Disputed charges and chargebacks are an unfortunate fact of doing business, but here are ten things you can do to reduce your risk:
Make sure that customers will recognize the name that appears on their credit card or bank account statements. You can set or update your company name that will be shown on your business settings page. We recommend you choose the name that customers most closely associate with you and their purchase. This might not be your official corporate name—your website domain or the product for which you are known may be a good choice.
Send receipts upon payment so your customers can recall what they paid for.
Similarly, have clear return and refund policies and make it really easy for customers to find them on your website. It’s also a good idea to include these policies on your service agreements or contracts.
If you ship or rent physical goods, promptly ship them after collecting payment. Estimate shipping and delivery dates as accurately as you can, and communicate accurate delivery times clearly with your customer. Keep customers updated throughout the delivery process, and if shipping delays arise unexpectedly, keep your customer apprised. Save shipping labels, and especially for high value products considering requiring a signature upon receipt. For shipped items, use online tracking and delivery confirmation. If you do receive a dispute for product not received, and have delivered or shipped product, always try to include a delivery receipt and/or full shipping label with tracking number present in your evidence submission.
If you ship physical products, consider shipping only to addresses that match a verified billing address or reaching out to the customer before shipping to a different address and ensure that you pack and ship your products in a way that protects them from being damaged in transit.
For digital goods or services, maintain access logs or documentation that tie use back to the customer.
Make sure your product descriptions are clear and accurate and the same for service descriptions on proposals, service contracts, agreements.
Respond promptly and handle customer requests for replacements for defective or damaged products promptly.
Make it really easy for irate customers to find your customer service contact information, and respond to customer inquiries quickly.
And most importantly, equip yourself with knowledge on known and recurring scams and fraudulent activity that is prevalent in the wedding and events industry so that you can recognize suspicious activity before you become a victim. No matter how diligent you are in following the first 9 steps above, chargebacks and disputes can still happen if you have accepted a fraudulent payment (whether by credit card, check, wire transfer or ACH) that can leave you and your business financially devastated. We recommend taking a moment to read the following articles: