Chargebacks: when the bank takes back your payment without the customer telling you
Know when a chargeback is worth fighting and when it's better to just accept it, backed by real proof and a clear number, before the deadline or your account's chargeback ratio makes that call for you.
One day you check the account and a payment you'd already counted on is gone: the bank handed it back to the customer without a single word from them. All you see is a reason code, "product not received," "doesn't recognize the charge," and a short window to respond. You don't know if it's worth fighting, what proof the bank will ask for, or how much the attempt costs you even if you win.
This course walks you through that same order: first you read the reason code in your payment processor and decide in the first minute whether there's anything worth disputing. Next, you save the right proof depending on whether you sold an appointment, an order, or an access pass. You put a number on the fee you pay whether you win or lose, and on the minimum amount above which fighting back is actually worth it. At the end, you look at the big picture: how many cases your account can take, and when the same reason showing up again and again is telling you to change how you sell, not to keep fighting every single case.
This is for you if you take card payments and have ever had a charge reversed without warning; if you only sell for cash or have never had a chargeback, you don't need it yet.
- Read the reason for a chargeback and decide in the first minute whether there's a case worth fighting
- Save the exact proof the bank asks for, depending on whether you sold an appointment, an order, or an access pass
- Calculate the dollar amount above which fighting pays off, after subtracting the dispute fee
- Check your account's chargeback ratio every week, since it counts every case you open even when you win it, so you can fix what's causing them before it's too late
It helps to have on hand the confirmation email or message from a recent sale.
The 6 lessons
In the order it makes the most sense to read them.
- 1
The reason the bank gives decides whether you can win
Knows how to read the reason for a chargeback within the first minute and decide whether there's anything worth fighting, before gathering any proof.
7 min - 2
Save different proof depending on whether you sold an appointment, an order, or an access pass
Knows exactly what proof to save for each type of sale, appointment, order, or access pass, so you don't lose the chargeback by submitting the wrong document.
7 min - 3
What it costs to fight a chargeback, even if you win
Knows that in Stripe, the fee for receiving a dispute gets charged whether you win or lose, that every payment processor has its own rules, and that it all factors into the cost before deciding whether fighting is worth it.
6 min - 4
The dollar amount above which fighting pays off
With the sale amount, the dispute fee, and the odds of winning based on the reason given, you calculate the number above which you fight a chargeback and below which you let it go.
8 min - 5
How many chargebacks your account can take before they cut off your card payments
By the end, you'll know that your chargeback ratio counts every case that's opened, whether you win it, lose it, or let it go, and that you protect your card processing by preventing new cases from opening, not by giving up on the ones you can win.
7 min - 6
When the same reason keeps coming up, you change how you sell
You'll know how many repeats of the same reason it takes before you stop fighting chargebacks case by case, and which part of the sales process to fix so fewer open up.
5 min