In message , at 13:27:15 on Tue, 28 Feb
2012, Stephen Sprunk remarked:
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.

Or many people would class it as either negligence, or an unwillingness
to believe the customer (many of them are fraudsters too) that it really
is lost.

That's why any sensible merchant uses some sort of shipping with
delivery confirmation. Once delivered, their liability for a "FOB
destination" shipment ends.

Also, most customers _expect_ shipment tracking these days, and are
willing to pay a few dollars extra to get it. I would not do business
with a merchant that didn't offer _at minimum_ delivery confirmation,
for exactly this reason. I've had shipping problems in the past (mostly
with DHL, but once with UPS--never with FedEx) and have no desire to get
into a battle with the merchants or my bank over whose fault it is.

This is another US vs UK thing. Here in the UK it's quite unusual (and
somewhat expensive) to use a DHL/UPS/FedEx courier for most mail order
transactions. The majority still use the Royal Mail (and most often not
with either a tracking or delivery confirmation component) or one of a
variety of "low cost carriers" (cf: low cost airlines) who appear to use
part time workers and unmarked vehicles.

What would Amazon use in the USA if you bought a book for say $10?
--
Roland Perry