Visa chargebacks are the reversal of charges made to your Visa credit card. Did you know that in some cases you have a legal right to a credit card chargeback? It’s true; legislation requiring credit card companies to return money from unauthorized transactions and fraud has been on the books for over 50 years.
However, credit card companies can make their own rules about when to reverse charges. The following is a guide to Visa chargeback rules that will help you succeed with your claim.
Like Mastercard, Visa is a multinational corporation headquartered and based in the United States. For that reason, its rules and policies need to comply with American regulations and laws. Visa chargeback rules will often be tweaked to comply with rules in many other countries or jurisdictions.
The legal basis for chargebacks is the Fair Credit Billing Act of 1974 and the Electronic Fund Transfer Act of 1978. The former law applies to credit cards and the latter pertains to debit cards. However, Visa chargeback rules apply equally to credit and debit cards.
Visa Chargeback Rules for Consumers
Visa chargeback rules distinguish cases into two categories: fraud and consumer dispute.
Fraud
According to Visa chargeback rules, fraud only applies to cases of unauthorized transactions. Examples include a stolen card or identity theft.
What if someone cheated you out of your money and persuaded you to you to make a transaction under false pretenses? Isn’t this fraud, too?
Not according to Visa chargeback rules. Visa’s definition of fraud is confined to unauthorized charges. It’s important to know this before filling out a Visa chargeback form. You may only get one chance with a Visa chargeback claim, so it’s important to see the distinction between Visa’s definition of fraud and the common understanding of fraud.
Instead, people who feel their authorized transactions when to fraudsters should file their claim under consumer disputes.
Consumer Disputes
According to Visa chargeback rules, the following fall under the category of consumer disputes:
Visa Chargeback Reason Codes
Whether your chargeback is based on fraud or a consumer dispute, you need to file your claim under the appropriate reason code. The Visa chargeback reason codes take the form of two digits followed by a dot followed by a single digit. Visa has four different common codes for fraud and nine for consumer disputes. The code you use depends on the details of your case.
It’s important that you only have one chance to raise a chargeback claim, and if you do it under the wrong category or code, your case may be immediately rejected. That is why it’s a good idea to seek the advice of Crypto Recovery Squad before filing a claim.
Visa Chargeback Time Limit
Another important consideration is the Visa chargeback time limit. This can range anywhere from 90 days to as much as 540 days under certain circumstances. The Visa chargeback time limit rules are complex, and it’s important to comply for a successful claim.
In general, the Visa chargeback time limit for fraud cases (see definition above) is 90 days from the transaction date. Consumer disputes in most cases have a 120-day chargeback time limit, but if your case is between 120 and 540 days, it may still be valid, but the rules are compex.
If you need assistance with a Visa chargeback, contact Crypto Recovery Squad for a consultation. Our experts can clarify questions about Visa chargeback rules and can bolster your claim.
A chargeback is the reversal of a credit card transaction, returning to your account the money that you paid, due to a payment dispute raised with the bank that issued your card. Mastercard chargeback rules were established by credit card professionals for bank dispute departments. Cardholders, therefore, may find them rather confusing at first inspection. So let us try and explain them.
The right to a chargeback is based on laws passed in the United States in the 1970s offering cardholders certain consumer protections, but these laws were implemented very differently by the various card networks. So while they are all compliant with the relevant laws and regulations, the Mastercard chargeback guide is nevertheless totally different from that of Visa. If you ever need to charge back Mastercard transactions, familiarizing yourself with the process will help improve your chances of success.
When America passed the Fair Credit Billing Act in 1974, it marked the beginning of consumer protections for credit card holders. Four years later, the Electronic Fund Transfer Act of 1978 gave similar protections to holders of debit cards. It was then left to the various companies to make the appropriate changes to reflect the legal landscape.
Debit cards and credit cards give consumers different protections since as mentioned above they are based on different laws. However, for ease of use and a simpler and more streamlined process, the Mastercard chargeback guide implemented a unified set of policies for both debit and credit cards.
Since, like Visa, Mastercard is a multinational corporation with its headquarters in the U.S., it needs to make sure that its rules and policies are compliant with American laws and financial regulations. In addition, the Mastercard chargeback rules are adapted to comply with the local laws and regulations for many of the world’s countries and jurisdictions for cardholders, banks, and merchants.
Mastercard traces its origins back to the late 1950s and grew into its present structure between the 1960s and 1970s, the same time that its arch-rival Visa was taking form.
Mastercard Chargeback Guide
The first criterion to understand when dealing with a Mastercard chargeback payment dispute is the difference between two basic chargeback categories: fraud and cardholder disputes. Your bank even has separate departments to deal with them. Let’s dig a little deeper so that the distinction can be made as clearly as possible.
Fraud
According to Mastercard chargeback rules, “fraud” applies only to unauthorized transactions. Examples would include identity theft or stolen credit card or card data.
This may seem to be an overly limited definition of fraud. After all, isn’t the term “fraud” applied to many cases that involve the merchant or broker misleading customers? However, according to Mastercard chargeback rules, fraud always means unauthorized transactions.
Cardholder Dispute
If your chargeback is for a transaction you authorized, it will fall under the cardholder dispute category. The Mastercard chargeback guide recognizes no less than thirteen subcategories of cardholder disputes. The most common ones include:
Correctly categorizing your particular dispute is critical, but the rules are complex and the distinctions can be very fine.
Mastercard Chargeback Reason Codes
Regardless of whether your particular dispute is based on fraud or a consumer dispute, your claim with the bank will need to be categorized with the correct reason code. The various card networks follow completely different systems, and in the case of Mastercard, each reason code is a four-digit number, sometimes accompanied by an explanatory phrase.
It can hardly be overstated that you generally do not get a second chance to raise a chargeback, so getting it right the first time is critical. Getting professional help with complex disputes is a very good idea.
Mastercard Chargeback Time Limit
It probably goes without saying that a chargeback needs to be raised within a limited time frame. The Mastercard chargeback time limit is no later than 120 days from the transaction date. There are some fine points to this basic rule and it’s worthwhile to read the fine print. It’s important to file a claim within the Mastercard Chargeback time limit or it can lead to the claim being thrown out.
If you are involved in a complex Mastercard payment dispute, contact Crypto Recovery Squad today.
If you have an unauthorized or disputed charge on your credit card and are seeking fund recovery, the reversal of charges is called a credit card chargeback. The right to a credit card chargeback was established through U.S. laws, but you can make a claim for an Amex Chargeback even if you live outside of the US.
Each credit card company has its own guidelines for chargebacks. The following is a summary of Amex chargeback policy.
American Express (Amex) has its headquarters in New York City, but operates worldwide. For that reason, its payment dispute policies not only need to comply with American laws and regulations, but in many cases are also fine-tuned for compliance with the jurisdiction of a particular cardholder, merchant, acquiring bank, or transaction.
The history of chargebacks dates back to the Fair Credit Billing Act of 1974 which, among other things, gave consumer protections including chargeback rights to holders of credit cards. In 1978, the Electronic Fund Transfer Act extended many similar rights to debit card holders.
Although the rights of credit card and debit card holders are not identical, for practical purposes, American Express has combined its policies for both types of cardmembers in almost all cases.
A Guide to Amex Chargeback Policy
Although at first glance it seems similar to its key competitors, Visa and Mastercard, American Express is quite different in one fundamental way. Visa and Mastercard do not actually issue any credit cards. They are simply networks that handle payments. Your card was issued to you by your bank.
American Express, by contrast, is both the payment network and the card issuer. Except when it is not. Once upon a time, American Express issued all its cards, and it still issues the vast majority of them, but nowadays a significant minority are indeed issued by banks, just like with Visa and Mastercard. So if your card was issued by Wells Fargo, for example, there will be a number of differences for you compared with a typical Amex card member. Your points and benefits will likely go through your bank, as will your disputes.
U.S. and international cardmembers who were not issued their cards through a bank (again, this is the vast majority of consumers) can turn directly to Amex to raise a chargeback. To do so, contact Amex using the American Express chargeback phone number provided to you by the company (in the U.S., 1-800-528-4800), or online via their website or mobile app.
When you make an Amex chargeback claim, one of three things can happen.
At any phase, there is an opportunity to raise objections to have your case heard. If you feel your Amex chargeback claim has been unfairly rejected, speak with Crypto Recovery Squad professionals who can help you discuss your concerns with American Express.
Amex Chargeback Reason Codes
Like Visa, Mastercard, and other issuing companies, Amex chargeback disputes are categorized by type. American Express chargeback codes are made up of a letter followed by two digits. Unlike Visa and Mastercard, however, which use four different chargeback categories, Amex uses five. Still, there are only two that will apply to most payment disputes you are likely to encounter: fraud and cardmember dispute.
Fraud. In the world of credit cards, “fraud” refers only to unauthorized payment disputes, such as those arising from a stolen card, stolen card data, or identity theft. Even if you were defrauded by an unscrupulous merchant, American Express does not call it “fraud.”
Cardmember Dispute. This is the dispute category for authorized Amex transactions. (Visa calls them “consumer disputes” and Mastercard calls them “cardholder disputes.”) Common cases that fall under the various subtypes of this category include not receiving what you paid for or receiving products or services that were of poor quality, damaged, or in some way different from what you were promised.
Amex Chargeback Time Limit
As for timelines, in most cases an Amex chargeback must be requested within 120 days of the transaction, but the chargeback time limit can be extended to as long as 540 days under certain circumstances. The rules for this are rather complicated, and even many experts are unaware of them.
If you find yourself in a complex American Express payment dispute, contact the professionals at Crypto Recovery Squad for a free no-commitment fund recovery consultation.
Each credit card network has its own set of rules for processing chargebacks. The Discover card chargeback process is not the same as the others, and on this page, you’ll learn how to dispute a Discover transaction or get a Discover chargeback.
A chargeback is a reversal of charges back to the person who made it. The right to a credit card chargeback has its roots in U.S. legislation. Every credit card company has its own rules for credit card chargebacks and disputes.
What is the legal basis for credit card chargebacks? Credit cards were first issued in the 1950s but they lacked consumer protection. That changed with the Fair Credit Billing Act of 1974, which was passed to give American credit card holders those rights, including the right to a chargeback. In 1978, the Electronic Fund Transfer Act provided many similar rights to debit card holders.
Although there are two different laws governing credit card and debit card chargebacks, the Discover chargeback process makes little distinction between credit cards and debit cards.
How to Make a Discover Chargeback Claim
While it is similar to its competitors Visa and Mastercard, a Discover Card chargeback is fundamentally different in one important way. No cards are actually issued by Visa or Mastercard; it’s the cardholder’s issuing bank that does that. It is therefore the bank that handles payment disputes, while the networks are available for arbitration in extraordinary cases.
Discover cards, on the other hand, are issued directly by the company through its corporation known as Discover Bank. Dispute processes and Discover chargebacks are therefore handled internally and directly. However, the situation is not quite as simple as that. Since the early 2000s, there have been a number of banks that issue Discover cards. They are a minority, but in the event that you have a third-party Discover card, your disputes and Discover chargebacks will go through the issuing bank just like Visa and Mastercard.
Discover Card Chargeback and Dispute Rules
If like most Discover cardholders, your card was issued by Discover Bank, they are the ones you must contact for a Discover chargeback or to dispute a transaction. Discover can be contacted for payment disputes by logging onto your online account or by calling 1-800-DISCOVER (1-800-347-2683). You can also file a dispute by sending a letter to Discover’s Salt Lake City headquarters, but this can be both insecure and time-consuming.
Once you have made your claim, you can expect one of three outcomes:
A Discover chargeback will be granted right away mainly if it is a proven case of fraud, meaning an unauthorized transaction on a lost or stolen card. On the other hand, a Discover chargeback claim may be rejected right away for various reasons, including if it wasn’t filed under the correct reason code. If you feel your claim was unfairly dismissed, talk to Crypto Recovery Squad professionals. We can also help you bolster your case during the Discover card chargeback dispute process.
Discover Card Chargeback Codes
Every card network categorizes payment disputes and assigns a reason code to each type. Discover is no different, and like the others, its reason codes follow a unique format shared with no one else. The Discover Card chargeback code format is a pair of letters, occasionally followed by one or two digits. As opposed to Visa and Mastercard which use four main chargeback categories, Discover (and American Express) use five. Nevertheless, almost all consumer payment disputes will fall into one of just two: fraud and cardholder dispute.
Fraud: Regardless of the dictionary definition of “fraud” or how you use the word in your daily life, in the world of credit card disputes, “fraud” only refers to unauthorized transactions. Examples include a stolen card, stolen card data, or identity theft.
Cardholder Dispute: This catch-all category includes cases where, among other things, the cardmember never received the goods or services they paid for, or else they were damaged, of poor quality, or in any other way different from what was contracted.
Discover Card Chargeback Time Limit
One major difference in how Discover disputes transactions, as compared with other card networks, has to do with timeframes. Whereas other issuers have strict chargeback time limits, Discover simply recommends that all disputes be raised within 120 days of the transaction but may approve a chargeback even after that.
Don’t go it alone with a Discover chargeback dispute! Seek the aid of Crypto Recovery Squad experts who can bolster your claim and help you win a Discover chargeback claim.