Debt Collection For SaaS Providers
Handling Chargebacks
Most people hear about chargebacks and they feel as though they know the term but do not know what the term means. Put simply, a chargeback is the reversal of credit card payments that come directly from whatever institution you bank with. Chargebacks are great for the person who gets money back into their account, but for merchants and business owners, they can be frustrating. They can even threaten how well your business is able to stay afloat which means they can almost threaten your livelihood. Chargebacks can be helpful in some ways and damaging in others. Below are how chargebacks are explained and a few steps you can take when it comes to handling them so you don’t have to lose any more chargeback disputes or feel like you are constantly flushing money down the toilet.
Figure out where the source is coming from
If someone that has shopped with you files for a chargeback, there is going to be a reason attached to it that is supposed to explain in detail why the cardholder requested the reversal. However, as eCommerce has begun to grow, so has fraud which is beginning to make the reason codes unreliable. Now it is hard for merchants to recognize whether or not chargebacks are reliable as the reason codes can easily disguise fraud. All chargebacks are a result of merchant errors, friendly fraud, or criminal fraud and it is important to use intelligent software in order to know which one it is. Once you know what happened it is easier to find a way to work through handling the chargebacks.
Figure out the best way for representment
Most chargebacks happen as a result of friendly fraud which, while it sounds bad, is not as terrible as it may appear at first. You cannot technically dispute these types of charges when it is an error on your part or criminal fraud, but you can beat them when they are friendly fraud and it is important to always fight back. It is very beneficial to fight back as banks think of you more highly which makes them do a little more digging and searching when they do things regarding your business, it helps you get money back that otherwise would have been gone forever, and it discourages people from trying to do that to you ever again when they do not think they can get away with it. This all sounds great but it is important to realize that dealing with chargebacks is not an easy fight to take on. You have to have evidence and hard proof that you are in the right, and you need a professional approach, not an automated one. When you have professionalism, professionals who know how to handle this type of thing, and hard evidence on your side of the story then you are much more likely to win the case than you would be if you did not have any of this on your side as the merchant.
Put in a system so you can prevent any chargebacks from happening
If you experience chargebacks that are not friendly fraud but rather a merchant error or criminal fraud you cannot dispute the chargebacks which are definitely unfortunate but it does not mean that you are just going to hit a wall. They may have happened this time but there are some things you can do to make sure that these things do not happen again in the future which will protect you as the merchant and our business.
Most of these things are able to happen as a result of their own errors which really do not seem like they are that big of a deal at the moment. However, it is those small details in things such as your policies and procedures that are what cause the biggest problems. Casting light onto any of these things that have errors can help you and your business course correct quickly so that you are not doing anything unknowingly that could result in a chargeback. It is important to do this type of analysis so you can figure out the best fraud filters or adjustments you need to make so that you do not have chargeback issues as a result of criminal fraud or merchant error in the future. It is important to keep in mind that minor errors can have some pretty major consequences and they are easily preventable.
Realize that you cannot do it on your own and should get professional help for long-term solutions
While it may seem like it is the best option to keep the issue in the house and try to handle it on your own, it is not always the best solution. If something happens and there are no other options but to handle it in house, it could be the most responsive course of action in the moment, but in long-term issues, it can actually be a very inefficient thing to do when it comes to managing chargebacks and keeping them from happening altogether.
Most teams in SaaS agencies do not have the training, resources, or experience to handle it on their own or to keep up with the constantly changing rules and big jargon. It is important to invest in professional help from debt collection agencies as soon as you can. Debt collection agencies have the training and expertise to help you handle it once and for all and take one more thing off your plate that you have to worry about.