4 ms·

Any claims go on your credit report, so it isn't totally true that there are zero repercussions.

by bigdubs 12y ago

superuser2 12y ago
You're being downvoted because this is wrong. Some banks will allow you to essentially say, "I made this charge but I don't want to pay it." In that case, the merchant can go after you for the product you stole, and you can even be charged with shoplifting. (People might do this if they're dissatisfied with the product but can't return it, claim it didn't arrive, etc.) That could go on your credit report as an unpaid debt to the merchant you stole from. There is no credit score penalty for reporting that you saw an unauthorized transaction. The bank just wipes it out and issues you a new card. It's happened to my family multiple times.
- notyourwork 12y ago
  Absolutely correct. I can speak from personal experience on a few occasions.
- bigdubs 12y ago
  There is a difference between your FICO score and your credit report. There is no score penalty, but a note is made in your report that does live with you.
- ethomson 12y ago
  It's true that this doesn't land on your credit score, but that doesn't mean that you can chargeback without anybody ever noticing. Issuing banks collect lists of credit cards that have issued chargebacks. A merchant may be able to purchase access to this list from their merchant bank. This is sort of a big hammer for a merchant to bring out: it will probably not catch any stolen cards (since those would have been cancelled as soon as the fraud was detected, before the chargeback was even processed), and it will simply block customers who have made a chargeback, without any idea of fault. The only people who would ever use this, one would presume, are at a very high risk for chargebacks and on the verge of having their merchant accounts cancelled. For example: "web sites with monthly, recurring subscriptions". You might be surprised how many men and women with teenage boys in their house dispute charges for these types of web sites!

Any claims go on your credit report, so it isn't totally true that there are zero repercussions.

by bigdubs 12y ago

Any claims go on your credit report, so it isn't totally true that there are zero repercussions.

You're being downvoted because this is wrong. Some banks will allow you to essentially say, "I made this charge but I don't want to pay it." In that case, the merchant can go after you for the product you stole, and you can even be charged with shoplifting. (People might do this if they're dissatisfied with the product but can't return it, claim it didn't arrive, etc.) That could go on your credit report as an unpaid debt to the merchant you stole from. There is no credit score penalty for reporting that you saw an unauthorized transaction. The bank just wipes it out and issues you a new card. It's happened to my family multiple times.

notyourwork 12y ago
Absolutely correct. I can speak from personal experience on a few occasions.
bigdubs 12y ago
There is a difference between your FICO score and your credit report. There is no score penalty, but a note is made in your report that does live with you.
ethomson 12y ago
It's true that this doesn't land on your credit score, but that doesn't mean that you can chargeback without anybody ever noticing. Issuing banks collect lists of credit cards that have issued chargebacks. A merchant may be able to purchase access to this list from their merchant bank. This is sort of a big hammer for a merchant to bring out: it will probably not catch any stolen cards (since those would have been cancelled as soon as the fraud was detected, before the chargeback was even processed), and it will simply block customers who have made a chargeback, without any idea of fault. The only people who would ever use this, one would presume, are at a very high risk for chargebacks and on the verge of having their merchant accounts cancelled. For example: "web sites with monthly, recurring subscriptions". You might be surprised how many men and women with teenage boys in their house dispute charges for these types of web sites!