Credit Card Chargeback: Everything You Must Know

Have you ever paid for something that you didn’t get? Or have you paid for a service that was never provided to you? If yes, you might be wanting your money back in such situations, but that isn’t possible if you don’t have valid proof for the same. However, all the major e-commerce companies, like Amazon, Flipkart, etc, try their best to ensure that such incidents don’t occur, but still, it happens with a lot of individuals. But, if you have a credit card, you don’t need to worry. Your credit card issuer might give your money back in such situations, provided that you have informed & explained the whole scenario to them in a timely manner. This is what ‘Credit Card Chargeback‘ is all about. To understand it in detail, keep reading the article:

What is Credit Card Chargeback?

Credit Card Chargeback is the amount that is revered to your credit card account as a result of a dispute raised by you. You can raise a dispute to get a chargeback if you have not received an item for which you have already paid using your credit card or if you have noticed an unauthorized transaction on your credit card. A lot of individuals consider a refund and a chargeback as the same thing, but both are different. A refund is given by a merchant, whereas a chargeback comes from your credit card issuer. 

For example, you ordered an item from Flipkart, which was marked as delivered on the app, but you haven’t received it. Now, there might be two cases. First, you tried contacting Flipkart customer care, explained the whole scenario and they refunded your amount. The second case can be: you talked to Flipkart customer care, but they are saying that the item has been handed over to you by their delivery partner and they aren’t ready to give you a refund (however, that rarely happens with a popular company like Flipkart). In this case, you can request a chargeback and your card issuer will give your amount back to you.

If you have asked for a chargeback in the right manner, your card issuer will either talk to your merchant to process the refund or they will give your amount back from their end. In short, credit card chargeback can also be defined as the whole process from raising a dispute against a credit card charge to getting the amount back in your account.

When Should You Request a Chargeback?

Following are the situations in which you can ask your card issuer for a chargeback:

• You didn’t receive a paid item: You can request a chargeback if you didn’t receive an item for which you have paid and it has been marked as ‘delivered’ on the merchant’s website.
• Your ordered item didn’t meet your expectations: If you have ordered an item that is different from what was shown on the merchant’s website or if it didn’t meet your expectations quality-wise, you can request a chargeback if the merchant is not ready to refund your amount.
• In case of fraudulent/unauthorized transactions: If you have received a message regarding a transaction that you didn’t make, you can ask your card issuer for a chargeback as most of the credit cards come with zero liability protection against a lost/stolen card.
• An incorrect amount is charged: If an incorrect amount has been charged on your credit card, you can report it to your card issuer and ask for a chargeback.

How To Request a Chargeback?

If you are going to request a chargeback for a product that was not delivered or was delivered but damaged, you should first try to get the refund from the merchant. The first step should always be to apply for a return & refund for such an item on the merchant’s website itself and proceed further to request a chargeback if you didn’t get a cashback from the merchant. You can contact your credit card customer care to raise a dispute against an undelivered item that was paid, a fraudulent transaction, or an incorrect amount being charged, and ask for a chargeback. You can also raise a dispute by filling out an online application form through the official website of your card issuer. Another way to do the same is to visit your nearest branch and talk to the bank officials regarding your issue. Just make sure to contact your bank officials as soon as possible. Your issue might not be resolved if you report it to your card issuer after a long time.

Bottom Line

Now, you might have understood what a credit card chargeback is, and how it is different from a credit card refund. The option of the chargeback, provided by credit card issuers, is among one of the greatest features of a credit card as you can get a refund for an item, for which a return and refund option has not been provided by the merchant. Moreover, you can also avoid worrying about unauthorized/fraudulent transactions on your credit card as your card issuers take responsibility for any amount that has been spent by fraudsters on your credit card. But still, you must try to keep your credit card information safe as the bank might not provide you with a chargeback if you are responsible for an unauthorized transaction on your card.

If you have any further doubts regarding a credit card chargeback, make sure to ask us in the comment section below!