We have a Reg E scenario we would like to discuss and determine whether the bank has enough grounds to decline a customer:
A consumer filed a dispute on a transaction they did not recognize and believe was fraudulent/never authorized by them.
The merchant came back with documentation rebutting the dispute. The following information was provided:
The purchase was for subscription supplements
The customer did not cancel their trial offer subscription according to the merchant’s terms & conditions
The customer name, address, phone number & email address match our customer’s information on file
Product shipping & delivery confirmation at our customer’s address on file
Our branch contacted the customer to discuss the merchant’s documentation and determine whether the customer is able to identify the transaction and is willing to accept the charges or continue forward with her original claim that this was unauthorized. The customer’s response:
She is still claiming that she did not authorize those purchases and has taken down the merchant’s 1-800 number to try to get in contact
with them and see why they are fighting the dispute. She will get in contact with us tomorrow and confirm if she wants to continue with the dispute.
Since then, several (3) voicemails have been left for her to return our call to confirm is she wants us to continue forward with her dispute. No response.
In this case, the customer has proposed they are wanting to discuss with the merchant directly and wanted to get back to us before moving forward. If we do not hear from the customer can we take a stance that she is choosing to withdraw and work it out with the merchant directly and close her dispute (withdraw provisional credit and discontinue our investigation).
In general terms, for fraud dispute claims can we deny customers based on the following documentation received:
Customer did not authorize any transactions with this merchant:
Merchant documentation provides all of our customer’s information on file (name, email, address, phone)
Delivery confirmation to our customer’s address on file
Customer did authorize a transactions with this merchant, but did not authorize this particular transaction:
Merchant documentation states the customer did not cancel their trial offer subscription according to the merchant’s terms & conditions