Learn how to manage disputes in your JobNimbus Payments account.
On This Page
What is a Dispute?
A Dispute refers to a custo`mer or cardholder being unsatisfied or unfamiliar with a payment charged to their card and contacting their issuing bank for more information or to force-refund the transaction.
When a dispute occurs, the JobNimbus Payments user generally has the opportunity to:
- Accept liability and voluntarily concede to the dispute
- OR - - Respond to the issuing bank with compelling evidence validating the transaction (the mechanism for fighting chargebacks is called representment).
The cardholder’s issuing bank will make the final determination based on the evidence provided by both sides.
What is the difference between a Dispute and a Chargeback?
A Dispute is a disagreement between the customer and the merchant over a transaction. A Chargeback is a possible outcome of a credit card payment dispute.
Who are the parties involved in a Dispute or Chargeback?
- Cardholder/Customer: The owner of the payment card used to make the purchase or the individual who placed the transaction
- Merchant: The individual or company who sold a product or service to the customer
- Issuing Bank (Issuer): The bank that issues a branded payment card to the cardholder
- Acquiring Bank (Acquirer): Your bank which holds your account and enables you to accept credit card payments
- Credit Card Network: The association that owns the credit card brand used in the transaction
The Basic Chargeback Process
- The cardholder disputes the transaction with their issuing bank.
- The issuing bank determines whether the dispute constitutes a valid reason to grant a chargeback.
- If the claim is approved, the issuing bank gives the cardholder a provisional credit, and the bank notifies the merchant's acquirer, who will then charge you any applicable chargeback fees.
- The acquiring bank will notify you about the chargeback, and you must decide whether to accept or fight the chargeback.
- If you choose to fight the chargeback, you must submit a rebuttal letter and supporting evidence to prove that the dispute is invalid.
- The issuing bank will evaluate the evidence and decide whether to reverse or uphold the chargeback. If the bank decides against you, they can appeal through arbitration.
- The losing party in arbitration will be charged hundreds of dollars in fees.
How Can You Fight Chargebacks?
- The mechanism for fighting chargebacks is called representment.
- A represented charge will only be accepted by the issuing bank if you include compelling evidence that refutes the cardholder’s dispute claims.
- Relevant evidence may include transaction data, AVS, CVV, and delivery verification, the cardholder’s transaction history, communications between you and the cardholder, signed delivery receipts, and other pertinent data or documentation related to the transaction being disputed.
What Happens When You Accept a Chargeback?
- You can choose to accept a chargeback rather than fight it.
- If the chargeback is due to true fraud, accepting it is the correct decision.
- The cardholder's provisional credit then becomes permanent and the case is closed.
Best Practices to Prevent and Handle Chargebacks
Preventing Chargebacks
- Ensure the customer understands the cost of their job.
- Communicate frequently and honestly with your customers - be upfront about pricing and any delays that may occur when completing a job.
- Respond promptly to any complaints about their purchase, service, or transaction, and stay in contact with them until you can work out an agreeable solution.
Handling Chargebacks
- Document all communication with the customer in your Job file in JobNimbus, including email threads and any conversations outside of JobNimbus (learn how to leave Notes on Jobs here.)
- Be descriptive on your estimates and invoices.
- Complete walk-throughs with customers upon job completion and get their sign-off to show that the job was completed to their satisfaction.
- Be prompt about responding to any disputes.
How does JobNimbus assist with Disputes?
- Our FinTech Team will notify you within 1 business day if a customer opens a dispute.
- We may request any additional conversations or documentation that you have with the customer to build a strong case for the dispute.
Note: If you as the merchant fail to either fight or accept a chargeback by the deadline, you may be charged an additional non-response fee on top of the regular chargeback fee. Every chargeback requires a response of some sort, even if you don't want to fight it.
Responding to Disputes
- Login to the JobNimbus Payments portal.
- From the Portal Dashboard, click Disputes from the left-hand navigation menu.
- Select the dispute details button next to the dispute in question from the list provided.
- Review the details of the dispute and select one of the two available responses: Accept Liability or Upload Evidence.
These available options allow you to easily handle the dispute with a brief response either accepting or disputing the chargeback.
Each dispute will have a response due date. It is important to respond before the response due date passes to ensure your response is accepted by the credit card company.
Accept Liability
- This option allows you to accept the dispute and refund the customer for the disputed amount.
Upload Evidence
- This option allows you to respond to the dispute to argue its validity. You can include a brief message and attach PDFs (up to 10MB total, 2MB each) to support your decision.
Dispute Details Section
To view the Dispute Details, scroll down on the individual Dispute's page. This section shows important information such as:
- The Dispute Case ID
- The Dispute Case ID
-
The Response Due Date
-
The Last Response
- The Dispute Cycle
- The Dispute Status
- The Last Response Date
Important Note: There are some dispute/chargeback scenarios that you are unable to respond to in the JobNimbus Payments portal. In this case, you will receive a notification instructing you to contact the credit card company directly.