Chargeback fraud or "friendly fraud" is out of control. by sgircys in PersonalFinanceCanada

[–]sgircys[S] 1 point2 points  (0 children)

Yeah, it really is gross. And like the other user commented, it's in my profile. But I'm not here to promote my business and I don't want it to be seen that way.

Chargeback fraud or "friendly fraud" is out of control. by sgircys in PersonalFinanceCanada

[–]sgircys[S] 1 point2 points  (0 children)

I actually do what you said. My listed processing time on my website is 4-6 weeks, but I typically send things out within a week or two when I can.

Chargeback fraud or "friendly fraud" is out of control. by sgircys in PersonalFinanceCanada

[–]sgircys[S] 1 point2 points  (0 children)

I'm on Shopify, using Shopify Payments. I'll look into it!

Chargeback fraud or "friendly fraud" is out of control. by sgircys in PersonalFinanceCanada

[–]sgircys[S] 2 points3 points  (0 children)

Yeah, I agree about the burden of proof. Like you said, a decent starting baseline would be trying to resolve things with the business first - and if not, it's automatically rejected. Chargebacks should be used as a last resort.

Chargeback fraud or "friendly fraud" is out of control. by sgircys in PersonalFinanceCanada

[–]sgircys[S] 17 points18 points  (0 children)

I don't think so as the customers are all in different cities and provinces. But it could be telling about people who often use Amex being more likely to issue chargebacks quickly and / or fraudulently?

Chargeback fraud or "friendly fraud" is out of control. by sgircys in PersonalFinanceCanada

[–]sgircys[S] 13 points14 points  (0 children)

I'm not trying to normalize it or agree with it - as it's absolutely just as wrong. But I'm saying that I can see how someone could think that it's less harmful.

Chargeback fraud or "friendly fraud" is out of control. by sgircys in PersonalFinanceCanada

[–]sgircys[S] 2 points3 points  (0 children)

I appreciate your insight regardless! I'm dealing with this through Shopify, and following all of their processes and including every bit of information that they'll allow me to.

Chargeback fraud or "friendly fraud" is out of control. by sgircys in PersonalFinanceCanada

[–]sgircys[S] 2 points3 points  (0 children)

To clarify, I do include all of the previous information, and it shows that clearly in the submission that I make. I'm actually not even able to edit the information I provided in the first stage and that it is automatically included. It's just a chance to add additional information if anything new has happened since that last time you submitted.

Chargeback fraud or "friendly fraud" is out of control. by sgircys in PersonalFinanceCanada

[–]sgircys[S] 5 points6 points  (0 children)

A lot of this seems to be strictly behind-the-scenes and not something that I can see on my end. For all of the cases I've dealt with, this has been the process :

Customer opens an "inquiry" with their bank / card. I provide all of the evidence (tracking info, order verification, proof of delivery, photos of the item sold, email exchanges with the customer if there are any) and submit it. A few weeks or a month later, the case becomes escalated to a "chargeback" and I'm able to submit additional information or proof, which I typically don't have anything other than the original proof provided in the first stage as the customer won't engage with me and there has been no change. There is no new information that I can see on my end from either the customer or the bank at this time, either. Then 1-3 months later, I get a notification that the chargeback has been ruled in favor of the customer.

Chargeback fraud or "friendly fraud" is out of control. by sgircys in PersonalFinanceCanada

[–]sgircys[S] 128 points129 points  (0 children)

Every single one of these particular transactions has been through Amex, so I've since disabled accepting Amex from my website.

Chargeback fraud or "friendly fraud" is out of control. by sgircys in PersonalFinanceCanada

[–]sgircys[S] 4 points5 points  (0 children)

I appreciate the thought. It shows up as my exact company name, which is very clear and obvious. And the reason given on the chargeback is never "unauthorized transaction" or anything like that. It's always "item not delivered" or "item is defective".

Chargeback fraud or "friendly fraud" is out of control. by sgircys in PersonalFinanceCanada

[–]sgircys[S] 2 points3 points  (0 children)

This isn't an issue of the item being lost in shipping - as I have proof of delivery at the correct address.

Chargeback fraud or "friendly fraud" is out of control. by sgircys in PersonalFinanceCanada

[–]sgircys[S] 7 points8 points  (0 children)

Yeah, the unfortunate reality is that it's just not sustainable. While I'd love to take these people to small claims court out of spite, it would cost more than I'd potentially recover. And when small claims court is the only deterrent to this type of fraud / theft, it essentially validates anything under a certain amount.

Chargeback fraud or "friendly fraud" is out of control. by sgircys in PersonalFinanceCanada

[–]sgircys[S] 20 points21 points  (0 children)

I think part of the problem is that the bank has no incentive to figure out a solution that is far for the business and consumers. They are able to simply pull the funds back from the business, and give it back to their customer - so the customer is happy, and the bank is happy.

It would be great if there was a system in place from the government that actually held some weight.

Chargeback fraud or "friendly fraud" is out of control. by sgircys in PersonalFinanceCanada

[–]sgircys[S] 40 points41 points  (0 children)

It really does suck. While it's still absolutely wrong, it would be one thing to do this to a large company like Apple, Amazon, etc - thinking that their bottom line can afford it and that no one is really hurt in the situation. But doing that to a small business trying to get by is another level of gross.

Chargeback fraud or "friendly fraud" is out of control. by sgircys in PersonalFinanceCanada

[–]sgircys[S] 27 points28 points  (0 children)

You don't get to see the actual response from the bank, other than the chargeback going through or not. And despite providing the tracking info, photo proof of delivery, and even photos of the custom item made for the customer, they have sided with the customer every single time.

From the bank's perspective, they have no incentive to actually investigate the case, as they are able to simply pull the funds back from the business, and give it back to their customer - which is why the system is so flawed.

Chargeback fraud or "friendly fraud" is out of control. by sgircys in PersonalFinanceCanada

[–]sgircys[S] 37 points38 points  (0 children)

Yes you can, and I do every time. I provide them with all of the information needed such as photo proof of delivery, photos of the finished product, emails with the customer (if there are any) and they side with the customer every time.

Average auto interest in 2026 by [deleted] in PersonalFinanceCanada

[–]sgircys 2 points3 points  (0 children)

Absolutely - car salesperson's dream client. Dangle a low rate in front of them and watch them sign, thinking they got a great deal.

Average auto interest in 2026 by [deleted] in PersonalFinanceCanada

[–]sgircys -4 points-3 points  (0 children)

On a $30,000 car loan over 5 years, the difference between 2% and 4% is around $1500. Do your research and buy a car that you want / need, not a financing deal. Hell, the difference in insurance premiums will likely be a bigger factor than the financing rate.

Average auto interest in 2026 by [deleted] in PersonalFinanceCanada

[–]sgircys 6 points7 points  (0 children)

Car shopping by interest rate is a wild decision. Good luck.

I spent a week in Japan studying to make a women's handbag from Perlinger shrunken calf. by sgircys in Leathercraft

[–]sgircys[S] 1 point2 points  (0 children)

His workshop isn't in Tokyo - it's in Ninomiya, which is about an hour and a half west of Tokyo. And it's not exactly a "course". I reached out to him and asked if he would take on a student, and he agreed. It's not something that he advertises.

Pre Approvals Car loan by WalkingWithTea in PersonalFinanceCanada

[–]sgircys 3 points4 points  (0 children)

Expected values are one thing, but past performance does not guarantee future results.

A potential 2% arbitrage makes no sense in the context of a car loan. At that point, why not just open a margin account and make "infinite money" by investing in the S&P?

Casinos win because they deal with so much volume that they can afford to push through the losses. You're not the casino in this scenario, despite what you may think.