Table of Contents

　　What is a Bank of America chargeback?

　　How much are Bank of America's chargeback fees?

　　What is Bank of America's chargeback policy?

　　Bank of America chargeback time limit

　　What is Bank of America's chargeback process?

　　Conclusion: Why it pays to dispute chargebacks

Is a chargeback a refund?

　　What happens if you lose a chargeback?

　　If you’re dealing with chargebacks on an ongoing, long-term basis, you may come to develop some opinions about the banks that get involved.

　　How can you handle Bank of America Chargebacks? You start by managing your chargebacks overall, from fraud prevention to chargeback management and customer service. You'll also want to know the specific of Bank of America chargebacks, including the process, the time limits, and the fees and penalties. Finally, you'll want to work with a chargeback company that knows Bank of America chargebacks and can help you prevent them and recover funds from fraudulent chargebacks.

　　Your primary relationship will be with your acquiring bank, the institution that provides you with your merchant account, but it’s likely you’ll find yourself at odds with some of the larger issuing banks on multiple occasions. With millions of customers across the United States, it’s likely that Bank of America will often be the issuer you’re having to contend with.

　　An institution the size of Bank of America can be an intimidating opponent, but ultimately, you’re both subject to the rules imposed by Visa and Mastercard, and even big banks have a vested interest in following the rules and doing the right (and legal) thing.

　　Are you learning how to use the Bank of America's platform to dispute chargebacks? Here's our Step by Step Walkthrough.

　　Have you got a Bank of America chargeback awaiting your response but you aren't sure how? Here’s what you need to know about dealing with this massive national bank.

　　What is a Bank of America chargeback?

　　A Bank of America chargeback is what happens when a customer disputes a credit or debit card charge on one of their Bank of America accounts.

　　Cardholders have a limited amount of time after the transaction is processed to dispute the charge. In most cases, customer should contact the merchant to attempt to resolve any issues with them directly before disputing a charge, and Bank of America recommends this to their customers on their website. The only situation in which a customer should immediately dispute a charge is fraud.

　　If a customer's card has been stolen, or if someone has gained unauthorized access to their card or account information, that customer is within their rights to dispute any charges resulting from that fraud.

　　In some cases, a customer may dispute a charge due to not receiving the product or service they purchased, receiving a damaged item, or being accidentally charged twice for a single purchase. In these cases, the issue can almost always be resolved more quickly and easily by contacting the merchant directly, but if the merchant is uncooperative, the customer may dispute the charge.

　　However, some cardholders may also dispute charges for reasons that are not legitimate: Perhaps because they experienced poor customer service, or they don't recognize a charge they authorized on their bill. Additionally, some may dispute a charge simply because they feel they can get away with fraud.

　　Because they are an issuing bank, Bank of America has their own set of fees, time-frames, and processes for a chargeback.

　　What is Bank of America's chargeback fee?

　　Chargeback fees at Bank of America range from $25 to $50 for each disputed charge.

　　Like any financial institution, Bank of America will start assessing fees as soon as it gets involved in a chargeback. As an acquiring bank, Bank of America requires its merchants to pay a chargeback fee once the process is initiated. Typically, the chargeback fee at this point in the process ranges from 15% to 40% of the chargeback amount.

　　Acquiring banks charge these fees specifically to cover overhead and discourage merchant chargebacks in place of merchant-managed refunds.

　　When a chargeback has gone through the representment phase and the losing party does not accept the decision, the chargeback may enter the arbitration phase where the card network reviews all evidence and renders a final decision. The arbitration fees due from the losing party can run as high as $500, but these fees are paid to the card networks, not the acquiring or issuing banks. The card network's decision can't be appealed.

　　What is Bank of America's chargeback policy?

　　Bank of America instructs its customers to contact the merchant they are having issues with to attempt to resolve the problem amicably before disputing the transaction.

　　If the customer cannot resolve the issue, they are given 60 days from the closing date of the statement the charge appears on to contact Bank of America to make a formal dispute.

　　When a dispute is opened, Bank of America issues a temporary credit to the customer's account for the amount of the disputed transaction. For credit cards, the balance and minimum payment will be adjusted accordingly. If the customer wins the dispute, this temporary credit becomes permanent. If the merchant wins, the credit is removed. No fees or interest are charge to a customer who loses a dispute.

　　Bank of America reserves the right to dispute older charges, but they do not guarantee their customers immediate temporary chargeback funds for disputed transactions that exceed this time limit.

　　Bank of America Chargeback time limit

　　Bank of America gives its customers 60 days to dispute a transaction and request a chargeback. Once Bank of America has accepted the chargeback request and put it through their system, the chargeback time limits mandated by the relevant card networks take effect.

　　For merchants, some key time limits to remember are the 18-day window to respond to Visa cardholder disputes (required whether you intend to fight the chargeback or not), 30 days to submit a chargeback representment case after the chargeback has been acknowledged, 30 days to initiate a pre-arbitration chargeback after representment has concluded, and 10 days to pursue arbitration after the pre-arbitration process has concluded.

　　Each step of escalation in the chargeback process is optional except the first. Merchants who fail to respond to a dispute will be charged an additional fee. Bear in mind, however, that merchants who don't wish to fight a particular dispute can simply respond that they accept the chargeback. While most chargebacks can be fought and won, those that are the result of true fraud can't be.

　　What is Bank of America's chargeback process?

　　Once a customer has initiated a chargeback with Bank of America, they will receive an acknowledgement or resolution from the bank within 30 days.

　　As the issuing bank in a chargeback dispute, Bank of America will pass along the initial complaint to the acquiring bank. A retrieval request will be sent to ascertain the basic validity of the chargeback, and if it is allowed to proceed, it will be sent back to Bank of America for their decision. Bank of America says that they may take up to two billing cycles, not to exceed 90 days, to reach their decision.

　　Transactions in the chargeback process will not be considered delinquent by Bank of America while the chargeback is underway. However, the amount may be counted toward the customer’s credit limit.

　　Conclusion: Why it pays to dispute chargebacks

　　The most important thing to know about fighting chargebacks is that you’re not just fighting for the mere dollar amount of the disputed charge. You’re fighting for a healthy chargeback ratio, for your company’s good reputation, and for all of the add-on fees and charges that make each chargeback end up costing as much as twice the original transaction amount. Your best weapons against any chargeback are compelling evidence that shows you acted according to the rules, and a statement that concisely explains your reasons for challenging the chargeback.

　　Ultimately, chargebacks aren’t just about specific customer situations and individual disputes. They’re about your overall business practices, and whether or not they’re inadvertently creating friction, confusion, and conflicts that lead customers to file chargebacks against you.

　　Finally, if you make a mistake processing a Bank of America charge and the cardholder can demonstrate that, then Bank of America will push a chargeback to refund the customer.

　　Many chargebacks come about because of bad return and exchange policies, misleading advertising and marketing efforts, product quality issues, sub-par customer service, and other aspects of your business that can be identified and corrected. When you engage in chargeback analysis and study the root causes of your chargebacks, you can see in stark detail what you’re doing wrong and how you can do better.

　　FAQ

　　Is a chargeback a refund?

　　No, it is a reversal of the transaction by the bank (in this case, Bank of America) due to fraud or merchant error.

　　What happens if you lose a chargeback?

　　You not only lose the product or service and the sale price of that product or service, but you also lose money in the form of fees and wasted overhead (marketing, sales, etc.).

　　Is a chargeback legal?

　　Chargebacks are legal in cases of fraud or merchant error. They are not for situations like customer dissatisfaction.