When a customer is unhappy but can’t get a refund from a merchant, card companies give them the option of disputing the charges. When that happens, the card companies also give the merchant a chance to make the case for why the charge should be upheld – known as a dispute response. Unfortunately, many merchants fail to file dispute responses, and when they do, they’re often done wrong. The result is that far too many merchants lose money to disputes they should’ve won. IRIS CRM has developed an advanced dispute management tool called Dispute Responder that is designed specifically to make it faster and easier for merchants and ISOs to ensure no dispute is ever lost needlessly.

 

What Happens When Disputes Go Unchallenged

When a chargeback is filed, a clock starts ticking. Each card company has its own standard, but, generally speaking, if a response hasn’t been filed within 45 days, the dispute is automatically closed in favor of the buyer. When that happens, merchants and ISOs alike get punished in a number of ways. 

Loss of Revenue: First and foremost, the customer gets their money back, regardless of whether or not it’s warranted. If the merchant doesn’t have the funds to cover dispute refunds, the ISO is on the hook. In either case, both parties lose money – in the case of the merchant, the primary sale revenue, and, in the case of the ISO, the residual on the sale. 

Loss of Inventory: In many cases, the inventory from the sale is also unrecoverable. When a dispute has been submitted fraudulently, the inventory is always as good as gone. But, even when a legitimate customer submits a chargeback for what they feel is a valid reason, it’s often too late to get the merchandise back once a standard refund has been denied. That’s one reason it’s so important for merchants to try to resolve issues with customers through normal refund channels whenever possible. 

Reputation Damage: A lost chargeback here and there is an unavoidable cost of doing business, but when they start to pile up, it can set off red flags for payment processors and the major card issuers. That reflects badly on both the merchant and the ISO, and, in extreme cases, can result in penalties or even merchants losing their account privileges. 

In short, every ignored or missed dispute is a lost dispute, and lost disputes have cascading consequences. Dispute Responder minimizes merchants’ and ISOs’ exposure to those consequences. 

 

How IRIS CRM Dispute Responder Changes the Game

IRIS CRM Dispute Responder is a dispute management system designed to ensure no merchant ever loses a chargeback due to failure to respond. It does that by focusing on three key areas that cause problems in the traditional dispute response process: slow notifications, confusing requirements, and outdated communication channels. 

Automatic Day-Zero Notifications

Traditional notifications often come by mail, which can take at least a week – assuming the notification arrives at all. Dispute Responder saves merchants that lost time by automatically and instantaneously issuing day-zero notifications as soon as a dispute is on file. Dispute Responder’s notifications go out by email to both the merchant and the ISO, and logged-in users also receive an on-screen notification through IRIS CRM. If no action is taken, follow-up notifications automatically go out 24 hours and 72 hours later. By ensuring the relevant parties know about chargebacks immediately, Dispute Responder ensures merchants have the maximum amount of time possible to respond, ensuring no dispute will ever be lost due to the clock running out. 

Reason-Based Action Checklist

Each dispute requires a specific type of evidence to be submitted based on the reason given by the buyer. Even when merchants have ample time to file a defense, they often don’t know what to do, which either paralyzes them entirely or results in incorrect evidence being submitted, and a guaranteed loss. Dispute Responder solves that problem by analyzing the reason code for each dispute and presenting the merchant and the ISO with a custom checklist outlining each piece of information a merchant needs to submit to file the strongest-possible response. By taking the guesswork out of the process, Dispute Responder helps merchants win more cases and keep more money in their pockets.  

Paperless Electronic Response

With a clear understanding of what evidence the card company requires, merchants are traditionally faced with the daunting task of compiling all the necessary documentation and faxing or mailing it in, or scanning everything to be emailed. It’s a time-consuming headache and a burden for busy business owners. Dispute Responder reclaims all that time by enabling users to submit their responses electronically right through the CRM. Documentation can simply be pulled from elsewhere within the CRM or uploaded to Dispute Responder, and the entire process can be completed in a matter of minutes. 

 

IRIS CRM’s Dispute Responder creates a more streamlined, more simplified dispute management process that enables merchants and ISOs to file better, more timely responses with ease. It also provides an advanced reporting suite that makes it quick and easy to track all ongoing and historical disputes. And, because ISOs can manage the entire process themselves, Dispute Responder opens up the possibility for a new value-added service, as well. 

To find out more about how Dispute Responder can help your merchants lose fewer chargebacks and your ISO protect your residuals, schedule a free guided demonstration of IRIS CRM today.