- Target:
- merchants globally
- Region:
- GLOBAL
The time allotted for a consumer to file a charge back claim MUST be reduced to 45 days MAX after a bank or credit card statement is issued.
I am a freelance graphic/ web designer who relies on PayPal payments and just had an individual make a claim for $1,000 for a site I had done to her liking (and have an email testimonial POST final payment date to prove it) about 5 months ago. Their claim was that the site didn't work. The only issue present was in fact a PayPal continue shopping in Firefox coding issue which I had no control over (which was later resolved by them). The client apparently hired another designer who claimed they fixed it and now wants to use the money I rightfully earned to redo their site.
I have read so many of the horror stories of businesses getting thieved by consumers who lie and decide they want their money back for whatever reason. I have even heard of PayPal accounts being frozen and funds lost from false consumer claims. In addition merchant accounts have been wrongly closed. The FACT is that consumer fraud hurts every one of us consumer and merchant alike. It forces decreased salary and increased prices. It is costing us all over a billion dollars per year.
Every consumer has a monthly record of all their transaction sent every month within about 3-5 days of a set date if not on that date whether digitally or paper. If they cannot watch their transactions and report fraud within 45 days of statement post then tough luck. They should not have the privilege of a bank or credit card account if they can't even manage it regularly. Of course there would be an exception made if there was proven case of physical inability to view their statement and make a claim within that time frame. It may sound harsh but the current law is too lax and offers the merchant no protection with its outrageous 180 day window.
"It all started with the best of intentions. Early in the history of credit cards, consumer abuse was out of control. The government passed laws to protect consumers. Known in banking circles as Reg Z... specifically, 12 CFR, Part 226 (2002). Reg Z established guidelines for providing open-ended credit to consumers: credit cards.
Reg Z put a tremendous amount of power into the hands of the consumers. And, as one credit card industry insider put it, "…where consumers are granted rights by law, they will take advantage of them."
from Chargefront.com
-- 45 day MAX allowable time from date of statement mailing or digital post to dispute a charge by credit/ debit card.
-- Contracted services signed off/ final payment sent is non-refundable/ non-disputable. PERIOD. If a client agrees at that moment in time that the project is completed satisfactorily and they make that agreement binding by sending final payment it's DONE. No if's or but's about it. It's their responsibility to review a contract before signing and check that the work was done to their specs at that time. If there is a maintenance portion of contract hold them to it. But stealing from them is a crime and must be stopped.
-- MAX allowable time for bank/ institution to respond to claim shortened from 100 to 30 days.
-- IP address cross checking with emails to verify if there is match between transaction IP address. Immediate rejection for claims where proof satisfactory product or service delivery is given by merchant and I didn't buy it or I am not satisfied (for digital), doesn't work, etc., or I don't want it when there is IP match.
-- Central Database for consumer fraud cases which must be cross checked. Fines imposed upon repeat offenders.
(Sure there may happen to be a legitimate claim that a consumer lost but more than one...I don't think so!)
>> Comments welcomed and appreciated! Please email this link to all in your list. Thank you!
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The Merchant Protection Against Consumer Fraud petition to merchants globally was written by John Boyd and is in the category Business at GoPetition.