A chargeback, also referred to as a payment dispute, occurs when a cardholder questions a transaction and asks their card-issuing bank to reverse it. The ability to dispute a payment is meant to protect consumers from unauthorized transactions.

For any business, this can be pretty frustrating, which is why we've made it easy for you to be notified and contest a chargeback right within the app. Looking for ways to prevent chargebacks in the future? Check out Understanding Chargebacks & Failed Transaction Fees.

In this article, we will cover:

• Overview of the Chargeback Process
• How to View a Chargeback
• How to Respond to a Chargeback
• FAQs
• Tips to Win Chargebacks (Wodify Payments)

Overview of the Chargeback Process

1. The charge is processed. A customer makes a digital purchase using their card or bank account.
2. The cardholder disputes the charge. The cardholder sees this transaction and files a dispute with their bank.
3. The chargeback amount and $15 fee are deducted from your account directly and provided to the issuing bank. If you win the chargeback dispute, then the exact amount that was deducted will be returned to you in your next payout. The bank will continue to hold these funds until they consider the dispute resolved. A banner is displayed on the disputed invoice notifying you of the chargeback.
4. The issuing bank sets a deadline for chargeback determination. You can submit evidence dispute the chargeback through the chargeback banner on the disputed invoice. Wodify Support can help you to identify, obtain, and submit this evidence.
5. On the deadline date, Wodify submits your evidence to the issuing bank. The issuing bank will then make a determination as to whether or not the products and/or services were delivered as advertised. We delay evidence submission to the deadline automatically to grant you the maximum amount of time to settle the dispute or submit evidence. If you take no action on your chargeback, Wodify will automatically submit a pre-generated dispute and attempt to recover the lost sale.
6. The funds are provided to whomever the bank determined to be the rightful recipient of those funds. 

How to View a Chargeback

To view a Chargeback:

1. Go to Financial > Payouts
2. If a chargeback has been issued, you'll see a banner at the top of the page with the invoice(s) number. 
   
   

How to Respond to a Chargeback

Wodify does most of the heavy lifting for you when it comes to providing evidence that your charge was legitimate. The only work required on your end is to briefly describe why you believe the charge was legitimate. For membership fee disputes, this could be as simple as pointing towards the attendance history and signed contract as evidence that the client used their membership. When you’re ready, submit your evidence. Your billing admins will receive an email summary containing all the info submitted to the clients’ credit card issuer or bank as evidence.

To respond to a chargeback:

1. Go to Financial > Payouts
   
   
2. Click into the Invoice # > Click Respond to Chargeback
   
   
   
   
3. In the Respond to Chargeback window
   • Briefly describe why you should win this chargeback dispute
   • Upload additional evidence
   • Submit signed contract (upload your own, if you prefer paper contracts)
   • Submit attendance history
   • Submit emailed receipt 
     
     
4. Click Respond to Chargeback
   
   

Note: Wodify automatically provides the attendance history, paid receipt, and signed a contract for you by default when you respond to a chargeback

FAQs

1. What should I do when I receive a chargeback notification?
   You have Four Options:
   
   1. Contact the client
      • On the affected invoice, you can use the Contact client link to get in touch with the cardholder to understand the reason for the chargeback. It’s possible that the client simply did not recognize the transaction. Contacting the client can often help resolve the issue quickly. If the chargeback is the result of a misunderstanding, then the client can ask their credit card issuer or bank to withdraw the chargeback at any time. 
   2. Respond to the chargeback
      • To respond to a chargeback, open the affected invoice and click Respond to chargeback. Enter any additional evidence - aside from what has been automatically generated by Wodify - that the client did, in fact, receive the product or service within the expected timeframe.
   3. Accept the chargeback
      • You can choose to accept the chargeback, leaving the sale reversed. This option is available on the affected invoice via the Accept chargeback link. You should do this if the reason for the chargeback is legitimate (for example, if your products or services were not delivered).
   4. Automated recovery attempt
      • To help you successfully overturn chargebacks, Wodify will automatically respond on your behalf if you do not submit supporting evidence before the chargeback deadline.
        
        
2. What do the chargeback statuses mean, and how can I tell when it changes?
   When a chargeback first comes in, its status is Needs Response. When you update the chargeback with evidence, Wodify submits that evidence on your behalf and updates the chargeback status to Under Review. At some point after that - usually within 3-4 weeks - the chargeback status will change to Won or Lost depending on whether the chargeback is resolved in your favor or the cardholder’s favor.
   • Each time the chargeback status is updated, Wodify will email your billing contacts the details.
   • Note: In some rare cases, an “inquiry” is opened instead of a full chargeback. Inquiries are the first step towards a full chargeback, but when they occur, you will not have been yet debited the chargeback amount and fee. You’ll have an opportunity to provide evidence just like with full chargebacks, but you also may simply refund the client in order to avoid the potential chargeback fee. In Wodify, inquiries are represented with the special chargeback statuses Warning - Needs Response and Warning - Under Review.
     
     
3. Is there a fee for chargebacks?
   • Yes, you must pay a $15 fee in the United States and Canada, £10 in the UK, and A$25 in Australia when there is a chargeback on one of your invoices. 
     
     
4. My client said the chargeback was a mistake. Can it be reversed?
   • If you’ve talked to your customer and they’ve agreed to drop the chargeback, there are a couple of steps should take.
     • First, have the client call and their credit card issuer or bank that they’ve agreed to drop the chargeback. This step is critical because the credit card issuer or bank won’t know your client has dropped the chargeback unless the client tells them.
     • Second, you need to submit evidence to let the bank know that your client wishes to drop the chargeback, including any email evidence you have where the email says so. If the client had specific complaints that led to the chargeback, then be sure to address those complaints in the evidence.
       • After you’ve completed the two steps, you need to wait for the credit card issuer or bank to let Wodify know that the chargeback has been closed in your favor. When the credit card issuer or bank confirms this, Wodify will return the full amount of the charge and the associated fee to you.

Note: that this process can take some time - it’s not unusual for a bank to take 8 or more weeks to tell you about the results of the chargeback. As soon as this happens, your billing contacts will receive an email notification.

Wodify Payments - Tips to Win Chargebacks

Wodify automatically uploads some evidence to fight the chargeback for you, but you do have the chance to submit additional evidence, too. Here are some best practices to keep in mind:

⭐​ Keep your evidence relevant and to the point
Card issuers review thousands of dispute responses every day. A long introduction about your product or company, complaint about the customer, or the unfairness of the dispute isn’t going to make your responses more compelling. Instead, provide only the facts surrounding the original purchase, using a neutral and professional tone. 

On the respond to chargeback form in Wodify Core, please be sure to answer the following questions when asked to briefly describe why you should win this chargeback dispute:

• Why was the customer charged for this subscription? 
• When was the customer shown the cancellation and refund policy? 
• Why isn't the customer being refunded for the charge? 
  
  

⭐​ Provide clear and accurate evidence
Card issuers do not follow any links provided in a response. Instead, you must include a clear screenshot of your terms or policies as they appear during checkout or on your site if they are an important part of your defense (e.g., a customer disputed a subscription but there is a minimum contract term that must be adhered to).

⭐​ Formatting documents and images to upload
Dispute evidence is often transmitted through several legacy systems and most card issuers are still utilizing paper faxing. Before sending your response, ensure that any text or images are clear and large enough to show up clearly in a black and white fax transmission.

While you can zoom in on your electronic documents, the card issuer will not be able to do so. Any evidence that is too small to transmit clearly won’t be considered by the card issuer, so it’s better to have large, full-page images than try to fit too many on one page.

When submitting documents or images as evidence, use the following recommendations to make sure they can remain legible:

• Use a 12 point font or larger
• Ensure that documents are U.S. Letter or A4 size, in portrait orientation (screenshots can still be added to your documents in landscape orientation)
• Use bold text, callouts, or arrows to draw attention to pertinent information
• Avoid using color highlighting

When uploading screenshots:

• Crop the screenshot to the area of interest and circle any key components (e.g., delivery confirmation or signature)
• Use the text fields in the dispute evidence form to describe what the image contains and how it supports your response
• Any illegible text or data that is submitted with a response will be considered incomplete by the card issuer and not reviewed.

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More Information:

TIP: Wodify Blueprint Course - Increase revenue with automated billing

If you need any additional assistance with Managing Chargebacks, feel free to reach out to us at support@wodify.com or via Priority Live Chat in your admin account (Promote only).