Hacker News Reader

Comment by hedora | Hacker News Reader

Odd.

Did you use the magic phrase: “I need to issue a chargeback. They charged my card for services not rendered. I called their number to contest it and they did not issue a refund.”

That (or “they charged my card but did not send the product”) has worked 100% of the time for me. I’ve never provided documentation beyond that.

Chase has a strong financial incentive to issue the chargeback (Air Canada ends up paying Chase a fine), and it’s no sweat off Chase’s back if Air Canada sues you.

Card issuers have no incentive to investigate further, and (in my experience) never ask for further documentation.

View on HN

I second this comment. Your chargeback request needs to color neatly within the lines of their procedures if you want a smooth process. How you phrase your request is incredibly important. Do not go crazy on details specific to the situation, use a template.

If Chase was already involved, it seems like Chase denied the chargeback request. Banks have an incentive to not let bad chargebacks through to major merchants, it would reduce the value of the card networks over time, and hence incentivize less use of the card networks resulting in less profit for the banks.

I would have taken Air Canada to court though, assuming all the facts are true. A small claims court would have definitely supported them.

Not sure where this person is, but in the US chargebacks exist because they are required by law. There is also an arbitration processs they are required to provide for disputes, which is pretty cheap.

In my experience it’s almost too easy to create a chargeback and the whole system is grossly inefficient and ripe for abuse.

I once called in to make a price protection benefit claim (would refund the price difference of a purchase). The agent assured me it was done and I find out later all they did was create a chargeback and I got refunded the entire price because the merchant didn't respond to it.

The dispute resolution system seems like it gets no investment or attention from any stakeholder, a merchant could easily get DOSd by spam disputes if some sort of consumer protest were organized. That’s how overpowered of a consumer tool it is.

I have had trouble with charge backs with Chase. Generally, I think they are pretty good to work with, but I would not suggest them for any large purchases.

You are correct about credit card companies, but for whatever reason, Chase has different incentives.

Reply on news.ycombinator.com