The chargeback prompted the merchant to reach out…and deny our return request. Chargeback Initiatedįinally, we determined we had no choice but to initiate a chargeback against the merchant. No response to email, phone calls, or text messages. This wasn’t our first deal and we did not anticipate there would be any trouble. Naturally, we reached out directly to the merchant to try to work this out. Instead, it appeared we were sold customer returns (“seconds” as they are known in the industry). Each bag was carefully wrapped and well-padded. This wasn’t an issue of damage during shipping. In a couple cases, the handles were ripped. Some were scratched, some where dented, others were discolored. When our bags finally arrived, we found the vast majority were damaged. Bags not only have to ship, but then must clear customs and ship to our warehouses. That takes time…several weeks at minimum. You don’t just take a pallet of handbags with you as hand baggage…we arranged to have our freight forwarder pick it up and then ship it across the Atlantic. After visiting the merchant personally, sharing meals with the owner, and developing a level of comfort, we shook hands and pulled out our credit cards.īoth my business partner and I had no preset spending limit with American Express and could have put the entire charge on a single card, but we chose to diversify the spending across a handful of American Express and Chase cards for points-earning reasons. We work with merchants who accept credit card rather than require wire transfer because there are far too many unscrupulous actors out there. Even with shipping costs and duties, buying from Europe made sense. These would be imported to the United States and Canada then re-sold at a modest margin. We entered into a large six-figure deal to purchase handbags. My import/export company imports designer handbags from Italy. Background: Fleeced By A Merchant In Italy I always paid early or on time, carefully managed my credit, rarely disputed charges, and maintained a credit score over 840. Until recently, I have been a model customer. I’ve been a Chase customer for 19 years and an American Express customer for 15 years. Don’t assume that you will prevail in a dispute, even if you were ripped off by an unscrupulous merchant.Ī bit of background. But when push came to shove, neither American Express or Chase had my back. One reason I use credit cards is for the peace of mind it provides…or so I thought.
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