Event Organisers - Understanding Chargebacks

What is a chargeback?

A dispute (also known as a chargeback) occurs when a cardholder questions your payment with their card issuer. The issuer creates a formal dispute which immediately reverses the payment. The payment amount, along with a separate £15.00 dispute fee (for users in the United Kingdom) levied by the card network, is then deducted from your account balance.

 

How EtchRock handles chargebacks?

As EtchRock facilitates payment processing through Stripe connect, and through EtchRock payment processing, there are two scenarios for handling chargebacks. These have been detailed below. 

• Where event partners use their own merchant accounts to process payments, the account holder is responsible for disputing chargebacks. Stripe provide guidance on responding to disputes or you can reach out to us using [e-mail] for help. 
•  For event partners that use EtchRock's payment processing, we handle the chargeback dispute in conjunction with the organiser. 

For partners using EtchRock's payment processing

If a customer files a chargeback with their cardholder, EtchRock’s policy is to investigate and respond to all chargebacks on behalf of our event partners. We communicate with the involved banks and, where relevant, provide evidence to prove the sale was legitimate.

We will notify you of the chargeback and you may be required to provide information such as emails that could help the dispute. 

Preventing Chargebacks 

Disputes are an unfortunate aspect of accepting payments online and the best way to manage them is to prevent them from happening at all. 

Clear and frequent contact with your customers can help prevent many of the reasons for disputes. By responding to issues and processing refunds, transfers or deferrals quickly, your customers are far less likely to take the time to dispute a payment. Make your customer service contact information prominent and keep customers updated. 

You should include a clear description of your refund and cancellation policies in your terms of service. You can require your users to agree to your terms of service in order to increase the likelihood that card issuers respect your policies in the event of a dispute.