Manage chargebacks with ROLLER Payments

A chargeback occurs when a cardholder disputes a payment and contacts their bank asking for a refund. No business likes receiving a chargeback, but when one is coming your way, you want to know about it as soon as possible.

This article outlines how to manage the chargeback process and send the right information to the ROLLER Payments team, who will then submit the information to the relevant parties on your behalf and keep you informed of the outcome.

The chargeback process

Where there are purchases, there are payment disputes and with any transaction, there’s always a risk that your guest will dispute the validity of their purchase. 

When a guest disputes a payment and contacts their bank asking for a refund, this is called a chargeback. When a chargeback is created, the disputed funds are withdrawn from your account until the dispute gets cleared.

ROLLER does not decide who wins or loses a dispute - that’s up to the bank that issued your guest's credit card (like American Express, MasterCard or Visa). But instant email notifications for chargebacks can help you make your case to your guest's bank.

Instant chargeback email notifications

When a cardholder (your guest) initiates a payment dispute against you, their bank will initiate a chargeback.

ROLLER will notify the primary and billing contacts set up in ROLLER by email as soon as the chargeback is received, helping you to maximize your time to build a strong case. 

Chargeback email notifications include important information such as:

• The reason for the dispute and the defense deadline
• The direct link to the booking in Venue Manager where you can see the guest and booking details needed to build your defense

ROLLER will also notify you when a request for information is received. Requests for information are seen as a precursor to chargebacks. Therefore, successfully providing the requested information can prevent a chargeback and save you from chargeback fees.

Read on for what to do when you receive a chargeback notification or request for information, and if required, how to respond to us with the required information to build your defense. 

Contact your guest

We suggest getting in touch with your guest and discussing the chargeback before you respond.

This will allow you to clarify their issue and possibly resolve the problem directly. It’s possible that there is a misunderstanding or they simply did not recognize or remember the transaction when they viewed their statement.

Requests for information (RFI)

A request for information is a non-financial dispute. The cardholder has reached out to their bank for either: 

• Requesting more details about a transaction
• The bank needs additional details before they can move forward with a chargeback

Requests for information can be seen as a precursor to the chargeback dispute where money movement will take place. We recommend that merchants respond to all incoming requests with details about the transaction and other relevant evidence. Some common examples include:

• Exporting booking details and forms
• Transaction details, usually found in the booking details view and transactions list view, such as:
  • Confirmation email
  • Payment Amount
  • Time
  • Payment type
  • Guest Name
• Customer Waiver (if applicable)
• Proof that the customer has redeemed their ticket

You must send this information to the ROLLER Payments team. See below for how to do so. 

Chargeback defense

The requirements for defending against disputes vary depending on the reason for the dispute. For all types of disputes, you must provide documents with details of transactions to help you build a strong case to challenge the dispute. Some common examples include:

• Transaction details, usually found in the booking details view and transactions list view, such as:
  • Confirmation email
  • Payment Amount
  • Time
  • Payment type
  • Cardholder Name
• Customer Waiver (if applicable)
• Evidence the guest received the service at the agreed date and time
• Record of previous non-disputed payments
• Proof that the transaction in dispute has already been refunded
• Proof that your policies and terms and conditions were conveyed to the guest

You must send this evidence to the ROLLER Payments team. See below for how to do so. 

Where do I send the information and evidence?

You must send any requests for information or chargeback defense evidence to the ROLLER Payments team at payments@rollerdigital.com. We will submit the information and evidence to the appropriate parties on your behalf. You will be able to check the outcome of the chargeback in your ROLLER Payments Transactions report - you'll see either ChargebackReversed for won, or SecondChargeback for lost. Note that the time to resolve a chargeback ranges from 1-4 weeks generally.

Defense deadline

There are strict timeframes to exercise and defend a chargeback. The timeframes differ depending on the issuer. The notice of chargeback will include the Number of days to act (in calendar days). This means the amount of time available in calendar days to respond to the chargeback.

Chargeback outcomes

If the chargeback is successfully overturned, the funds under dispute will be returned to you. If the chargeback is upheld in the cardholder's favour, you will be debited for the chargeback amount which includes any chargeback fees from your next payout.

You'll be able to see the outcome of the chargeback towards the bottom of the Payments Dashboard in Venue Manager, in the Chargebacks list.

Bank transfer chargebacks (SOFORT)

For chargebacks received from bank transfer payment methods such as Sofort, there is no facilitated dispute management.

There is no automated way to defend and reverse these chargebacks. For example, there is no interbank scheme (as there is for cards, like Visa and MasterCard) that facilitates this process. No recourse is possible and funds will be returned to the account holder by default.

It is recommended you follow up with your guest to collect payment for Sofort chargebacks and/or terminate any bookings associated with the chargeback if necessary. 

Accept a chargeback

Disputing a chargeback is a good idea if you have compelling evidence to submit. However, you may find a chargeback is filed against you that is difficult to contest or you may decide that the amount in dispute is not worth the time and effort to fight for.

Accept the dispute to avoid a lengthy (and possibly costly) dispute process. You may want to accept the dispute if:

• Your supporting documents do not satisfy the defense document requirements.
• The transaction amount is not high enough to spend resources on compelling evidence.
• The transaction amount does not outweigh the risk of losing the chargeback fee for the second booked chargeback.
• The transaction is known to be fraudulent.
• The guest has returned the goods or you have failed to deliver the goods.

You can accept the dispute and absorb the cost of the disputed funds. In this case:

• Do not refund the guest's credit card. The bank has already withdrawn funds from your account until the dispute is cleared. 
• Email us at payments@rollerdigital.com stating that you do NOT wish to dispute the chargeback and the ROLLER Payments team will communicate your decision to the relevant parties.