When a customer disputes a charge, you'll receive a notification email from us. You'll have 48 hours from the moment you receive the email to provide us with the following evidence - we'll handle your dispute from there.
Please note that even though we give you 48 hours to respond, the time limit to respond begins as soon as you’ve received notification of the dispute and can be anywhere from 7-39 days, depending on the processor).
If we don’t receive any evidence from your side, we won’t be able to defend the chargeback on your behalf and it will be marked as “lost”.
Once you receive the dispute, you might want to get in touch with the customer first. It is possible that the guest simply did not recognize or remember the transaction on their bank statement.
So what is the process of defending the chargeback looks like?
- You receive an email notification, informing you about the disputed transaction
2. Fill in the "Template for defending a chargeback" down below. Fill in the sections in {these brackets} with information relevant to the charge dispute. Include as accurate details about the transaction and guest as possible and edit it with more information if needed. All the information about the credit card and guest is available in Mews Operations.
3. Remove any sections that aren't relevant to your chargeback - for example, remove the section Prior transactions with the customer if the chargeback has come from a first-time guest.
4. Attach your evidence. You should include a copy of the bill or invoice, a copy of the guest's signed registration card, a screenshot of your website where your Terms &Conditions, cancellation policies, and refund policies are clearly stated, a copy of the booking confirmation you received from the OTA or travel agency.
5. Answer back to the original notification email with all evidence that you could gather. This email will be redirected to the Risk Team and we will take care of the rest of the process for you!
Note:
· All the evidence must be provided in English
· All the evidence must be submitted to us in PDF format (https://combinepdf.com/)
· You are not allowed to send pictures of the guests (no camera footage)
· You are not allowed to share with us raw credit card credentials
· All the sensitive information as copies of the ID/passports, needs to be encrypted (you can find many ways online on how to send encrypted files)
· Everything should be sent in one email, as it is not allowed to add anything to already submitted evidence
Template for defending a chargeback
On {date of the dispute}, we {property name} were notified that the customer {customer_name}, registered with the email address {customer_email}, filed a dispute for a charge we made in the amount of {currency_sign}{charge_amount}.
The dispute was for the amount of {currency_sign}{charge_amount}, to a {card_brand} card that expires on {card_exp_month} / {card_exp_year}, with the last four digits {card_last_four}.
The following documentation demonstrates when and why the charge was made, and how we communicated with the customer before, during, and after the transaction to ensure a secure and valid exchange. The evidence that follows provides proof that the dispute served is invalid.
Service description
On {purchased_date}, {customer_name} used the {platform_name} platform to make a booking at the property "{property_name}" for the dates {check_in_date} to {check_out_date}. The price of the booking was {currency_sign}{charge_amount} and includes the price of the room as well as applicable taxes and fees.
Customers are required to provide a valid credit card as well as photo identification at the hotel when they check-in, in order to ensure a valid exchange.
Prior transactions with the customer
This customer has successfully completed a transaction in our hotel in the past, using a {card_brand} card that expires on {card_exp_month} / {card_exp_year}, with the last four digits {card_last_four}.
Attached are bills and invoices from these past transactions.
Communication with the customer
The customer supplied the email address {customer_email} during the sign-up process. We used this to provide billing and reservation details.
Attached are the emails that we exchanged with the customer.