How can I prevent a chargeback from occurring?

If you are a retail merchant you can minimize a chargeback from occurring by ensuring that the credit card’s magnetic stripe is read by your terminal, obtaining an authorization code prior to completing the sale, ensuring the cardholder’s signature on the sales draft matches the cardholder’s signature on the back of the card presented, and examining the security features on the card to determine that the card is genuine. To determine if the card is genuine follow the TermNet supplied Visa and MasterCard security brochures which indicate to the merchant the card features that need to be examined in order to ensure that the card is genuine.

If you conduct business through the mail, over the telephone or over the internet, then you need to obtain an authorization on the sale. In addition you must complete an address verification request (AVS) in which the address verification request responds with as “Match” response code Another step you must complete is to obtain the CVV/CVC code from the cardholder. When processing CVV/CVC this code must match the CVV/CVC code response given by the terminal.

HOWEVER, in NO case is there an absolute protection against a chargeback. The cardholder can still dispute the sale based upon the item purchased not performing in the manner that the customer expected or if the item is defective etc. or the service which the customer received was not satisfactory.