A chargeback occurs when a cardholder disputes a credit card transaction with their issuing bank.  The cardholder has 180 days from date of charge in which to dispute a credit card transaction.

The cardholder’s bank will notify Booksure’s bank, who in turns notifies Booksure whenever a credit card charge is disputed.

A dispute may be raised for a number of different reasons, e.g.:

·         The cardholder does not recognise the charge and requests more information about the transaction

·         The cardholder’s details were used fraudulently

·         The cardholder’s card was lost or stolen and the bank cancelled all transactions after a specific date

·         The cardholder was unhappy with services rendered

·         The cardholder did not receive a refund as agreed to with the establishment

When Booksure receives notification of a dispute, the following is done: 

• We resend the receipt to the guest, provided that the guest email address was entered in the system     correctly

• We send the guest an email reminding him what the charge was for and requesting that he cancels the dispute with his bank 

• We notify the establishment of the chargeback, and request that they forward the required documentation to Booksure by a specific date, usually seven days from date of chargeback notification.  It is also recommended that the establishment contact the guest to remind them of the charge and clarify any uncertainty or dispute that may exist.

In most instances Booksure’s bank account is debited of the disputed funds immediately.  When Booksure receives the required supporting documentation from the establishment, we forward these to the Disputes Resolution department at our bank.  They then evaluate the documentation and forward it on to the cardholder’s issuing bank.  The cardholder’s bank has the final say on whether they deem the documentation supplied acceptable.  This process usually takes up to six weeks.

If the documentation is rejected by the cardholder’s issuing bank and the debit is not reversed, Booksure will notify the establishment in writing and then debit it’s bank account with the disputed amount and any administrative fee that may apply.  The standard administrative fee for a successful chargeback amounts to R150.00 including VAT.  Booksure will always endeavour to make every effort to assist in resolving a dispute before debiting the establishment.