#ERROR!

[FearNot]

We have been in business for 7 years but have been with Shopify for just the past year.  In all the years past, we never had a chargeback go in the customers favor because we have great documentation and email communication with customers and always have a signature showing proof of delivery.  In the past year being with Shopify every chargeback has gone in the favor of the customer.  The last time we even had an email showing they received their order and a signature from FedEx, but their claim of not receiving the order still went for them.

I feel like there is a problem with the way Shopify transmits the documentation to other banks or something because with the other merchant services we had it was never a problem.  We are feeling insecure selling now, knowing a customer could at any time, for any reason win a chargeback claim even though we have all documentation and proof needed to show their claim is false.  

I am curious if other shop owners are seeing the same thing.  When I call about this I am told the same thing over and over ... that it is all in the hands of the other bank, there is nothing they can do ... but this is not correct.  Other merchant services will fight for you and even resend documentation to escalate a chargeback claim and have it looked at again.  

Someone needs to look at this and figure out what is going wrong with the documentation being sent to the other banks showing proof of a good transaction.  If Shopify is not transmitting the information correctly, causing losses for shops, that is a liability for Shopify so they ought to be looking into it.

[pinktoeshairbow]

Yes I've been looking for forums on this subject and came across yours. I've been having this issue alot lately, and I didn't used to have this issue until I started using Shopify payments. PayPal helps sellers way more . In my case the customers are getting the items and doing chargebacks to get the money back. There are several fb groups and even TikToks on showing ppl how to get orders for free by filing chargebacks a certain way and I'm certain that Shopify is aware of this. They really should do more to protect sellers. In my case all of the chargebacks were filed as "product defective" or "credit not processed" .

In the product defective cases I uploaded all evidence that items had no issue when sent, even photos of the customers from their social media wearing the so called defective items and they still win the case 

In the case of credit not processed, customers tell the bank I agreed to a refund, when I didn't, I upload evidence, they still win. I have lost every chargeback, and I also pay extra for fraud protect, but fraud protect doesn't cover chargebacks that are filed a certain way which is insane because basically scammers have just found another way around.

I've lost too many where it's not the cost of business anymore, it's simply customers scamming and Shopify doesn't care. There are so many businesses that this is happening to especially this past year,we have been considering rallying together to pursue legal action because it's not fair to sellers. When you contact Shopify they tell you the same thing that is stated in their help page, which is no help

[FearNot]

We are going to go back to Woocommerce this year because of this and a few other problems we are having.  We cannot customize certain things on the site that are important, like the order that shipping methods show up on the site.  We never had a problem with chargebacks till we started using Shopify and I really do not believe that the proof we upload to Shopify is sent to the deciding bank correctly.  I have spent much time on the phone with a couple of people there who are completely unhelpful.  They only want to talk about the reasons customers do chargebacks and how it is not up to them if the chargeback goes through or not.  When I tell them that the documentation is somehow not getting to the decision makers they cannot show me proof that it was sent to them. Very frustrating. 

[urban802]

Spot on. I have same issues.  Chargebacks open, zero fraud indicators, I require proper billing zip code to CC card, and CVC code.  Show proof of delivery, and in several instances, Customers responded to us that the chargeback was a mistake because they didn't recognize the charge on their card. Yet lost them ALL.  I have a different theory, this is a nice extra revenue stream for Shopify....since we have NO way to interact with the other bank, we have no idea if we won or not.  Coincidentally enough I have a recent one with AFFIRM, so didn't run thru Shopify...and WON.  Something doesn't smell right in Shopifyland and if enough people start complaining...maybe Shopify will change their practices.  If not somebody needs to look into this closely.

[Taylor_007]

Same issues im having mentioned in the prior posts. Funny thing is even with a signature you will still loose the case. Why incur the extra fee for signatures if it doesn't even protect the merchant. You can clearly see customer using item on social media and still loose the chargeback case smh. I think the customer can even state YES! im scamming the merchant and they will still win the case lol sad times being a merchant.

But if you notice most Shopify built apps are not that great. If you ever try to use such apps as the google merchant app or the ebay one, which is being decommissioned since it doesn't work! Its like they build trash apps so you have to pay for an app in the App Store to do the job right. Compared to having a base system that actually works.

[rick99]

Recently we had two chargebacks from the same customer, a real nutcase, the type you have nightmares about.  In one instance they cancelled a 10,000 order after it was configured and ready to ship.  We refunded everything but a small fee for processing which was a concession because our policies clearly state there are restocking fees on commercial equipment that is customized.  We included all this info with screen prints with our response....but the they sided with customer only saying "credit not processed."

On the second one, the customer used the item for 30 days, then returned without the original packaging, in a flimsy box where the machine was completely damaged, broken, and not operable after receiving it. We advised the customer that we cannot accept it because it was received broken.  They have UPS pick it up and they put a claim in.  Then he puts a chargeback in and claims the entire 2000$.  We respond to this chargeback again attaching the return policy "must be returned in original condition" and added to the response that we DO NOT HAVE THE MACHINE, that the customer had UPS pick it up to claim it.  GUESS WHAT??? HE WON THAT CHARGEBACK TOO!!!!!!

HOW IS THIS POSSIBLE.......SO he gets a FULL REFUND and he probably will get the UPS Claim 

Someone PLEASE EXPLAIN!

[sonyashotwheels]

Glad I found this thread-I don't feel so bad now. Sounds like I should be exploring my options. I had a chargeback in November and the customer contacted me on Instagram even though the transaction had gone through Shop Pay. She advised me that she had many fraudulent transactions on her credit card and one merchant gladly refunded her so she didn't have to do a chargeback.  I didn't quite understand how she had so many fraudulent charges before the card was shut down, but whatever. I can tell you I understand she knew what she was doing. That one chargeback put me above the 1% threshold and now I can't use Shop Pay. All customer service said was Shop Pay will be available to you in 6 months if you have no other issues in that time frame. Just a few weeks after that decision I get another chargeback-this time on Facebook. Customer has not contacted me and the item shows delivered. I didn't even get the chance to give a refund AND lose the product to avoid the chargeback. 

Now I see that Facebook is sending orders to Shopify and I can't get paid until I ship and then I have to manually capture the payment. I don't know what to think, but it's scary to think someone can ruin your business over a $10 order after you have spent months building it and doing all the right things. I got off Ebay to avoid these scammers and here they come again with the extortion. Not to mention if someone doesn't like you it's pretty easy to ruin you. 

[mwagner]

This is kinda the case, but it's just about changing your response to fit with what works on Shopify. It's true that PayPal and some other processors will side with the merchant on most issues, but you can absolutely still win 60-70% of chargebacks on Shopify, even "credit not processed" and "product unacceptable" chargebacks as someone else mentioned.

Here's how to win chargebacks on Shopify:

Generally, the short and sweet responses are the ones that work, not the long, detailed and compelling responses most merchants try to write. At the end of the day, I guess you have to think that there's another human reading this response and determining who gets to keep the money, and they don't want to have to read and comprehend a long response. It's best to have laser focus on whatever the case reason is (for example fraudulent), and present short, compelling, and clear evidence on why there's a 0% chance that order is actually fraudulent. Nothing else matters, just disproving the case reason.

Honestly it takes a LOT of trial and error to find winning chargeback responses, and if you don't get a ton of chargebacks, that's just not realistic. That's why I built a shopify app that automates 100% of the process of answering chargebacks, and we see well over a 50% win rate across the board on chargebacks. Plus, we can prevent most chargebacks so it doesn't even have to get to the point where you're fighting for your money back. Give it a shot before you think about switching from Shopify.

[derekLH]

Thats rubbish - we have used woo and stripe for 3 years and not one issue. Shopify payments is floored. reccomends fufill order when it is risk and cancel others that are ok. i have had 3 chargebacks in 6 months using shopify.

[AK81]

@Shopify,

This issue requires urgent attention as it poses a serious problem. Customers are receiving products, initiating chargebacks, and promptly receiving refunds, leaving merchants to bear the brunt of the consequences. This practice is blatantly unfair and needs to be addressed immediately.

We urge you to take decisive action to rectify this situation. Such practices undermine the integrity of the system and unfairly disadvantage merchants. It is imperative that measures be implemented to prevent this from happening in the future.

We implore you to prioritize finding a solution to this serious issue. Thank you for your attention to this matter.