Retail Reality: What Happens When You File a Chargeback

Today’s rant…

Today has been one of those days—the kind where you spend hours chasing down a customer dispute that you know isn’t right, but you still have to jump through all the hoops anyway.

If you’re a consumer and you ever believe you were mis-charged or double-charged, please, please contact the shop first before going straight to your credit card company. Most of the time, we can resolve it in minutes.

I just spent countless hours dealing with a dispute for a supposed duplicate charge. I had no record of it, no deposit, nothing to indicate it ever happened. But of course, the credit card company automatically sides with the customer, refunds them immediately, and then tells the retailer to prove otherwise.

I submitted everything—receipts, statements, screenshots—clearly showing we did not duplicate her order. Her bank (hi, Bank of America!) still denied my response, refunded her, and then added a $15 fee on top of the money we already lost.

So in the end: she got her purchase for free, I lost the merchandise, the money, the $15 fee, the credit card processing fees (which are never refunded), and several hours of my time.

Small businesses—and honestly, any business—get nickel-and-dimed to death.

Thanks for letting me vent—retail therapy goes both ways!