What are chargebacks and how to deal with them?

A chargeback happens when a buyer asks their credit card issuer to reverse a transaction that has already cleared. However you choose to accept credit card payments the consumer has the right to issue a chargeback.

Unfortunately, there's not much you can do about it except try to make sure the deposit is paid well before the booking commences so that the window for a chargeback has expired. The maximum time a buyer has to file a chargeback with their credit card company is typically 120 days. Obviously, this isn't always possible.

If a chargeback is issued for a PayPal or Stripe transaction you can dispute it. It's recommended that you keep a record of all communication with the consumer so that you can supply this info to PayPal or Stripe in the event of a dispute.

If you're using Stripe, please note that a chargeback is referred to as a dispute. 

We would also recommend the following:

1. You ask the guest to sign a rental agreement with payment terms clearly stipulated
2. Include a link to your cancellation policy in every reservation email you send to each guest

Further information on chargebacks in relation to PayPal can be found here - https://www.paypal.com/uk/webapps/mpp/chargebacks

Further information on disputes in relation to Stripe can be found here - https://stripe.com/docs/disputes 

If you have any further questions, please do contact the support team via [e-mail]