How to Handle Disputed Charges?

:crystal_ball: Overview:This overview will give a very brief summary of how to handle customers who have filed disputes for Zip installment charges. For more details on our dispute process, please read the entire article.Disputes show on the customer’s main account page in Nexus with a red gavel icon.Customers who dispute a charge will be blocked from purchases automatically in Nexus, which will restrict them from making Zip app or Zip Checkout orders, and will display a screen with the message, “We can't verify your account” (or, in rare cases “Account limitation”) when attempting to place new orders.However, if a customer receives the 'We can't verify your account' screen and does not have a dispute, please follow the How to Handle Nexus Blocks? processIf a customer has filed 4+ orders disputed, they will remain blocked from purchases permanently and are no longer eligible to use Zip.An agent must send these customers the [Customer Experience]::Payments::Disputed Charge::4+ Total Disputes Filed macro.You will need to use Stripe to confirm the listed reason for a dispute. See Disputes Reasons. Customers with disputes that list “fraudulent” as the reason in Stripe, or customers who deny filing a dispute, will require further review by the Fraud team.Support agents will use the Customer Experience::Transfers::Transfer to Fraud (Internal) macro to escalate these customers to the Fraud team.IMPORTANT NOTE: Regardless of the dispute outcome—or even if it’s still pending—any case showing 'Payment disputed as fraudulent' must be transferred to the Fraud team. Ensuring these cases are handled correctly helps protect both the customer and Zip. Customers with disputes that do NOT list “fraudulent” as the reason in Stripe can be unblocked from purchase by agents (we no longer need to request that these customers cancel their dispute).Disputes will interrupt a refund we have already processed in Nexus. If a disputed order has been refunded in full in Nexus…If the dispute is active, agents can accept the disputed installment in Stripe.If the dispute is finalized and “Won” by Zip, agents can proceed with refunding the customer in Stripe.If the dispute is finalized, and “Lost” by Zip, there is no action needed as these funds have already been returned to the customer.Important Note: The internal CX team will only issue a refund through Stripe if all of the following are true:The merchant has issued a refund,The dispute blocked the refund from going through, andZip won the dispute.Make sure to follow the full Dispute process to support the customer correctly.This article covers the dispute review and escalation process. A dispute (or chargeback) happens when a customer challenges a Zip installment charge and wants their bank or card company to recover the money. Sometimes, the card company or bank might dispute a Zip charge if it flags BNPL (buy now, pay later) transactions as potentially fraudulent. All dispute details, including the reason, status, and outcome (whether Zip 'won' or 'lost' the dispute), can be found in Stripe.At times, it can take 2-3 days for us to see a dispute in Stripe from when the customer files it with their bank. There could be several reasons a customer is disputing a Zip charge:They are expecting a merchant refund and they haven’t received it yet.They received a store credit refund and were unhappy with it.They didn’t receive their order or felt they were scammed by a merchant.They canceled their order, and for some reason, the cancellation refund hasn’t been issued yet.Their order was declined on the merchant’s site but processed on Zip’s end.The order was unauthorized, and they are reporting it as fraudulent.:blue_book: Dispute info in Nexus:Nexus will show us which orders have disputed charges. When you pull up the main account page, you will notice a red gavel on the right-hand side of the order (pictured below). When a customer disputes a Zip charge, they will be automatically blocked from purchases in Nexus, with a note stating they are blocked due to the fraud signal ‘InstallmentPaymentDisputeCreatedProcessSignal’. After being blocked due to their dispute, the customer should receive the “Thanks for Considering Us” (or, in rare cases, “Account Limitation”) message when attempting to place another order (using the Zip app or Zip Checkout).While you can click into a disputed order in Nexus, there is no additional information listed. For detailed info, like a customer’s dispute reason, you will need to use Stripe.:blue_book: Dispute Reasons:The disputed reason listed in Stripe is the most important piece of information we’re looking for. It may not always tell the full story of the issue a customer is facing, but it will determine our response and how we handle their dispute block. Below are various reasons for disputes you will find in Stripe:“Product not Received” (usually for undelivered orders)“Product Unacceptable” (usually for damaged orders or orders missing items)“Subscription Cancelled” (usually for canceled orders)“Credit not Processed” (usually for orders a customer is expecting a refund for)“Duplicate” (usually for orders a customer is expecting a refund for, and at times a duplicate order)“Fraudulent” (usually for unauthorized orders, but this is not always the case)IMPORTANT NOTE: If a customer disputes an installment(s) as Fraudulent and wins the dispute in their favor, their account will remain blocked for security reasons.:blue_book: Locating the Dispute(s) in Stripe:To start, ensure that you have resolved the customer's initial request. After that, support agents will need to locate a customer’s disputed installment in Stripe and its listed reason. To do this, follow the below steps:Copy the Order ID of the order showing the dispute icon (red gavel) in Nexus.Search the disputed Order ID in the “Quadpay” tenant of Stripe.See images below Click on the disputed installment(s), which will either say “Disputed” or “X days to respond”. The disputed reasonwas “Fraudulent”, stating they “did not authorize this purchase”. :blue_book: Dispute Process:Important Note: When searching in Stripe, use Stripe’s CX ID instead of Zip’s CX ID to accurately check the number of customer disputes. Does the customer have 4 or more orders disputed?If yes, their account will remain permanently blocked from purchases, and send them the [Customer Experience]::Payments::Disputed Charge::4+ Total Disputes Filed macro.If no, proceed to Step 2.Does the customer have 3 or fewer disputes filed against their Zip installments that are not fraud-related?If the customer has a single fraud dispute within the dispute count, proceed to 2b.If yes, you may unblock them from purchasesComment: [date here] Customer’s dispute reason for order X was non-fraudulent” - Your Name HereNote: [date here] Lifting dispute purchase block due to [amount of disputes] non-fraud related disputes Before reaching back out to the customer, you must determine:If the non-fraudulent disputed order has been refundedIf the non-fraudulent disputed order has NOT been refundedOnce determined, proceed to Step 3.If no, proceed to Step 5Has the dispute been fully refunded in Nexus (by the merchant or automatically canceled order)?If yes, place the ticket on hold, reach out to your supervisor and they will reach out to the internal CX team to have the dispute accepted. Once the internal CX team accepts the dispute in Stripe, please send the customer the [Customer Experience]::Payments::Disputed Charge::Disputed Order Refunded and Block Removed macro and solve the ticket. If no, proceed to Step 4If the dispute has not been fully refunded in Nexus, then we need to point the customer back to the merchant if they are still expecting one and follow the process below: Search the Order ID in the Quadpay App tenant of Stripe to make sure the customer’s order hasn’t been recently reversed or refunded. If there is no reversal or refund, send the customer the [Customer Experience]::Payments::Disputed Charge::Disputed Order Not Refunded but Block Removed macro.Has the customer stated that they did not make the dispute and/or the dispute is fraud-related? Stated that they did not file the dispute(s): transfer to the Fraud team using the Customer Experience::Transfers::Transfer to Fraud (Internal) macro, being sure to detail this.Contact Reason: Customer Contacting in Regards to a Dispute Fraud-related dispute(s): transfer to the Fraud team using the [Customer Experience]::Escalations::Escalate to Fraud (Internal) macro, being sure to list the Order Number(s) and that the disputed charge(s) is listed with the reason “Fraudulent”.Contact Reason: Customer Contacting in Regards to a Dispute :blue_book: Disputed Order - Refunded (Zip CX):If the disputed order has been fully refunded in Nexus after the customer filed their dispute, whether by the merchant, automatically (canceled order), or by Zip: Accept the dispute(s) for this refunded order in Stripe if it is still active, as seen below. If the dispute(s) has already been ruled on and Zip 'won', but the order has since been fully refunded, please refund the disputed installment(s) in Stripe. List 'requested by customer' as the reason and note that the order was refunded in full. Important Note: If the dispute(s) has been ruled on and “Lost” by Zip (won by the customer) then these funds have already been returned to the customer and no action in Stripe is needed. :blue_book: 4+ Orders DisputedAs mentioned, a customer is no longer eligible to use Zip if they have filed 4 or more total orders disputed. And if they have filed this many disputes, we can no longer trust that they will pay us back. If the customer has filed 4+ orders disputed. What can an agent do if a customer has disputed 4 or more orders? Inform the customer using the [Customer Experience]::Payments::Disputed Charge::4+ Total Disputes Filed macro.Leave a note in the main box of Nexus stating that the customer is no longer eligible to use Zip, and block from auth if all orders have been paid off.In some cases (e.g., a customer who is making daily complaints to Support for their account being permanently blocked from purchase or filing regulatory complaints) we may consider writing off their late/outstanding orders (internal CX team only).You can only write off an order if the installments are late. If the order is still in good standing, we will let an order finalize, as the customer does owe us that money.:speech_balloon: Macros:Macros[Customer Experience]::Payments::Disputed Charge::Escalate Non-Fraud DisputeThis is a macro to escalate customers who have disputed an installment and are asking to have their account hold removed (blocked from purchase in Nexus).[Customer Experience]::Escalations::Escalate to Fraud (Internal)This is a macro agents can use to transfer disputes with “fraudulent” as the reason listed in Stripe, or, to escalate disputes that customers deny filing.[Customer Experience]::Payments::Disputed Charge::Disputed Order Refunded and Block RemovedThis is a macro for customers who have disputed an installment for a non-fraudulent reason (e.g. 'product not received') and their purchase block has been removed by a Zip CX/Pod agents, and their order has been refunded (and if needed, their disputes accepted in Stripe).[Customer Experience]::Payments::Disputed Charge::Disputed Order Not Refunded but Block RemovedThis is a macro for customers who have disputed an installment for a non-fraudulent reason (e.g. 'product not received') and their purchase block has been removed by a Zip CX/Pod agents, but their order has not been refunded by the merchant.[Customer Experience]::Payments::Disputed Charge::4+ Total Disputes FiledFor customers who have filed 4 or more orders disputed, and are no longer eligible to use Zip (will remain permanently blocked from purchases).:linked_paperclips: Related Articles:How to handle Verification Code Issues?How to handle Account Closure Requests?How to navigate Quadpay & Quadpay App sections of Stripe?How to Block & Unblock a Customer in Nexus?