There are different reasons and circumstances which might cause a cardholder to initiate a Chargeback. Each type of dispute requires different evidence and supporting documentation in order to challenge the Chargeback.
We’ve detailed a short explanation and our recommendations for supporting documentation for each type of dispute below:
| Dispute Code | Evidence Required |
| Fraudulent/Unrecognised Transaction | The customer claims they didn’t authorise this payment. This can be a result of a lost or stolen card, or due to the cardholder not being able to easily recognise the payment. It is not easy to win this kind of dispute, therefore, where possible, try to contact the cardholder to see if you can help resolve this outside of the dispute process. What evidence (documentation) should I use to challenge this type of dispute? Supporting Documentation: Fraudulent or unrecognised transactions are the most common type of chargebacks that we receive and unfortunately, they are becoming increasingly difficult for us to challenge with the banks. We have to categorically prove that the person who used the card to pay, utilised the services. For cases like this, where 3DS has not been used, it can be challenging for merchants to prove this. However, the following documents can be particularly useful in helping the cardholder associate the payment to your business 1. Signed contracts or documents completed by the cardholder. 2. A copy of the booking confirmation OR relevant documentation which includes the cardholder’s personal details, such as Name, Address, Email, and Phone number 3. A hotel check in form (signed by the traveller upon arrival) 4. An insurance waiver (signed by the traveller before their tour commences) 5. Feedback/Review cards (completed by the traveller at the end of their tour/experience) The bank can use this information to check whether it matches the records they hold for the cardholder. Include any relevant email correspondence from the cardholder in relation to this dispute/booking: 1. Perhaps the cardholder emailed you previously to request a refund, however they weren’t eligible for one under the terms of your agreement, therefore they have tried to claim its fraud. We can use this email to help strengthen your case as this proves that the cardholder is applying a dispute unlawfully. 2. If the cardholder has written to you since applying their chargeback, to confirm that they now recognise the payment, please send us a copy of this written correspondence. Banks will not typically allow a cardholder to reverse a fraudulent dispute. Therefore, we must submit as much evidence as possible to the bank, including a copy of any relevant communication between yourself and the cardholder. Once the bank presents a summary of our defence to the cardholder, it’s at this stage that the chargeback can accept liability for the chargeback and withdraw the dispute. What is 3D Secure (3DS)? For extra fraud protection, 3D Secure requires cardholder to complete an additional verification step with the card issuer when paying. Please be advised that even if 3DS is enabled with the payment provider, the cardholder must be enrolled onto 3DS with their bank before the prompt will appear at checkout. Typically, the most common method of verification is where the cardholder is directed to an authentication page on their bank’s website, and they enter a password associated with the card or a onetime passcode sent to their phone. This method of verification is most recognised by customers of VISA and MasterCard. This means that the cardholder is confirming their identity at the time of the booking, rather than us trying to prove this later down the line when we receive a chargeback. 3DS will only protect you against chargebacks applied under the reason code: Fraudulent or unrecognised transaction, therefore 3DS cannot be used to support any other cases. |
| Credit not issued | The customer claims that the product or services have been returned/cancelled and no refund/credit was issued. What evidence (documentation) should I use to challenge this type of dispute? Supporting Documentation: If the cardholder has applied a chargeback with this reason code, you will need to take one of the following steps: 1. Provide evidence that a refund has already been issued back to the cardholder; or 2. Provide evidence that the cardholder was not eligible for a refund If the bank notice that a full refund has already been applied to the transaction; they will likely represent this chargeback on our behalf. However, this isn’t always guaranteed, therefore we recommend that you reach out to us to notify us of such refund so that we can ensure the bank have processed an automatic representment & if not then we can action this on your behalf. If a partial refund was applied prior to the chargeback, then please email us at chargebacks@trustmytravel.com and we can provide further advise on how to represent this case. If a refund was scheduled to go back to the cardholder but it hasn’t been processed, you can accept liability for the dispute to ensure that the cardholder receives their funds via the dispute process. To do this, please email us confirming that you accept the chargeback. If the cardholder is not eligible for a refund, please send us: 1. A copy of your cancellation/refund policy 2. Evidence that the cardholder signed or ticked in agreement to the terms and conditions prior to payment being made. (If your cardholder is asked to tick an agreement on the payment page, please take screenshots of this). 3. Any additional signed agreement between you and the cardholder, proving that the cardholder was fully aware of the terms and conditions of the sale PRIOR to the original payment taking place. 4. Any relevant written communication between yourselves and the cardholder about this dispute 5. Evidence of the previous partial/full refund 6. A written statement advising us why the cardholder is not eligible to dispute this payment. Is it due to the cardholder cancelling outside of the cancellation policy, or due to the already receiving a full/partial refund It is important that the cardholder is fully aware of your terms and conditions/cancellation policy prior to the payment taking place, otherwise the banks may reject this evidence. |
| Cancelled Recurring Transaction | The customer claims that they’ve been charged for a cancelled subscription or other recurring payment. What evidence (documentation) should I use to challenge this type of dispute? Supporting Documentation: If a cardholder is claiming that they have been charged for a recurring payment which has previously been cancelled, then you will need to take one of the following actions: 1. Provide evidence that the recurring transaction has not previously been cancelled 2. If the recurring payment has been cancelled, provide more information on why the payment was deducted To prove to the bank that a recurring transaction had not been cancelled prior to the payment being deducted, you will need to provide: 1. A signed contract between you and the cardholder confirming the terms of sale and length of contract 2. Evidence that additional deductions have taken place since the disputed transaction 3. Any relevant correspondence between you and the cardholder regarding their contractual agreement or this disputed payment If the payment was deducted in error, and the cardholder did in-fact cancel their recurring payment agreement, we can accept liability for the Chargeback so that the cardholder is reimbursed. To do this please email us at chargebacks@trustmytravel.com quoting the chargeback reference (This can be found on your original chargeback notification email) and ask us to accept the dispute |
| Product/Services not received | The customer claims that they never received the products they were charged for. What evidence (documentation) should I use to challenge this type of dispute? Supporting Documentation: If the cardholder is claiming that the services they paid for have not been provided, you will need to take one of the following steps: 1. Provide us with evidence showing that the services were provided 2. Provide us with evidence confirming why the services were not provided To prove that the services were provided to the traveller, we find the following documentation useful: 1. A copy of the booking confirmation/itinerary which is often emailed to the cardholder after booking through you. This must show the date of travel and time of pick up. This proves that the cardholder was notified of the travel arrangements prior to the services taking place. 2. Any signed documentation which was completed by the traveller at the time of the tour. This will prove the traveller was on the tour that day. (Such as a check in form or insurance waiver) 3. If the cardholder left you a review on your website, this can also prove the cardholder utilised your services 4. Photographs of the traveller on tour (which you may ask for your travellers’ consent to use for your social media platforms or website) 5. Any relevant email correspondence you have had with the traveller regarding their trip. Either leading up to the trip or prior, which might help us paint a picture of the events. 6. A copy of your cancellation/refund policy 7. Evidence that the cardholder signed or ticked in agreement to the terms and conditions prior to payment being made. If the services were not provided to the traveller, please email us a written statement outlining your version of events: 1. Was this due to an error with the booking? 2. Did the cardholder not turn up to take their tour that day? If the cardholder didn’t show up for their tour, please provide us with: 1. A copy of your terms and conditions confirming that ‘No Shows’ or last-minute cancellations are not entitled to a refund. 2. Evidence that the cardholder signed or ticked in agreement to the terms and conditions prior to payment being made. If your cardholder is asked to tick in agreement on the payment page, please take screenshots of this. |
| Product/Services not as described | The customer claims the services they paid for were not as described. What evidence (documentation) should I use to challenge this type of dispute? Supporting Documentation: If the cardholder is disputing their payment as they claim that the services you provided to them were not the services they paid for, then you will need to follow one of these steps: 1. Prove that the services the traveller paid for were as described. 2. If the services were not as described, please provide us with more information so we can advise the best action to take. We find that the following documentation can be useful when challenging this type if dispute: 1. A copy of the travel itinerary showing details of the tour/trip. 2. A copy of the tour/services description as it shows on your website 3. If the cardholder left you a review expressing their happiness/gratitude towards the trip, please provide us with a screenshot of this. 4. If your companies tour guides are required to submit daily reports for each tour, addressing whether the tour ran as expected or whether there were any reports of grievances experienced during the day, please send us this. 5. The traveller might apply a dispute under this reason if the weather effected their trip, or natural acts of god effected parts of their trip. In this case, please send us a copy of your terms and conditions showing that you will not be held responsible for such acts. 6. Evidence that the cardholder signed or ticked in agreement to the terms and conditions prior to payment being made. 7. Any relevant email correspondence you have had with the traveller in relation to this booking If the trip that the traveler paid for was not as described, please email us to let us know why this is, and whether or not you feel that the cardholder is entitled to a refund. Perhaps there was an issue during the trip which was rectified at the time, or you offered the cardholder a voucher to use again in the future? If this is the case its always best to follow up with the cardholder via email so that you have record of your attempts to rectify the situation, which can be used as evidence in the event of a dispute. |
| Duplicate Transaction | The customer claims they have been charged more than once for the same purchase. Convincing evidence in this case would be proof that two separate products/services have been purchased. What evidence (documentation) should I use to challenge this type of dispute? Supporting Documentation: If the cardholder is claiming that they have been charged more than once for the same product/services, then you will need to take one of the following steps: 1. Prove that the charges are for separate products/services; or 2. Accept the dispute so that the cardholder is refunded via the dispute process. To prove that the charges are for separate products/services you will need to send us corresponding evidence, such as: 1. Booking confirmation for each service 2. The payment receipts/Invoice for each service 3. Any relevant correspondence between you and the cardholder regarding these payments. 4. A signed contract between you and the cardholder confirming your authorisation to debit two separate payments. If this duplicate payment was processed in error and you would like to authorise a refund to the cardholder, please email us at chargebacks@trustmytravel.com and we can accept the dispute so that the cardholder is credited |
| Cancelled Services | The cardholder claims that the merchant has charged them for a service that was cancelled. What evidence (documentation) should I use to challenge this type of dispute? Supporting Documentation: If the cardholder is disputing the payment as they claim that the services they purchased from you were cancelled, then you will need to follow one of these steps: 1. Provide evidence that the reservation is active, and no cancellation has been requested 2. If the services were cancelled, please provide us with more information on why the cardholder has not been refunded. (Was the cancellation request received outside if your cancellation policy window) 3. If the services were cancelled and you would like to accept the chargeback so that the cardholder can be refunded, please let us know. We find that the following documentation can be useful when challenging this type if dispute: 1. A copy of the travel itinerary showing details of the tour/trip. (Such as the date the trip was scheduled to take place) 2. Evidence that the cardholder signed or ticked in agreement to your terms and conditions or cancellation policy prior to processing the payment. 3. A copy of your cancellation policy 4. A copy of the cardholders written cancellation request (Showing the date the cancellation was requested) 5. Any relevant email correspondence you have had with the traveller regarding this booking. Such as cancellation requests or discussions of this nature. If the services that the traveller paid for were cancelled and they are entitled to receive a refund, please email us at chargebacks@trustmytravel.com quoting the chargeback reference (This can be found on your original chargeback notification email) and we can accept the dispute so that the cardholder is refunded via the dispute process. |