Someone Filed a Chargeback Against You: Now What?

[Kpay]

The idea of fighting a chargeback, or dispute, can be intimidating for some business owners. If you’re faced with a dispute, we’ll ask you for some information, and we’ll take care of the rest.

Remind me: what’s a chargeback again?
A chargeback occurs when a cardholder contacts their bank and asks that a payment be reversed. This may happen if the cardholder doesn’t recognize the charge on their statement, or believes they didn’t get the item or service they paid for.

What happens after a chargeback is initiated?
As soon as Square is notified of a payment dispute, we’ll reach out to you to see if you would like to either challenge the dispute or issue a refund to your customer. For some sellers, depending on the dollar amount of the transaction, issuing a refund may be the easiest resolution.

If you choose to challenge the dispute, you’ll be asked to provide some case-specific evidence to support your claim. Some examples of things we might ask for: contracts, proof of delivery, and signed invoices or certificates of completion. We’ll send you a form via your Square Dashboard (and via email). We'll use the info you provide to fight the dispute on your behalf.

Will my funds be held during an ongoing dispute?
We’ll place a hold on funds related to the dispute, just in case those funds must be returned to the cardholder when the dispute is finalized. If there aren’t enough funds in your Square balance to cover the disputed amount, that amount will be debited from your linked bank account.

Who makes the final decision?
The final decision of who wins the dispute will be made by the card-issuing bank, not by Square. If you challenge a dispute, our Square Secure team will do whatever we can to best represent you throughout this process. Payment disputes can take up to 90 days to resolve, but since Square doesn’t make the final decision, one thing to keep in mind is that timeframes and regulations can vary between different banks.

For most sellers, an occasional dispute just comes with the territory of doing business. If you find yourself facing a chargeback, know that we’ll be here to help you out. There are also a few things you can do to prevent chargebacks.

---

We’d love to hear from you. If you’ve been through the process, how’d it go? Did anything about the chargeback process suprise you?

[#2]

The idea of fighting a chargeback, or dispute, can be intimidating for some business owners. If you’re faced with a dispute, we’ll ask you for some information, and we’ll take care of the rest.

Remind me: what’s a chargeback again?
A chargeback occurs when a cardholder contacts their bank and asks that a payment be reversed. This may happen if the cardholder doesn’t recognize the charge on their statement, or believes they didn’t get the item or service they paid for.

What happens after a chargeback is initiated?
As soon as Square is notified of a payment dispute, we’ll reach out to you to see if you would like to either challenge the dispute or issue a refund to your customer. For some sellers, depending on the dollar amount of the transaction, issuing a refund may be the easiest resolution.

If you choose to challenge the dispute, you’ll be asked to provide some case-specific evidence to support your claim. Some examples of things we might ask for: contracts, proof of delivery, and signed invoices or certificates of completion. We’ll send you a form via your Square Dashboard (and via email). We'll use the info you provide to fight the dispute on your behalf.

Will my funds be held during an ongoing dispute?
We’ll place a hold on funds related to the dispute, just in case those funds must be returned to the cardholder when the dispute is finalized. If there aren’t enough funds in your Square balance to cover the disputed amount, that amount will be debited from your linked bank account.

Who makes the final decision?
The final decision of who wins the dispute will be made by the card-issuing bank, not by Square. If you challenge a dispute, our Square Secure team will do whatever we can to best represent you throughout this process. Payment disputes can take up to 90 days to resolve, but since Square doesn’t make the final decision, one thing to keep in mind is that timeframes and regulations can vary between different banks.

For most sellers, an occasional dispute just comes with the territory of doing business. If you find yourself facing a chargeback, know that we’ll be here to help you out. There are also a few things you can do to prevent chargebacks.

---

We’d love to hear from you. If you’ve been through the process, how’d it go? Did anything about the chargeback process suprise you?

[nika]

I'm sorry that you've had to deal with chargebacks @lashedbyronni. They're not fun, but unfortunately happen when operating a business. Regrettably, Square doesn't make the final decision on chargebacks. But I can assure you that our team does everything in their power to help you come out on top. 

[AlexMac]

I'm feeling the same way and was wondering what others had to say. I provide the signed contract, cancellation policy that says $60 charge if cancellation is less than 30 days from event, circumstances behind the customer's charge back request, and proof I tried to resolve the dispute with a credit, even though we weren't at fault,  and Square takes 100% of purchase out of my bank account within 48 hours. The essentially act as a small claims court where the customer wins 100% of the time regardless of circumstance or legal contract signed. No rights all in the name of convenience for the customer and a 3.5% of gross going to a processing company?

[epidedmyskincar]

Hi, 

I have a similar problem now with 3 charge backs,

why you said that this will be lose in all court as well if we have signed contracts?

I will like to know what you know please?

[Dta]

We had a customer come in DIP their card then file a chargeback. How POSSIBLY can we deter this when no signature is taken any longer on the system, if it would even help. What more then a dipped card do they need. If the card was stolen thats is not our fault and the cc and square should cover the costs. No wonder so many small business' just give up. I see stores as cash only and now I can see why. Then i get charged. Maybe the $1000's i pay in fees should cover the $38 i was just ripped off

[Toplesstattoo]

I was scammed. Person bought and paid for a tractor. Then claimed it wasn't delivered... I hate this crap. No help from square! 

[Ria]

Hi @Toplesstattoo - Welcome to The Seller Community.

I understand how frustrating chargebacks can be.

Where there are purchases, there are payment disputes. As with any transaction, there’s always a risk that your customer will dispute the validity of their purchase. Unfortunately, Square doesn’t decide who wins or loses a dispute—that’s up to the bank that issued your customer’s credit card (like Visa or MasterCard). But our Disputes Resolution Team can help you make your case to your customer’s bank. When the bank makes their decision, it is final—they won’t allow us to assist you any further.

To discuss this further, feel free to contact our Disputes Team. They are available Monday - Friday 6 AM - 6 PM PST. The telephone number is (855)700-6000.

I hope this helps. 

As always, feel free to stop by The Community with question, concerns and even feature requests. We are more than happy to assist. ✨

[Labotanamexican]

I have a restaurant and sell food. When a customer reports/ disputes a charge to their credit card company  and I have to submit “proof” when they paid in person and sign on iPad. How is my sale / business protected? How can I send proof ? 

[Tom]

Hey @Labotanamexican, thanks for reaching out and I'm sorry to hear about the trouble you're running into with this chargeback. I moved your post to this thread where @Kpay's answer above should help clear things up. If any account-specific questions remain, I'd suggest getting in touch with a member of the CS team — they'll be able to take a deeper dive.