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Timely: Any experience with customer disputing a charge for an order that was produced correctly and that he picked up?

jtiii

jtiii

I paid good money for you to read this!
We've got a customer who orders about once a year from us. Haven't had much trouble with him in the past although he's a bit of a self important ass. We just printed 100 tees for him. We sent him the order with all details about size, quantity, etc and detailing exactly what was going to be printed on them. We told him the order was three pages and to be sure to read all three. He replied to go ahead with the order.

His wife picked them up and paid, and then a few hours later he started sending angry texts because we printed what was on the order (the same back print as last year) but he wanted the print from two years ago. When we sent him the email exchange where he approved the order he replied "emails don't show what our initial phone conversation was. I can tell you that you screwed up."

Of course the entire reason we send a work order for approval is so the customer can catch mistakes they made and any mistakes we made.

When we didn't reply within a few hours of his "you screwed up" email he shot us one saying he was going to dispute the charge.
This is our first chargeback dispute in the 29 years we've been doing this. Does anyone with experience with this sort of thing have an opinion as to how this will play out?
Thank you!
 
Boudica

Boudica

Back to "educational purposes"
When he disputes it, show them the email where he approved the order. I don't think he's got a leg to stand on.

We had one a couple of years ago, where my boss fired a customer mid-production on a vehicle wrap. he had paid a deposit, and my boss refunded his deposit (by check) just to get rid of him. Then the customer disputed the charge on his card - it was a mess. I'm not sure how it played out, I hate to ask... it was a sore subject.
 
Gino

Gino

Premium Subscriber
Never had a charge back, that I can remember, but I would simply say...... a phone conversation does not record or make notes of what was said, so a phone call does not count. That's why we put it in written form. To protect yu and us at the same time. I'd go further and explain to him, if he disputes the charges, it could go against him since you covered your tracks. Figure out a fair cost to do it the right way and offer him a nice discount...... or just lose him and re-word your quotations. NO refunds and then list your various reasons.
 
V

victor bogdanov

Active Member
Totally in the hands of his credit card company. Its a coin toss. Submit you defense to your cc processor and hope for the best.

Chargebacks are pretty common in Ecommerence and I'm about 50/50. Even signature delivery confirmation loses sometimes to "non delivery". The credit card companies tend to side with their customer
 
Gino

Gino

Premium Subscriber
Yeah, all those well groomed homeless people out there representing his company. That'll go over real big. I can see it now at the bottom of the ramp.......... guy comes up to your car to wash your windshield with a can in his hand with YOUR logo and phone number real big on the shirt. Yep, that's the ticket.

 
Solventinkjet

Solventinkjet

DIY Printer Fixing Guide
If you just have an email of him approving it, you probably have a 50/50 chance of winning. If you have a physical signature, the odds lean in your favor. At the end of the day, the customer wins more often than not because the bank has no incentive to be fair to you. If the bank denies your appeal, you can still sick a collector on them or sue them in small claims depending on if it's worth it to you. The bank's decision doesn't limit your legal remedies.
 
FireSprint.com

FireSprint.com

Trade Only Screen & Digital Sign Printing
Give the CC company all the information but nothing more. Someone will read through your case and make a quick decision which is hard to reverse. At this point, I would move on and let it play out. Go help another customer.

Before the disputed charge, I would have offered a discount to reprint, like Jonny suggested. But since the charge is now in dispute, there really isn't much you can do. You could ask him to reverse the charge, but that's a crapshoot.
 
Texas_Signmaker

Texas_Signmaker

Very Active Signmaker
A customer that is willing to dispute a charge is not worth keeping. Friend of mine is in the CC processing business, it's a complete coin toss, even if it looks like you were 100% in the right. Challenge it and never work for that client again. If you're really chapped about it, file a small claims case, you'll have much better luck there.
 
Boudica

Boudica

Back to "educational purposes"
jtiii ... Is the disputed chargback still just a threat? Have they actually gone through with it? Maybe he was having a bad day, blew up, and after calming down realizes it's partly, if not all his fault for approving the artwork too quickly.
 
A

ADASignLady

New Member
Years ago, in the printing business, the bride to be came in and ordered the wedding stationery. I asked if the groom wanted to see a sample (it was a classic, tasteful set of invitations, envelopes, place cards, etc -- nothing out of the ordinary). She said he wanted her to choose. I put in the order, they came in, she picked them up, paid with a check. He reversed the check. For me, having just opened the shop, it was a big enough financial hit I went to small claims court. He showed up, had nothing to stand on, and lost the case. He fought so hard to not pay, that he actually closed his fiance's bank account so she couldn't pay, and took her car out of her name so she wouldn't have any possessions! I never got the money back. Sometimes, I have found, it's just best to eat it and move on. I spent way too much time "winning" that case, and losing even more money when I could have been working instead. Lose the customer, not the time.
 
ddarlak

ddarlak

Go Bills!
You send them 3 pages of crap and expect that to cover a mistake you made.... Have fun beating your head against the wall.
 
jtiii

jtiii

I paid good money for you to read this!
Boudica said:
jtiii ... Is the disputed chargback still just a threat? Have they actually gone through with it? Maybe he was having a bad day, blew up, and after calming down realizes it's partly, if not all his fault for approving the artwork too quickly.
Click to expand...
Boudica, I was able to talk him down. He's paying for the shirts and we're printing more for him at around our cost.

tbh, usually in a situation like this we do more of a "well here's where you approved this but what can we do to make it right?" but our salesperson was a bit short with him because she was over him - he's always been exhausting and rude and he came at this with guns blazing.
 
Boudica

Boudica

Back to "educational purposes"
ADASignLady said:
Years ago, in the printing business, the bride to be came in and ordered the wedding stationery. I asked if the groom wanted to see a sample (it was a classic, tasteful set of invitations, envelopes, place cards, etc -- nothing out of the ordinary). She said he wanted her to choose. I put in the order, they came in, she picked them up, paid with a check. He reversed the check. For me, having just opened the shop, it was a big enough financial hit I went to small claims court. He showed up, had nothing to stand on, and lost the case. He fought so hard to not pay, that he actually closed his fiance's bank account so she couldn't pay, and took her car out of her name so she wouldn't have any possessions! I never got the money back. Sometimes, I have found, it's just best to eat it and move on. I spent way too much time "winning" that case, and losing even more money when I could have been working instead. Lose the customer, not the time.
Click to expand...
Did you tell the young bride-to-be to RUN for her life? That's a horrifying story.
 
Signarama Jockey

Signarama Jockey

New Member
I'd suggest meeting him halfway. You can get the shirts back and then reprint the new shirts at cost. That way, you make half as much off the job and he pays half as much as he should for his mistake.

Obviously this isn't your fault, but the hand you've been dealt is that this customer will demand his money back and if this doesn't go his way, he will smear you every way he can.

Compromise. See if you can meet him halfway. By all means, remind him that he approved the proofs and show him whatever verbiage you have to illustrate what that means. Tell him what you're willing to do to help correct his f-up.

Walk away with a couple fewer bucks in your pocket, and change your proof form to reflect this reality.
 
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