Talked to a small business owner about chargebacks last Tuesday

I was chatting with a bakery owner near Portland, and she told me she lost $800 last month just from friendly fraud chargebacks. She said the bank automatically sides with the customer 90% of the time unless she has video proof. Has anyone else dealt with this and found a practical way to fight back on smaller transactions?

2 comments

2 Comments

elizabethhayes1mo ago

Wait, banks really side with the customer that much? That's insane. I thought you at least got a fair hearing. $800 is a lot for a bakery to just lose. Guess my buddy who runs a small repair shop was right when he told me he just eats the small chargebacks now, says fighting them takes more time than it's worth. That's just wrong, the system's rigged against little guys.

seth6831mo ago

Right, because who needs a fair system when the credit card companies can just pocket the fees from both sides and call it a day? Friendly fraud is just a tax on being a small business owner, apparently. Maybe she should start a side hustle selling video evidence packages to other bakers.