⚠️This article is applicable to storEDGE customers using Storable Payments to process payments. 

What is a chargeback?

A chargeback is a disputed charge initiated by a cardholder. A cardholder may dispute a charge they do not recognize or believe to be illegitimate. 

The process can vary by card brand and issuing bank but in general, the process of a chargeback works as follows:

1. The cardholder disputes a charge with their bank.
2. The issuing bank temporarily awards the cardholder funds in the amount of the charge being disputed. 
3. The issuing bank will request more information from the merchant to understand why the charge was submitted. Any supporting documentation provided by the merchant is taken into consideration when determining the legitimacy of the charge.
4. The issuing bank will make a decision in favor of the merchant or in favor of the cardholder.
5. The bank will award funds in the amount of the disputed charge to the winning party. If the issuing bank finds the charge to be legitimate, the funds are debited from the card holder’s account and are credited back to the merchant. If the charge is found to be illegitimate, the funds will remain credited to the cardholder.

Where can I view my chargeback activity?

Click the Payments icon from the navigation menu at the Corporate Level of storEDGE. 

Select the Chargebacks tab from the menu at the top of the page.

The chargebacks page provides real-time visibility into your chargeback activity and chargeback statuses. You can view all chargebacks for all of your facilities as well as filter by date range, facility, or search for a specific chargeback.

Chargebacks are separated into Open and Closed tabs.

The Cycle column shows which stage the chargeback is in:

• First - The Cardholder has disputed the transaction and the funds have been reversed from your account.
• Retrieval - The card issuer is looking for more information about the transaction.
• Representment - Both parties submit the first round of supporting evidence.
• Pre-Arbitration - The cardholder lost the first dispute and both parties submit more evidence.
• Arbitration -
  • a. The cardholder lost the second dispute and both parties will arbitrate further with the card brand for a final decision.
  • b. The final decision is made by a third party for the Merchant or Cardholder to receive full, partial or no credit.
• Reversal - The card issuer has acknowledged that the transaction is valid and will return funds back to you, the merchant.
  

Accept or dispute a chargeback

1. To respond to an open chargeback, click the Respond button.
2. Select the radio button for either Yes to dispute the chargeback or No to accept liability.
If you select No, you will be asked to confirm that you want to accept liability and automatically lose the chargeback.  Click Yes, Submit to accept liability.  Please note: this action cannot be undone.
If you select Yes, you can upload supporting documentation.  Supporting documentation to help justify the legitimacy of the charge. This can include but is not limited to signed contracts, signed receipts, payment history from the same card, or a cover letter addressing the situation that led to the dispute of the original transaction. The following file types are accepted: PDF, JPG, JPEG, TIFF, GIF, TIF, or PNG. Click Upload Files and select the documents you want to upload.
3. Click Submit.  You’ll be asked to confirm that you want to submit the chargeback response. Once documentation is submitted, it can’t be undone. If you are ready to proceed, click Yes, Submit to submit your dispute.

You can click Respond for an open or Details for a closed chargeback to view the chargeback details and download the supporting documentation you provided.

Who at my company will be notified when there is a chargeback?

To view or update the email address for the best contact to notify in case of a chargeback, click Edit Notifications from the Chargebacks page. 

Use the Facility dropdown menu to switch between locations on your account. You will see the email address that will be notified of chargebacks for each facility. 

If you need to change an email address, enter the email address for us to contact in the Chargeback Contact Email field and click Submit. 

Please note: We do not currently support sending chargeback notifications to multiple email addresses. If multiple people at your company need to receive chargeback notifications for each location, we recommend setting up a distribution list and using that email address as the chargeback notification email.

What is Storable Payments’ involvement in chargebacks?

When an issuing bank receives a dispute from a customer, we will send you an email to notify you of the chargeback. This notification will include a Response Due Date, which is the deadline for submitting documentation before the issuing bank closes the dispute.

The Storable Payments Support Team can assist in the facilitation of disputes for our merchants. However, the card holder’s bank makes the ultimate decision about the legitimacy of the disputed charge in each case. If you have questions about responding to a chargeback, please contact our support team at support@storedge.com or by phone at (888) 403-0665.

Important Reminders

• Do not issue a refund for the disputed charge. Once a dispute has been filed, the cardholder (in most instances) is immediately awarded funds in the amount of the disputed transaction. Issuing a refund could result in the cardholder receiving duplicate funds. 
  • If a dispute has been filed after a transaction was already refunded, send our support team a refund receipt proving that the funds have been returned and a cover letter explaining the situation.
• Depending on the cycle of the chargeback, the cardholder can dispute a transaction more than once. Card brands have different parameters around how many times a cardholder can dispute a charge and the cycle in which funds are credited/debited. If you’ve won a dispute, there could still be a window of time during which the cardholder can dispute the transaction for a second or third time. This means that the status of a chargeback shown on the Chargebacks page of the Payments portal could go from closed back to open. 
• The Storable Payments Support Team is not involved in the decision making component of this process. We can only facilitate the submission of documentation or accept liability on a merchant’s behalf.
• The time between submission and an official decision varies by card brand and issuing bank and can take anywhere from 30-120 days.