Defend chargebacks in the ServiceTitan Payments Portal

Overview

The ServiceTitan Payments Portal allows you to review and defend any payment disputes, also known as chargebacks, that your customers submit to their card issuer. Managing payment disputes helps ensure you don't lose unnecessary revenue from already completed transactions.

Things to know

• This process typically applies only to credit card payments. Bank transfers generally cannot be disputed this way.

• Dispute deadlines are strict and you can't defend a chargeback after they pass.

• Visa TC40 or Mastercard SAFE alerts give you a chance to proactively prevent chargeback fees.

Best practices

• Watch for notifications: Check your email and portal regularly so you don't miss defense deadlines.

• Gather evidence early: Keep transaction records, proof of delivery, and any communication with the buyer. Vague or incomplete information can result in losing the dispute.

• Respond quickly and thoroughly: Detailed but concise evidence packages often have better success.

• Leverage refunds before chargeback: If you sense a legitimate complaint, offer a refund to avoid fees.

• Utilize portal tools: The ServiceTitan Payments Portal usually has dispute docs, status updates, and deadlines clearly listed.

Chargebacks overview

When a customer doesn't agree with a credit card charge, they can contact their bank (the card issuer) to dispute it. This process is called a chargeback. It's essentially a request to reverse the payment.

Common reasons for disputes include:

• Fraud: The cardholder claims they didn't authorize the transaction.

• Consumer Issues: Problems with the product or service (not received, defective, not as described).

• Processing Errors: Technical issues like duplicate charges.

• Authorization Problems: Issues with how the payment was approved.

When a dispute occurs, you receive an email notification starting the dispute cycle.

You can then find the dispute in the ServiceTitan Payments Portal under Transactions > Disputes.

Key events and stages of a payment dispute

Once a customer submits a chargeback to their credit card issuer:

1. (Optional) Notification of Fraud: You might get an early warning (Visa TC40/Mastercard SAFE) about potential fraud. This is informational, free, and lets you act before a formal chargeback (for example, issue a refund, block the user). If, for example, you were able to stop the shipment or not provide service for the fraudulent transaction and refund the transaction, you can avoid incurring the chargeback fee.

2. (Optional) Request for Information: The issuer might ask for more details about the transaction before deciding on a chargeback. You'll need to respond.

3. Chargeback: The payment processor informs you that a chargeback process has started for a specific payment. This is your cue to start preparing and submitting defense evidence documents through the merchant portal. In the merchant portal, you can check the dispute's Status and if the Defendable column is listed as Yes.

4. Information Supplied: A notification confirming that you or the payment processor automatically submitted defense documents.

5. Issuer Review: The cardholder's bank reviews the evidence you submitted.

6. Outcome:        

   1. Chargeback Reversed: Good news! Your defense was successful, and the funds are returned. In the merchant portal, the status is initially Pending before transitioning into Won.                

      Note: A second chargeback is still possible.

   2. Second Chargeback: The issuer disagrees with your defense evidence and upholds the chargeback again. In the merchant portal, the status is Lost.

   3. (If Applicable) Pre-arbitration: A process for specific dispute types (for example, Visa allocation, UnionPay) if the initial decision is contested further, in the merchant portal, the status can result in Pre-arbitration Won or Pre-arbitration Lost.

7. Other Events:        

   1. Dispute Defense Period Ended: You missed the deadline to defend, or you explicitly accepted the chargeback. In the merchant portal, the status is Undefended, Lost, or Accepted.

   2. Issuer Response Timeframe Expired: The issuer didn't respond to your defense in time, so you win by default. In the merchant portal, the status is Won.

   3. Issuer Comments: Additional text details from the issuer about the dispute reason.

Defend a dispute in the ServiceTitan Payments Portal

1. Navigate to Transactions > Disputes.

2. Click the dispute you want to defend.

3. Review the Status and Deadline. The Defendable section reads Yes if you can still submit evidence.

4. Click Defend Dispute. 

5. Compile your evidence. This can include information like proof of delivery, order confirmation, customer communications, and more.

6. Select any applicable Possible Defense Reasons. 

7. Click Submit Defense and upload any relevant documents.

8. When finished, click Submit Defense to confirm your defense.          The dispute's Status is updated to Pending.    

Want to learn more?

• See Begin the Adyen payments onboarding process

• See Set up Multi-Factor authentication for the ServiceTitan Payments Portal