Charge backs
 

I stated something very similar to this in another thread, but I think it bears stating again.

Several webmasters today have put the blame for charge backs on the surfer and ultimately this is a correct accusation because it is the surfer that charges back.

I have checked out many pay sites from the password sites and password links. I am amazed at how bad some of these sites are and the "false advertising" that precedes them. The majority of them seem to use the same plug-ins and/or have the same tired, over exposed content. In other words one site is pretty much the same as the next, and some of them are just piss poor. I don't know how many of them will easily refund money or how easy it is to get a refund from 3rd party processors, but if I were a surfer and I had signed up for some of the shit I have seen, having been convinced by the "exaggerated" advertising that some of these sites use, I definitely would want my money refunded. If I signed up for a site and the content was much the same as another site that I had signed up for, once again I definitely would want my money refunded. Some webmasters have stated that there are unscrupulous surfers that sign up, get off and then charge back. I am sure that this happens. I have heard webmasters state that the surfer that does a charge back can never use that credit card online again. I don't know if that is true or not. My bottom line point is this. I think that if there is honesty in advertising a site, then the surfer is far less likely to be disappointed and ask for a refund, or do a charge back. Some of the sites are so bad that if they told the truth in advertising their site they would not get a sign up in the first place, so they lie. It is these types of webmasters and these types of sites that have made things a little more difficult and in part have given the business a bad name and should be weeded out. I think it will be a better business and a more profitable business for those webmasters and sites that survive. My:2 cents:

Question about chargebacks: how long is a customer allowed to use their membership before they can no longer charge back their purchase? Does it depend or is there a set rule?

Say they get a 6 months membership and after 4 months they decide to charge the whole thing back...is that allowed?

The customer can pretty much do whatever he/she wants. It is the responsibility of the biller to have all the neccessary paperwork to dispute and reverse the chargeback. I would say most chargebacks are disputd by the merchant and usually won. At least thats the experience Ive had with them.

We get I would say around 15 chargebacks a month, we dispute and win almost all of them, though it still costs 25 bucks.

here is 90 pages of great reading:
http://usa.visa.com/media/business/chargeback_mgt.pdf

I can't remember the exact time frame, but I think they have 2 years to chargeback on any charge. So, if they bought a membership and let it go for a year, they can charge back the whole year if they wanted to. From my experience, in response to the first post in this thread, most of my chargebacks came from actual stolen card numbers. This was no fault of mine. The people using the stolen cards aren't going to take the time out to cancel the rebills, so a stolen card can end up being 6 chargebacks if they let it go for 6 months. Some of them were from guys who's wives found it on the statement and they were too pussywhipped to tell her they did it. I've had my own merchant account before, so these are actual calls I got. The angry wife 'No one in THIS house would subscribe to this porn!' blah blah..

I think the best thing to do is not offer trials, they greatly increase the chances of a chargeback.

I would hope not. It is a good question and one that I cannot provide a knowledgable answer. Anyone have a definitive answer?

No fair.. when I had my merchant account, I was mailed a letter saying the customer was disputing the charge and I would call and say how do I prove they made the charge? They told me that since I didn't have a signed credit card slip, there's nothing I could do. They automatically sided with the customer. Used to piss me off....