A chargeback is a payment that the cardholder's bank reverses after a dispute. This article explains what happens on your Website Toolbox account while a chargeback is being reviewed, and what happens when it is decided.
What happens when a chargeback is filed
When a chargeback is filed on your account, we pause your subscription and disable your forum for the length of the review. No further charges can be made on your account in the meantime, so no other payment can be disputed while the case is open. A notice appears at the top of every page in your admin area explaining the situation.
Can I make a payment while the review is open?
No. Payments are paused on your account until the case is decided, so you cannot add a card, renew, or make any other payment while the review is in progress. If you would like to keep your subscription active, contact us so we can review your account.
How long the review takes
The review is run by the cardholder's bank and our payment processor, not by us, and their decision is final. Most cases are decided within a few weeks, and the full process can take two to three months.
How the review ends
The payment is returned to us
Your subscription resumes and your forum is enabled again. You will see a notification in your account when that happens.
The payment is not returned to us
Your subscription is cancelled and your forum stays disabled. You can start a new subscription at any time.
If the chargeback was filed in error
Ask your bank or card issuer to withdraw the dispute, and contact us so we can review your account.
Chargeback fees
Our payment processor charges us a fee for every chargeback, and we pass that fee on. If a chargeback restricts payments on your account, the fee is added to your account as a pending charge when we re-enable payments, and it is collected with your next payment.
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