This document will help you use Fleetworks to create bespoke chargeback defences using either pre-written templates, your own defence wording or a combination.  You can create a chargeback record either by adding the details manually into the Chargeback Module or by clicking the Create Chargeback action button when viewing a PCN in the PCN Module.

For the purpose of this guide, the term chargeback includes chargebacks, retrieval requests and pre-compliance cases. When adding a case to Fleetworks you will select the correct case type.  There is plenty of debate about whether defending pre-compliance issues will ever secure a reversal.  Our view is that you should always defend them, if only to review the charge circumstances and improve operationally.


General Chargeback Guidance

There are four key parties involved in the processing of payments and therefore in the creation and processing of chargeback requests. These are:

  • Your merchant service provider - the Acquirer
  • You – the Merchant
  • The Card Scheme – Visa, Mastercard, Amex, Discover, etc.
  • The Cardholder – your client/hirer.

Let us be clear, successfully defending against chargebacks is a very difficult thing to do. Most chargeback defences will be unsuccessful.  Despite this, is it expected by Acquirers that Merchants will provide a defence.  

The principal idea behind the Fleetworks process is that if you defend all of your chargebacks,  engage with your clients in a uniform manner and you review your business procedures based on chargeback reasons, then you will lose and create less chargebacks. You will secure cancellation by some clients and improve business processes, thereby, inducing less chargebacks.  

The aim of this document is to provide you with a greater understanding of chargebacks and reason codes and how to use them to achieve reversals. 

We also recommend contacting your Acquirer for any direct advice they can provide.

We provide pre-written defences that can be used for common car rental chargeback reason codes. You will then supplement the text with specific charge details and evidence for the case being defended. 

To achieve a reversal you will need to try to do two things:

  1. You must be aiming to justify that the charge you made was correct and that the client participated in it knowingly and willingly
  2. And attempt to show that the reason code is invalid. 

To do this, all defences should include the following:

  • Chargeback case & merchant details
  • Merchant statement – whether you accept or defend the chargeback
  • Description of the service charged for
  • Evidence of the service being charged
  • Evidence of cardholder involvement
  • Invoice for services.

The wording we will use will be case-specific and based around the combination of:

  • card type (i.e. Mastercard, Visa, Amex, Discover)
  • the reason code
  • the transaction type (i.e. PCN admin fee, unpaid rental services, damage).

We do this because chargebacks are classified into four categories and we need to tailor the defence to the category. The categories are:

  • Fraud
  • Authorisation
  • Processing errors
  • Consumer disputes.

These categories are then further divided. For example, Visa divides categories further by reason code. So, Consumer Disputes is split into the following sub-categories:

  • 13.1 – Merchandise/ Services Not Received 
  • 13.2 – Cancelled Recurring 
  • 13.3 – Not as Described or Defective Merchandise/Services 
  • 13.4 – Counterfeit Merchandise 
  • 13.5 - Misrepresentation 
  • 13.6 – Credit Not Processed 
  • 13.7 – Cancelled Merchandise/Services 
  • 13.8 – Original Credit Transaction Not Accepted 
  • 13.9 – Non-Receipt of Cash or Load Transaction Value

The card schemes (Visa, Mastercard, etc) provide some guidance on how to defend certain types of dispute. Using this, Fleetworks defence templates will help you present targeted defences. It is important to protect your acquirer reputation and always present a credible defence. 

Depending on the card scheme, a case may begin as a retrieval request (RRQ) and then escalate to a chargeback. You may defend the RRQ successfully but, it may return to you with a different reason code. If a case is referred back with a different reason code we would recommend the case is added to Fleetworks as a new case and the new reason code defended. Do not submit the same defence without checking the reason code. Not all schemes have RRQ’s though and some will just go straight to chargeback stage.