On 28-Feb-12 01:37, Roland Perry wrote:
In message , at 13:38:33 on Mon, 27 Feb
2012, Stephen Sprunk remarked:
If the card company finds in favour of the consumer, I'm sure the
merchant doesn't get paid,

The merchant was _already_ paid, so if the dispute is resolved in favor
of the consumer _and_ the merchant is liable for the fraud, the
merchant's account is charged back.

It's not always a fraud. Chargebacks can arise because an item is "lost
in the mail".

If the goods are "lost in the mail", that is not fraud (since fraud
requires intent), but it is the merchant's responsibility* to cure that
defect. If they do not, it becomes fraud. The merchant will likely
give the customer the option of a refund or reshipment, neither of which
is fraudulent.

(* Unless the sale is "FOB origin", which I've never seen for retail
sales. The normal terms are "FOB destination". Note that the US
definitions for these terms are inconsistent with Incoterm.)

And when I say "merchant doesn't get paid", that's obviously a
reflection on the situation after the chargeback has been received, not
a comment on the short term flow of what are only semi-cleared funds.

At a high level, yes, but this discussion is at a level of detail where
such simplification is IMHO not appropriate.

S

--
Stephen Sprunk "God does not play dice." --Albert Einstein
CCIE #3723 "God is an inveterate gambler, and He throws the
K5SSS dice at every possible opportunity." --Stephen Hawking