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AMEX is what provides that solution, and fine the merchant as a bonus. It's called disputing a charge. Other cards have the option too, but AMEX will fight fo

by a12432 8y ago

AMEX is what provides that solution, and fine the merchant as a bonus. It's called disputing a charge. Other cards have the option too, but AMEX will fight for you the most. I've literally had merchants issue a partial refund, disputed the original charge, and ended up with bonus money, multiple times. There is a cost to using credit cards. One of the main reasons to use them is this protection against bad actors, and punishment of those actors by fines.

hyperman1 8y ago
As an European who rarely sees credit cards, I always wonder if this is USA only? How do you dispute a charge? My web banking platform has options for almost everything, but not much credit card related. Do I contact my bank, or do I go straight to VISA?
- matthewheath 8y ago
  You should usually contact your bank and dispute one of the charges on your bank statement (that's how it seems to work in the UK, at least.)
- a12432 8y ago
  I click dispute in my online statement, check a couple of checkboxes to verify type of transaction, and write 1 line of why. Takes 30 seconds. Visa is not good for this, so I never use a Visa.
- Cu3PO42 8y ago
  You can dispute CC charges in Europe as well. All of my cards specify that I should do this as soon as possible, but no later than one year after the charge. I have never needed a chargeback, but I had a peek at MasterCard's policy just now and it looks like you need to contact the issuing bank. I would assume it works the same for other four-party schemes such as Visa.
tinus_hn 8y ago
Reversing the charges doesn’t work with Facebook because they will block your account and for most people that’s not an option. And Americans Express is not going to fine Facebook or suspend their merchant account. That’s for small merchants.
- drilldrive 8y ago
  Why do people put their cards on Facebook then? It is absolutely not safe to do, especially if you have (young) children.
- a12432 8y ago
  Yeah, a company that stored your credit card number and charged it w/o your permission - don't want to get blocked by someone like that. Definitely never an option for most people.
- fredophile 8y ago
  I doubt even a company like Facebook is very big by credit card processing standards. Visa and Mastercard constantly run a huge amount of money through their systems. If your fraud rate goes above a certain level they give you a warning. If it stays too high they'll cut you off.
acct1771 8y ago
>I've literally had merchants issue a partial refund, disputed the original charge, and ended up with bonus money ...why is this ethical?
- a12432 8y ago
  First, I don't have to be ethical in response to someone acting unethical towards me. If someone tries to stab you and you also have a knife, you are not limited to the use of your fists in retaliation. Second, I dispute the charge as a fraudulent charge, and get my money back. It is then on them, when contacted by AMEX, to tell AMEX they already issued a partial refund, point to the transaction where they did, and the credited amount then gets lowered. I am not here to do their job for them. By the way, out of the ~10 times this has happened over 20 years of me using AMEX, the vendor has done this only once. All the other times they know they are a scammer and simply do not reply to the dispute at all. By scammer, I mean companies like paypal, Travelocity, Transaero Airlines, and Uber. And no, I cannot use services by any of those companies anymore as they do block you after you do that. Which is fine by me. Question to you - why did you assume by default this was unethical, and that you have to be ethical towards scammers? I'm going to go on a limb here and claim you are white and like to scream racism. While warring behind your keyboard.
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by a12432 8y ago

hyperman1 8y ago

As an European who rarely sees credit cards, I always wonder if this is USA only? How do you dispute a charge? My web banking platform has options for almost everything, but not much credit card related. Do I contact my bank, or do I go straight to VISA?

matthewheath 8y ago
You should usually contact your bank and dispute one of the charges on your bank statement (that's how it seems to work in the UK, at least.)
a12432 8y ago
I click dispute in my online statement, check a couple of checkboxes to verify type of transaction, and write 1 line of why. Takes 30 seconds. Visa is not good for this, so I never use a Visa.
Cu3PO42 8y ago
You can dispute CC charges in Europe as well. All of my cards specify that I should do this as soon as possible, but no later than one year after the charge. I have never needed a chargeback, but I had a peek at MasterCard's policy just now and it looks like you need to contact the issuing bank. I would assume it works the same for other four-party schemes such as Visa.

tinus_hn 8y ago

Reversing the charges doesn’t work with Facebook because they will block your account and for most people that’s not an option. And Americans Express is not going to fine Facebook or suspend their merchant account. That’s for small merchants.

drilldrive 8y ago
Why do people put their cards on Facebook then? It is absolutely not safe to do, especially if you have (young) children.
a12432 8y ago
Yeah, a company that stored your credit card number and charged it w/o your permission - don't want to get blocked by someone like that. Definitely never an option for most people.
fredophile 8y ago
I doubt even a company like Facebook is very big by credit card processing standards. Visa and Mastercard constantly run a huge amount of money through their systems. If your fraud rate goes above a certain level they give you a warning. If it stays too high they'll cut you off.

acct1771 8y ago

>I've literally had merchants issue a partial refund, disputed the original charge, and ended up with bonus money ...why is this ethical?

a12432 8y ago
First, I don't have to be ethical in response to someone acting unethical towards me. If someone tries to stab you and you also have a knife, you are not limited to the use of your fists in retaliation. Second, I dispute the charge as a fraudulent charge, and get my money back. It is then on them, when contacted by AMEX, to tell AMEX they already issued a partial refund, point to the transaction where they did, and the credited amount then gets lowered. I am not here to do their job for them. By the way, out of the ~10 times this has happened over 20 years of me using AMEX, the vendor has done this only once. All the other times they know they are a scammer and simply do not reply to the dispute at all. By scammer, I mean companies like paypal, Travelocity, Transaero Airlines, and Uber. And no, I cannot use services by any of those companies anymore as they do block you after you do that. Which is fine by me. Question to you - why did you assume by default this was unethical, and that you have to be ethical towards scammers? I'm going to go on a limb here and claim you are white and like to scream racism. While warring behind your keyboard.

deleted 8y ago

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