Effectively managing disputes

Effective date: Reminder

The Disputes Best Practices Guide, available through the Business Track® portal, includes response templates to leverage when creating dispute responses. The guide organizes templates by category, and it supplies a sample of convincing evidence. Failing to effectively respond to disputes could result in:

• The inability to challenge the dispute with proof that the transaction was legitimate
• The loss of products or services
• Reduced profit margins and other costs associated with disputes

When responding to disputes, it’s important to effectively address the customer’s concerns in a timely manner, considering the following:

• Dispute responses should address the reason code and include all relevant details about the transaction and the disputed amount.
• Clearly identify the case number on all pages of all dispute response documents. If possible, limit responses to one case per transmission.
• Payment networks limit dispute response documentation to 5MB, so use templates to highlight the necessary information.
• The Business Track portal includes access to electronic dispute tools and reporting for responding to all dispute types. Remember that faxed and mailed dispute correspondence incurs service fees.
• If you use a third-party dispute service, ensure that they follow secure, efficient, and cost-effective ways of handling disputes.