saying you send empty boxes. I'm just saying that signature confirmation isn't worth squat to win an argument with the CC company, or PayPal.

Last year, my hubby sold a motorcycle seat off of Craigslist to somebody in California (we are in AZ) and the guy said he got it, but then over a week later (after he gave rave reviews on the product, was happy with it, etc.) said it was broken, damaged, whatever. We said fine, send it back, and we'll refund your money (PayPal). The guy said he sent it back, (We don't know what he supposedly sent - we speculate he didn't actually send anything. After all, you can get a tracking number from USPS for free) but we DIDN'T receive anything. Then he claimed to PayPal that he sent the seat to us and could prove it just because he had a tracking number. We said nothing was sent to us and of course, nothing had been signed by us. PayPal sided with him and took the money out of our account to pay him because he had "proof" (remember, he had just that tracking number, no signature confirmation) that he sent it back to us. We lost the money, and the seat, and now what do we do? Sue the guy? Not worth the effort or time. So we won't ship anything anymore. Now if we sell something, it's cash and carry.

I know you are out money from unscrupulous people. I'm sorry for that, but doing what the senior posters told you is wise.

Best wishes.
K

 

[The_Saint]

Change merchants, or get insurance.

Check out the "Fraud Protection" here:

https://payments.amazon.com/sdui/sdui/business?sn=resources/o

 

[MichaelH12]

One more question

I know this is an old thread but thought I would ask one more question:

Does the bank have an obligation to verify customer information? I had a charge back whereby the "supposesd" person openned an account at another address. Meaning person A opened a credit card account at another address that the bank then confirmed to me was the exact address. the credit card owner put this other address as his address. The AVS was a match.

I shipped merchandise and the person there then signed with another names. The bank then says to me that the address is not the address of the owner of the credit card.

Isnt this fraud by the bank? Isn't that a crime? If the bank knowingly shows me the merchant that the address is a match and then claims it isnt then I feel this is criminal negligence by the bank.

 

[racer72]

Yes it is an old thread, start your own. Necroposting is frowned upon.