How to Manage ‘Duplicate Processing’ Chargebacks

Both Visa and MasterCard use special Reason Codes to designate chargebacks resulting when a merchant deposits the same credit card transaction with an issuer more than once. Visa uses Reason Code 82 and its MasterCard’s equivalent is 4834.

What causes these chargebacks? Chargeback Reason Codes 82 and 4834 may be caused by one of the following merchant actions:

• Entering the transaction information into the terminal more than once.
• Submitting the same batch to the processing bank more than once.
• Depositing with the processor both the merchant copy and the bank copy of the sales receipt.
• Depositing sales receipts for the same transaction with more than one processor.
• Creating two or more sales receipts for the same transaction.

How to manage such chargebacks? The time frame to respond to Reason Codes 82 and 4834 is 120 days. Your response will depend on the particular transaction circumstances and the actions you have taken (or not) so far:

• The sales receipts are not duplicates. If you did not submit duplicate sales receipts but receipts for separate transactions, provide your processor with copies of the receipts at issue. If you have any other supporting evidence that the transactions were indeed separate, send it along as well.
• The sales receipts are duplicates. If the sales receipts are in fact duplicates, there is no remedy and you should accept the chargeback. Do not process a credit at this time, as the chargeback has already performed this function. If you have identified the duplicate and processed a credit before receiving the chargeback, contact your processor and explain what happened. They will tell you what needs to be done and you should follow their instructions. Issuers typically do not issue chargebacks if their systems have detected that a credit has already been issued.

How to prevent chargeback Reason Codes 82 and 4834? These chargebacks are typically caused by errors in the entering or depositing transaction information and can be prevented by implementing the following best practices:

• Enter transaction information once. Make sure that you only enter the transaction information once.
• Void erroneous sales receipts. If, despite your best efforts, a transaction is entered twice, make sure to void the duplicate.
• Review sales receipts before depositing. The best preventive measure against chargeback Reason Codes 82 and 4834 is to review the transaction receipts before depositing them with your processor and make sure that no copies are included.
• Train your sales staff. Each member of your sales staff should understand the importance of avoiding entering the same transaction information multiple times and, when that happens, make sure the duplicates are voided.

Any time you receive a chargeback Reason Code 82 or 4834, you should follow up with the staff member who processed the transaction information and provide the necessary training to ensure that it does not happen again.

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