How can I appeal an unfair chargeback as a merchant?

[Niza]

I lost an unreasonable chargeback and Shopify refused to provide me with any information for an appeal.

The reason for the chargeback was product unacceptable. 

I offer 6 months warranty for my products, so if there was a faulty item, I would exchange or refund it. 

The customer didn't attempt to contact me about the item went on to request a chargeback straight away.

I also tried to get in touch with him when the chargeback request was issued, but he never replied.

Since I haven’t received the original piece, nor the customer reached out to me, I think he defrauded me, got the money back and keep the piece. 

This is really annoying me, as I feel helpless and angry. As a merchant, we are not protected, and this could happen again! The item was £90, but what happened if it's something much more expensive !!!???

[Shay]

Hi Niza,

Thank you for sharing your recent experience with the chargeback process here in the community forums. Chargebacks are never a fun experience for merchants, regardless of the outcome. I know you feel that this chargeback was unfair and that the resolution provided by the customer's bank is not one you agree with. I'd like to share a bit of information about chargebacks with you to help you with this process if you ever receive one again in the future. 

Chargebacks are an unfortunate side effect of accepting credit cards as a form of payment. Customers have the ability to open a chargeback on any credit card charge that is less than 90 days old. When this happens, the customer's bank will immediately deduct the amount they paid from the merchant account and hold it while they review the chargeback case. This process is entirely out of Shopify's hands, we are not able to stop the withdrawal or control it in any way. Our system is setup that when the chargeback process is created for the order that a feedback option becomes available within the order details. This is a place for you to provide your own evidence to the contrary that the product was received, in good condition, and that you attempted to contact the customer to resolve the chargeback issue. 

You have a set period of time to fill in your evidence before it is submitted to the bank for a review. This review is not done by Shopify, it is done by the customer's bank/credit card processor and Shopify has no say at all in the review. The bank will then come to a final decision and choose to refund the customer or return the funds to the merchant account. 

You can find out more information on this process in our Help Center: Chargebacks and inquiries 

When a customer places an order on your store, there is a built in fraud alert for the order that can be reviewed on the right hand side of the order details screen. While this system isn't fool-proof, it is very reliable that if it says the order is a risk at all that there will be a chargeback. This tool uses a wide range of services on the backend to come to this decision, so even if it just shows the IP address as out of place but still a high risk of fraud, it's best to go with it and refund the order to the customer. 

If you find that your store is being targeted or at a high risk of receiving chargebacks in the future I would recommend reviewing the available third party services that are out there to either insure your orders against a chargeback or prevent high risk customers from placing orders. You can review the apps available in our app store HERE. 

I hope this information helps you and your business in the future.

[JAHlove]

You did not answer the question, Shay. ***How do we appeal an unreasonable chargeback?*** I just lost a chargeback AFTER contacting the customer, who apologized, said her card was recently hacked and that she would contact her back. THE BANK STILL TOOK MY BUSINESS MONEY.  This is not just unreasonable, this is the bank stealing my business's hard earned money. Here is exactly what the customer said: "Hi, I had my card hacked and had to have a new one issued, I am not sure if that is where the charge back came from? I did receive the package and I love it! I am not disputing the charge so I am not sure if it stems from the hacking. I can provide another payment if needed. Thank you for bringing this to my attention. I will correct it." Next thing I know, my transaction is being called fraudulent. I don't care if it was $1.50 -- this is WRONG. On principle. Period. I WOULD LIKE TO APPEAL. 

[Shay]

Hi @JAHlove 

Thank you for reaching out about this and for sharing those details. 

Please know that in cases where a customer has moved forward with cancelling a chargeback, they are able to collect an official statement from their bank to verify that. They can provide you with that document and our team will investigate if they can reverse this chargeback. The customer should be able to resolve this with their bank directly and provide you that evidence.

In regards to disputing a chargeback decision, that is not something that Shopify provides the ability for. Chargeback decisions are made by the customer's bank and we do not have the ability to dispute that. If you want to move forward with disputing this chargeback I would recommend seeking outside legal support to do so. 

[hoovdini]

The problem is that Shopify doesn't allow any appeals to the decision, even though Visa and Mastercard do. Shopify doesn't give a damn, it makes no difference to them either way, and they don't make any more money in either case. So they don't help you or allow merchants to appeal. They don't care. At all. Isn't that obvious now?  

We win maybe 20% of the chargebacks, even though I and all merchants are keenly aware of when it's "friendly fraud".   And even if you have all the evidence, email communications, from a customer, no matter what, it won't help you. And Shopify doesn't lift a finger to help you, or even ALLOW you to do an appeal.  Why?

[Maria_Daniela_R]

It happened to us two, twice. We lost 1500 EUR and 500 EUR in two opportunities. Imagine our frustration. I can't believe how this is possible and there's no way for merchants to defend themselves. This is unbelievably terrible for Merchants.

[SNKRTees]

Shopify needs to offer some sort of appeal process for merchants to have a second review opportunity to further investigate false chargeback claims and/or losses. I've provided shipping labels, photos of where exactly a package was left by the carrier at the residence, delivery signatures, packaging slips, proof of tracking, detailed timed package movement, customer communications confirming delivery, and still lost chargebacks. Customers can dispute a charge and the funds are taken immediately before the merchant can prove otherwise, then takes a month or more for decision to be made.  Customers usually dispute right after a tracking # is given to them. They know the package is on the way and can't be re-routed so they file a false claim with a chance of getting their merchandise for FREE.

[SNKRTees]

Shopify needs to offer some sort of appeal process for merchants to have a second review opportunity to further investigate false chargeback claims and/or losses. I've provided shipping labels, photos of where exactly a package was left by the carrier at the residence, delivery signatures, packaging slips, proof of tracking, detailed timed package movement, customer communications confirming delivery, and still lost chargebacks. Customers can dispute a charge and the funds are taken immediately before the merchant can prove otherwise, then takes a month or more for decision to be made.  Customers usually dispute right after a tracking # is given to them. They know the package is on the way and can't be re-routed so they file a false claim with a chance of getting their merchandise for FREE.