One of the benefits of using a credit card for purchases is giving buyers the ability to dispute fraudulent charges.
Whereas cash purchases may be more difficult to fight, if a customer uses a credit card to purchase an item and doesn’t actually receive it, or if someone steals a user’s credit card and makes fraudulent charges, customers are given the power to dispute those charges with their credit card provider.
This power, however, also opens up the opportunity for fraud. Customers can purchase an item or service with a credit card, then dispute it with their credit card in hopes of receiving a refund.
That said, the process is not this simple for either party. Every dispute launches an investigation, which can cause both parties a significant amount of time and money to prove the legitimacy of their claim.
Because of this, some businesses are clamping down on credit card usage, or warning customers about the dangers of fraudulently disputing transactions.
Now, a user’s TikTok has gone viral and accumulated over 400,000 views after sharing her thoughts on the issue.
“Can y’all please stop disputing charges that you know that you made?” TikTok user Morgan (@morgansandiego) asks in the video.
@morgansandiego These disputes are getting out of hand!! PLEASE STOP GETTING SERVICES YOU CANNOT AFFORD. I just saw a video yesterday of a lash tech who could not pay RENT because of $800 in charge backs!!!! If you can’t afford lashes, nails, waxes, it’s ok… DIY and get on YouTube! Stealing is NOT ok! #lashtechproblems #nailtechproblems #stilletonails #lashextensions #lashtechnician #estheticianlife #estheticiantiktok ♬ original sound – Morgan NP
Later in the video, she notes the consequences of this practice. “The girls like me that’ll never carry no cash have to pay our balances in cash,” she says. “And whole policies had to be changed because of you Joanne the scammers!”
It’s unclear how widespread dispute fraud actually is. According to MiDiGator, which is owned by Equifax, the actual percentage of transactions that turn into chargebacks (legitimate or fraudulent) steadily went down from 2017 to 2020.
The same report says that the industry average win rate for merchants facing chargebacks is around 40%. This means that in around 60% of cases, the customer is determined to have a genuine claim to their chargeback.
Another site focused on chargebacks puts merchants’ net win-rate much lower, saying they only win in 9% of cases. Actual data about how this rate has changed over time is difficult to come by beyond mere anecdotes.
Back on TikTok, users shared some of those anecdotes.
“I work in disputes & today somebody literally disputed a whole 13k bbl,” claimed a user.
“Working at a bank I had people call and dispute a tip cause they changed their mind .. it’s ridiculous,” alleged a second.
“Yep! I work in the dispute dept and you would be shocked what people dispute… I be ‘wait ma’am .. so you got the service why are you disputing,’” stated a third.
The Daily Dot reached out to Morgan via website contact form.
