Chargebacks What are you doing to protect yourself?

If you don’t want to read the post but want to help.  Answer the questions in bold. What are you doing to protect yourself from Chargebacks on your account?   Honeybook is an online CRM that virtually allows us to access our clients near & far without actually meeting them & confirming they are who they say they are.   And let’s face it, the payment processing system doesn’t seem to have a check & balance within it self to stop the person from processing a card that doesn’t necessarily have their name on it as is the same with many e-commerce sites.   I can use anyone’s card on any website to payment for anything.  

As a venue owner & wedding planner, I electronically use my Honeybook to send contracts and/or Invoices.   I attempt to obtain as much personal information as I can & guide my clients to using their accounts to pay their stand alone invoices & contracts with invoices in them but ultimately, unless I am processing their card myself I cannot control what cards they utilize.   So in that arises an issue with third party payors.   Even if I ask upfront will you be paying for this or if someone else will then they still ultimately can process the transaction without their name on the card.   Yes, i can require the payor to be on the contract but this is for weddings, the contract is for the couple.   Yes, i do have a third party payor addendum but if they choose to process the payment without telling me or answering my question honestly, or changing their mind the last minute, the problem is still there.  

What are you doing to stop this third party payor from becoming an issue with chargebacks? 

Also, I recently experienced a chargeback with honeybook and the process was less than delightful or informative.  

Third Party Payors are a huge issue with chargebacks.  People deciding having purchase regret are a huge issue.   Also, the chargeback process, was one of the most unguided processes I experienced with honeybook.   A charge back can be detrimental to us small businesses.  This one hurt & it’s without the appropriate resolution aside from obtaining the funds directly with a person who is ghosting me. 

Now with all of this said….I love honeybook.  I love the features, it works for my company.   Everytime something new i released I see how it’s going to fit into my process.   This post is not a bash to honeybook.   It is bringing awareness to something that needs to be a serious consideration in your business plan & to hopefully give me insight to continuing accepting credit cards & reducing my risk.   And I’m asking what do you do to protect yourself from chargebacks all while accepting credit cards? 

Thank you-