Are you a Twitch streamer worried about the Twitch chargebacks and the issues related to it? Well, look no further as you’ve landed on a right place.
Being a streamer, I can feel you how helpless a streamer feels when they get a Twitch chargeback and how badly does it affect them. But not to worry I have got your back here.
Even though Twitch chargebacks are difficult to deal with, I have got you some ways to get through it easily. But what are they? And how can you do it? To know all this, let us start scrolling-
What is Twitch Chargeback?
Twitch Chargeback, when a customer demands his money back over a donation he/she made on the live stream. Whenever a streamer streams, they ask for some donations which are entirely a viewer’s choice whether they want to pay or not.
But if a viewer pays you via debit or credit card payment mode, then they get the option to ask back for their money and that process will get you to the Twitch chargeback issue.
In the entire process, if a person demands their money back, then the bank through which the transaction was made will force a payment reverse and the streamer will be liable to pay back the money along with the extra charges.
Note– If you’re paying through PayPal, then you will have to pay the additional $20 along with the donation fee sent by the viewer.
Why does Chargeback happen?
Why exactly does the chargeback happen and what are the reasons? There could be multiple reasons for the same. Let us talk about the most common reasons why chargebacks happen-
1- They donated to you accidentally– One of the most common reasons why your viewer is demanding a chargeback is that they have donated some money to you accidentally and that was not on a purpose at all. Or it could also be the case that they have accidentally paid you the amount more than they wanted to and thus, they’re requesting a refund.
Learn how you can setup donation for your channel in 5 easy steps.
2-They are not happy with your content anymore- There could be times when your viewers are actually not very happy with your content or are extremely happy. Although the chances of this happening are certainly low it could be the case that your viewers expected you to deliver more and now that you could not reach their expectations, they are asking for a refund.
3- They’re doing it on a purpose- It could be shocking for many of you but it is true. If you’re doing good with your streams and have a good following, then you will automatically build some haters and competitors who will purposely donate you some amount and then will ask for a chargeback just to ruin your reputation and name. It could be an account of your competitor or your hater itself.
4- It is a merchant’s error- Merchant’s errors are pretty different than the rest of it. It is harmful to those who’re into selling their branded merchandise. If a merchant does not uphold the end of the sales agreement, the chargeback will happen. It could be either the product wasn’t delivered or there was some error made while making the payment.
5- Reward theft strategy- If the user is already well versed with all the policies of how a chargeback works, then he/she makes a big donation first just for the sake of claiming the reward that the streamer is offering and then charge it back later through their original payment source mode.
How Twitch chargeback affects the streamer?
There are plenty of methods via which a streamer can easily earn and we have discussed those earlier too. (If you want to check them out, click here.)
But talking about how Twitch chargeback affects the streamer, it can be affected badly if a streamer is relatively new and keeps the Twitch donation at 80% or even more than 50-60% of their revenue income, then they will have to pay more than they have ever received.
Let us take an example of a case here. Let’s say you received some donations through your Twitch streaming a couple of days back.
Now the person who donated to you demanded a chargeback through their mode of payment. And if your mode of payment was PayPal, then you will not only have to pay the exact donation amount you have received but also the additional $20 as a dispute fee to PayPal and thus, you will end up spending even more than you earned.
Note– Please know that since all sorts of donations do not get covered under PayPal seller protection or PayPal Chargeback protection, you will not be able to recover any fee if they charge you. So always be cautious about the same.
How do streamers fight against chargebacks?
Now that you already have a chargeback and you’re totally clueless about what to do and how to fight against your chargeback, here is the help that you need to follow-
Before you proceed further, we would like to tell you no matter what, if you get stuck in such situations, you always need to have your evidence at your hand first.
Here, how you’re going to act will depend on the platform and the procedure that the other party has involved here. A few points that you must not forget are given as below-
- Most of the chargebacks that happen go through PayPal or your credit card/ debit card only.
- If it is done through PayPal, then please know that PayPal will only give you a timeline of 10 days to sort your chargeback issues.
- While dealing with the case, you need to show all the evidence that will be helpful to take a decision on your side.
Some evidence that you should keep are-
- You must have evidence of your transaction. You can take the reference number along with the screenshot of the transaction.
- You must keep the video clips or maybe some screenshots of donations in the chatbox, if any. If you have it, do not hesitate to show it as it will confirm that the donation made was out of their choice and you are grateful for the same.
- Also, do not forget to have your transaction ID along with the email address that is linked with the chargeback.
- If you have any terms and conditions or a set of guidelines that you have made where you have already mentioned that “all the donations made here are voluntary and not mandatory and once it is made, there will be no refund given” clause, then also share it as your evidence.
Once you have everything that is mentioned above, you will be able to fight back against the chargeback that was made. If it was through PayPal, it will get resolved via the PayPal resolution centre only where both parties can show their claims and PayPal will get to act as a final judge. Here, the viewer will go through the process known as representment where they will give their best to get the judgement on their side.
However, you as a streamer will have to prove that the viewer did not get defraud and you’ve already fulfilled all the commitments made for that specific charge.
Please note that if you’ve already cleared everything and have your terms and conditions clear that you’ve already stated to the viewer, the answer will be in your favour.
However, you need to make sure that you have all the evidence required for the same.
How to prevent chargeback from Twitch in future?
Okay, so now you’re already facing a situation for which we have shared a method that may or may not work depending on how much evidence you’ve. The final answer will be from PayPal’s team which you will have to agree on. But what you can do is secure your future by knowing how to prevent chargeback from Twitch in future. So here are some tips that we want you to know-
- Make sure you’re using Twitch Bits for accepting donations- Okay, so the first thing you can ever do is to ensure that the only way you’re accepting donations is through Twitch Bits only. If you’re still accepting other modes such as cards or PayPal, then please stop doing it as they will not secure your donation and the chargeback requests will become easier to make on such platforms. And to make it even worse, you will also end up paying an additional $20 as a dispute fee that you even did not receive. Thus, always go for Twitch Bits (Even if they look a little expensive as you will have to share some amount with Twitch as well, it will be the safest method to receive Twitch donations).
- Always go for the “require login “option- You may not have emphasized this a lot but please do. Whenever you accept donations from your viewers, ensure that they must have a Twitch account. For this, you just have to go to your Settings option and enable the must-have account option. If you do this, the chances of fraudulent activity will get decreased.
- Block those spammers from donating- If you have received the chargeback request from that one user multiple times, then chances are bright that the account owner is doing it for the purpose of harming you. Thus, you need to go to your Streamlabs dashboard and go to my donation option. Once there, you will get the list of people who have donated to you till now. Now you can block that one person and once you do it, their IP will get banned from making any further donations on your account.
- Keep your no refund policy first- Although it is needless to say if you are receiving donations, then you must make it very clear that there will be no refund on any donations made. If you make this policy, you can always save yourself from any chargeback by showing it as evidence.
Wrapping up.
So that was all about Twitch chargebacks and how to prevent them as a streamer. We have included all the possible aspects related to it. However, if you’re still not happy with us, please let us know in the comment section and also tell us what more information can we offer you. We’re happy to help.
FAQ
Q1- Can people charge back bits on Twitch?
No, if you are accepting Twitch Bits as donations, then any sender can not file a chargeback on the same. Know that any payment made through Bits can not either be reversed or refunded. Technical issues are exceptions here.
Q2- How do I avoid chargebacks on Twitch?
If you want to avoid a chargeback on your Twitch donations, then you must make sure that you are not accepting any other payment mode for donations other than Twitch bits.
Q3-Is it worth fighting a chargeback?
You must be wondering if it is actually worth fighting against a chargeback or not. So please know that if you’re being chargeback on a big number, then you must make a fight against it especially when you have all the evidences handy with you. However, if you actually think you can pay the fee including those additional $20 and it is not worth your time to get involved in legalities, then you can take a quit.
