Refuting a Merchant’s Counter-Arguments

This case involves a particularly complex scenario involving large sums of money, two different credit cards, and a merchant fighting exhaustively to retain unjustly earned wealth.

H.F. is a Brazilian citizen living and working in the United Arab Emirates (UAE) who became a victim of an unregulated online investment company. To invest, he transferred more than $20,000 to the company using two credit cards, a Visa and a Mastercard. After realizing that the “broker” was neither going to provide any real investment services nor allow him to withdraw his funds, H.F. contacted MyChargeBack for assistance in getting his money back.

Our team explained to H.F. that the chargeback guidelines formulated by both Visa and Mastercard indicated that he was entitled to a chargeback based on the nature of his case. He quickly signed up as a client and we began our work together by gathering evidence and producing the necessary documentation to send to his bank.

H.F. proved to be the perfect client. He was prompt and precise in sending us information we requested and communicated with his bank based on our recommendations. His bank was reasonably helpful, if not always prompt or precise. Eventually, it initiated disputes for the relevant transactions and deposited a provisional credit in our client’s account.

The next phase of this dispute illustrates the importance of having experienced professionals handle the case. The merchant responded to the chargeback with a carefully crafted but misleading statement. Essentially, it misdirected the debate by arguing that our client had both authorized the transactions and consented to their terms and conditions, points that were neither pertinent nor in dispute.

The merchant was counting on an overworked and distracted bank dispute department and a cardholder unfamiliar with his chargeback rights to let the response slide without a solid counterargument. In fact, the bank forwarded the merchant’s letter to H.F. with a pro forma declaration in indicating that if there was nothing more to add, it would be dropping the case. H.F. forwarded the letter to us and we provided a clear and persuasive reply for him to submit to the bank.

The MyChargeBack Difference

H.F.’s bank accepted the documentation that MyChargeBack provided, proving that the merchant never provided the contracted services. The disputes were raised a second time and, within a few weeks, our client was informed that his provisional credits were now permanent and the case was closed.