Charges can be disputed for many reasons. A cardholder may have been charged by a merchant for items they never received, a merchant could have duplicated a charge by mistake, a technical issue may have caused a mistaken charge, or a cardholder’s card information may have been compromised.

Disputing a potential chargeback can be challenging for a cardholder as it requires time to dispute the charge with a customer service representative and may also require a receipt or proof of transaction. Still, in the case of a fraudulent charge, banks are usually highly supportive in researching and issuing chargebacks in a situation where a card number has been compromised.

The most common chargebacks occur, however, simply when a cardholder chooses to return an item. If it is within the merchant’s allowable timeframe, the merchant can initiate a chargeback as a refund. If it’s not, the merchant might issue the customer store credit, as a courtesy. Other chargebacks may be more complicated.

The chargeback process can be initiated by either the merchant or the cardholder’s issuing bank. If initiated with a merchant the process is similar to a standard transaction; however, the funds are taken from a merchant’s account and deposited with the cardholder’s issuing bank.

For example, a chargeback initiated by a merchant would begin with a request sent to the merchant’s acquiring bank from the merchant. The acquiring bank would then contact the card’s processing network to send payment from the merchant’s account at the merchant bank to the cardholder’s account at the issuing bank.

If a chargeback is initiated by the issuing bank, then the issuing bank facilitates the chargeback through communication on their processing network. The merchant bank then receives the signal and authorizes the funds’ transfer with the confirmation of the merchant.

In some cases, such as with fraudulent charges, the issuing bank may grant the cardholder a chargeback while also sending the claim to a collection department. In this case, a bank takes on the liability and absorbs the cost through reserve funds while researching and resolving the claim.

Merchant acquiring banks will generally charge a fee to merchants for chargeback transactions. These fees are detailed in a merchant account agreement. Fees are typically charged per transaction to cover the costs by the processing network. Additional penalties for chargebacks may also apply.

While PayPal has its own dispute resolution process, buyers also have the option of filing a chargeback with their own debit or credit card issuer. This process is determined by the card issuer, although sellers have an opportunity to dispute the chargeback through PayPal.

The chargeback period, or the time limit for filing a chargeback, depends on the payment processor, but it can range from 60 to 120 days. The Fair Credit Billing Act allows chargebacks within 60 days of the billing date.

This is where we at Donald Gallagher Consultants Come in for you. We are here to assist in getting your money back speedily from your banks when situations like this occur. We will assist you in initiating a chargeback, the merchant has a set period of time to respond. This varies by the payment processor but is usually around 30 days. At this time the merchant can provide the signed receipts, contracts, and any other documentation that shows that the chargeback is in error.

Knowing how to fight a chargeback is one of the specialty we have here at our firm. We stand up to fraudsters and protect your business. Our ethical cyber security specialists were some of the most notorious in the world, accessing the private information of billionaires on the Forbes 400 list, and the strong computer skills and decryption experience provided by Donald Gallagher Consultants. is unparalleled. You can rest assured that your recovery Chargeback problem is in the best of hands.