Chargeback

A chargeback, which should not be confused with a refund, refers to the amount of funds reversed to a debit or credit card when a customer files a dispute over the transaction after a completed purchase. Chargebacks are done mainly by customers, though in rare cases, merchants can also request a chargeback.

Chargebacks are requested for various reasons, which may include: 

• Customers/cardholders charged by a company for products or services they never got 
• Accidental charge duplicates 
• Technical issues causing wrong charges
• Fraud charges due to compromised information from the customer’s debit or credit card

In any case, chargebacks require time and effort to dispute, though the process is no different from a regular transaction. Only this time, funds are taken out of the business merchant’s account and sent to the cardholder’s account with the cardholder’s issuing bank. 

Unlike refunds, where the merchant returns the funds to the customer, chargebacks require the issuing bank to reverse the funds. In short, refunds involve only the merchant and customers, while chargebacks involve the bank as the “middleman,” as it inform the customer and the merchant throughout the process.

Refunds tend to be quicker, taking about three to seven business days to complete, while chargebacks can take weeks, if not months, especially if the merchant contests the customer’s dispute. 

However, it is essential to note that credit card holders have a chargeback period, essentially the time the customer can file a dispute over a transaction. Though this period varies from country to country, the standard is usually 120 days (including the UK) from the purchase date.