As the concern about industry impact from chargebacks increases, we have implemented a new notification to let races know when we receive a chargeback.
We have written in depth about chargebacks, but for a quick refresher:
A chargeback is where the credit card network allows a credit card holder to get their money back if what they purchased is not delivered. This can be from a cancelled event or even a postponed or otherwise altered event. This is different from a standard refund. A refund is agreed to and initiated by the race director. A chargeback is when the cardholder asks the credit card network (like American Express or Visa) to reverse the charge. If a chargeback is approved, it comes with an additional fee, meaning a chargeback has a larger cost to a race director than a refund.
When we get chargebacks on your race, we submit documentation to dispute it. This notification to race directors does not change that.
What will happen when there is a chargeback:
We will still dispute the chargeback with the evidence from our system (refund policies on your race, waiver details, etc.). You do not need to do anything for us to dispute.
But, we will also now send you a notification to let you know the name of the purchaser who has submitted a chargeback, as well as the email address and the phone number of that purchaser.
What can you do with that information?
You can call them! You are not required do do anything with this information; however, it is sometimes possible to convince a participant to reverse the chargeback request by explaining the other options available to the participant and why how their chargeback impacts your race or nonprofit cause.
Your notification will include a template phone conversation and email to the participant. We generally recommend a phone call first.
No matter what, be polite and calm. Your goal here is to get them to help you out – and you never know, sometimes the purchaser was confused, didn’t understand the impact of the chargeback, or misunderstood the options you were offering.
If you get a notification, it will look something like this, with real information filled in for the tags.
