Article by Kristin Gabrieli of Total Merchants

Charge backs are a reality that every online merchant has to deal with, and there are several reasons why this happens, one being potential fraud, but the person who has to deal with loss is the merchant as soon as the customer asks for a refund from their bank.

This is why it is so important for merchants to be careful of getting into situations where charge backs are imminent, and so here is a list of tips that will help you avoid charge backs right from the outset:

Tip #1: One of the best safeguards against fraud is by using a professional anti guard filter.

Tip #2: Another vital tip is to make sure that you clearly mention the name of your company (which will also appear on the customer’s credit card statement). This is one of the biggest reasons why customers request for a chargeback because they can’t recognize the company they recently bought something from. Make sure that you put a phone number on the statement so that the customer can call you and find out why they’ve been charged rather than requesting for a chargeback immediately.

Tip #3: Follow your gut and verify any suspicious or large order and contact the customer immediately as in more cases than not, it will be a fraudulent purchase.

Tip #4: One of the simplest steps that you can take in order to avoid a charge back is by customer’s address, name and phone number with the card-issuing back.

Tip #5: Ensure that you get authorization for the full sale, and make sure that it isn’t an expired card either.