Buyer chargeback while order in transit

[rocketscollectibles]

Im facing an obvious fraud attempt and just seeking advices to be sure to handle it properly.

Someone purchased a mid expensive item and as soon i shipped it, filed a chargeback for transaction not recognized. Item is in transit.

I got tracking. Issue is that i have to dispute it before december 9th. It was shipped 1 day ago and its to a US buyer... It most likely wont show as delivered yet.

Anyone faced this situation before?

[marnotom!]

“Transaction not recognized” means that the holder of the credit card account is claiming that they didn’t authorize the charge for a purchase that’s on their credit card statement.

That means there’s the possibility that the person who filed the chargeback may not be the same person who purchased your item.

There have also been situations mentioned on these boards where a buyer has filed a chargeback for another purchase but the credit card issuer has cast a wider net and placed multiple purchases under that chargeback net.

Then there is the possibility that your buyer has simply made a mistake. Do they buy a lot on eBay?

[reallynicestamps]

Reply to the chargeback (It is being handled through eBay, I presume?) with the tracking number.

Since it should be showing as in transit, that alone may save you.

Since it should show the same address as the credit card holder, that may save you.

But RESPOND!

If you do nothing you will be out your money and your product.

You could also ask in the Claim that the item be refused on arrival and/or that you will send a Return Shipping Label when the item does arrive. It probably won't hurt your defense.

[ilikehockeyjerseys]

I believe that eBay covers you if you provide the tracking information. Then it becomes an issue between the eBay and the buyer's bank. You may want to direct message the AskeBay Twitter account to confirm this. They are the best customer service to deal with. 

You also could call the carrier and try to have the package returned to sender before it is delivered, but there might be fees to do this. It could also be a complicated situation because unless you sent it Chit Chats where it will go to their US Niagara Falls depot, USPS uses Canada Post for returns. If you are already covered by eBay, this is a pointless waste of time. 

It is also possible that the customer did not recognize the transaction because of how it was displayed in their credit card statement. Especially if they aren't extremely active buying on eBay. Banks can flag international transactions (since you're on eBay Canada I assume), and buyers can get confused because of how they are worded on the statement. 

If eBay will cover you with tracking, I would simply supply the tracking and move on. eBay will likely lose their appeal to the bank, but eBay takes the loss, not you. I guess that is part of where your fees go to. 

[marnotom!]

Yes, I should have mentioned that eBay will be handling the chargeback as the merchant of record for the sale and will be dealing with the credit card issuer.  My understanding, though, is that it's not tracking in and of itself that eBay is looking for but evidence that the item was received at the address in the transaction details.  Back in the PayPal days, PayPal also accepted online viewable evidence that the item was shipped to the address on the transaction details page, but I don't know if eBay will bend its rules in instances where the shipping label was purchased from eBay.  That might have to be dealt with in the appeals process if it comes to that.

Having said all that, I'm reasonably sure that @rocketscollectibles sends a lot of stuff as letters, and hence they're untrackable, but I don't know how they handled this particular sale in light of the postal strike and the item being "mid-expensive".

[reallynicestamps]

If eBay accepts the tracking number as "proof", there is no problem.

So @rocketscollectibles  should do that first.

If eBay does not accept the tracking number, there is a new problem.

But first RESPOND with the tracking number.

Don't waste too much time thinking about what might go wrong.

[rocketscollectibles]

Thanks for replies. You guys don't change always giving the benefit of the doubt i see. Anywhere you buy from ebay (credit card, paypal, etc) is written as ebay. You cannot not recognize a ebay transaction. The shipping details also match the person who paid. The person waited just after i shipped the item to file the chargeback, seems obvious to me that this is a fraud attempt. This does not allow time for the order to be delivered as you have only 5 days to dispute the chargeback. My evidence is an order in transit, but not delivered.  If decision is given before delivered, impossible to win this. That's the whole issue here, and clearly the intent of the person.

Anyway i contacted the buyer about it and obviously had no reply. Will provide tracking and cross fingers. Hopefully ebay protect me.  

[ilikehockeyjerseys]

Everybody knows the deal that most chargebacks that don't come after some obvious leadup are fraudulent, but this is an advice forum so it's good for people to touch on all possible bases. Sometimes high fraud activity turns out to be a genuine error.

An example is the thread a few weeks back where the person mailed a statue and the buyer claimed they received an empty box. Then later on the OP actually received the statue back in a different package from the courier. 

At the end of the day, if eBay still handles chargebacks how they used to, this isn't something you actively resolve or pursue. You simply provide the tracking and move on. eBay covers you, and when the bank rules for the buyer, eBay loses the money. 

[marnotom!]

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@rocketscollectibles wrote:

Thanks for replies. You guys don't change always giving the benefit of the doubt i see. Anywhere you buy from ebay (credit card, paypal, etc) is written as ebay. You cannot not recognize a ebay transaction.

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In this sense, "unrecognized" means that the credit card holder does not recognize or recall the purchase as being one that they made.

For what it's worth, it's extremely unusual (but not impossible) for an unrecognized transaction chargeback to be made in the space of a few days after purchase.  The buyer usually has to wait until they receive their credit card statement before disputing unrecognized charges.

[ricarmic]

Or the buyer had a problem and ALL transactions outstanding against the card are zapped. This has happened to me. The person had a problem and the credit card company marked 100% of their transactions as unauthorized, including mine. I phone the person and they paid me back.

Another example buyer mistakenly used an expired card. I phoned this person as well and got to listen to the "discussion" in the background between him and his wife. He also paid me back and also paid the $20 chargeback fee as well.

I'm not saying it's not fraud here, but so far I don't remember one of mine that was fraud. That's why I always call the buyer (on the phone, I don't use messages), it so far has quickly solved the problem and my potential $$$ loss. Fortunately its been quite a while since I had one, hopefully that continues!

[rocketscollectibles]

''I'm not saying it's not fraud here, but so far I don't remember one of mine that was fraud''

Category has a lot to do here. Your category is a low fraud one, while im in the other extreme where trading cards is a high fraud one.

''I phone the person and they paid me back''

Here is one exemple. In 4 years selling personally i never ever seen a single person contacting, or sending money back, after any situation.

December is always the month we face the most scams in this category. With chrismas incoming people seems to scam for free presents or to recover from expenses.

[ricarmic]

Certainly the category makes a difference.

I should note that I've never received any communication from the buyers, it was the phone call that I made that solved the problem. I don't remember trying messages before I called so can't say what would have happened in that case.

I do remember now one that happened overseas (France). I only used messages in that situation (because of the cost of calling and likelihood they didn't speak English) and as with your situation(s) got no response.

It might be worth trying calling to see if that makes a difference?

[rocketscollectibles]

So i replied to dispute december 8th because i had to before the 9th. Item still in transit and not delivered yet. Shared tracking and tried to proves that shipping details matched buyer's identity. Pointing it was a potential fraud case. Received a message from ebay today that seller's protection been activated. Ebay will cover me. With no decision made by payment institution yet, it means the buyer's account got flagged by ebay

[rocketscollectibles]

Final update. Order got delivered before outcome. Buyer's payment institution sided with me! I was already protected but very glad to see that this scammer will not have any refund from ebay neither.