Topic: How "Refunding Services" Work
Read Time: 5 Minutes
The reputation of businesses is very important which is why many companies will ensure customer satisfaction. But what happens when customers begin abusing customer satisfaction guarantees? While technically refunding services could be provided in a non-malicious manner it is common to find these services abusing customer satisfaction policies.
Definition ['Refunding Service']: A service that handles refund [or replacment] claims of a product purchased from retailers.
Every business will have policies in place to handle refund or replacements of products they sell that either does not arrive or are damaged or stolen in transport. The scope and degree that a company will help you is dependant on the companies beliefs and thus their set protocols to handle customer complaints. When it comes to products sold that are shipped to a customers address, risks are involved for the parcel. There are generally three main issues:
1. The package never makes it to the destination address.
2. The package or contents are damaged.
3. The package is stolen at some point in transport.
Now, more than not, the package will not encounter any of these issues and the company will likely have a happy customer. But, what if one of these issues does occur and furthermore, how can the company tell if it is a genuine issue (eg. not lied about)?
Simply put, the company will likely never know if an individual complaint about one of these three issues is genuine or not - after all, they are all reasonable issues.
Let's focus on larger companies as these are the likeliest targets for refunding services. A customer purchases a new pair of shoes from a large online retailer but the package was empty. What will the customer do? Call the company and complain that the item was never in the package. From the perspective of the customer, the company made an _error_ when processing their order but from the perspective of the company, there are a few concerns.
a) The package was tampered with during transport.
b) The customer is lying and received the product.
c) The company actually made an _error_.
Again, all options are reasonable but by the company choosing to focus on option b, they are blaming the customer, destroying a potential recurring customer and probably will receive negative feedback and/or exposure. It is not a favourable option for the company to accept and will only be considered when enough evidence is presented.
Even if it came down to option a, it would still be the companies subsequent responsibility to resolve the issue.
By now I am sure we can come to an agreement that it's difficult for an online retailer to blame a customer for something going wrong with their order, genuine or not. This is the very issue that refunding services will use to their advantage. Refunding services use social engineering to present one of these undeniable issues to a company to receive compensation for a product.
While social engineering is a topic deserving of its own thread, we'll go through a few examples of how a refunding service would execute their promise. Keep in mind, the service they offer can often be very simple and take no more than 10 minutes.
Method A
Empty Package Method
Method B
PLACEHOLDER
Now the question of how can companies defend from refunding services comes in. There are a number of techniques companies use to determine whether or not to process a claim. Foremost, a check of the customer's history will influence the final decision.
If the claim is coming from a new customer (first purchase), a quick check of "connected accounts" may be done. Often they will check for any accounts that have the same address, phone number and/or credit card attached. This will play a major role in "scoring" the customer. Of course, this is often automated making these concerns an important factor to consider. If connected accounts are found, an investigation will be started (after the claim conversation with the refunder has been concluded) meaning what the rep on the phone says, isn't always final.
It is always in the refunders client's best interest to refund a product on an account without any links to previously used accounts which have flags on them (eg. previous refund requests). However, if the connected accounts have no issues, for example, family members with no refunds, then it is of no concern.
Refunders clients will often combat these types of concerns by ensuring successful and complete previous orders with the same retailer to build trust with the company and often increases the chances of success. The more successful orders an account has, the better.
By now you should have at least a basic understanding of how refunding services work. Usually, refunding services involve social engineering which is a broader topic. Keep in mind that refunding orders that were successful (you received the item with no-fault) is fraudulent and jail time has been served to a number of people involved with such activities. This information is best used to ensure successful refunds for legitimate issues or to defend your own business from malicious attacks on your customer satisfaction policies.
Please support this thread by leaving a comment, ask a question or leave feedback. I am open to adjusting and adding onto this information.
Read Time: 5 Minutes
The reputation of businesses is very important which is why many companies will ensure customer satisfaction. But what happens when customers begin abusing customer satisfaction guarantees? While technically refunding services could be provided in a non-malicious manner it is common to find these services abusing customer satisfaction policies.
Definition ['Refunding Service']: A service that handles refund [or replacment] claims of a product purchased from retailers.
Every business will have policies in place to handle refund or replacements of products they sell that either does not arrive or are damaged or stolen in transport. The scope and degree that a company will help you is dependant on the companies beliefs and thus their set protocols to handle customer complaints. When it comes to products sold that are shipped to a customers address, risks are involved for the parcel. There are generally three main issues:
1. The package never makes it to the destination address.
2. The package or contents are damaged.
3. The package is stolen at some point in transport.
Now, more than not, the package will not encounter any of these issues and the company will likely have a happy customer. But, what if one of these issues does occur and furthermore, how can the company tell if it is a genuine issue (eg. not lied about)?
Simply put, the company will likely never know if an individual complaint about one of these three issues is genuine or not - after all, they are all reasonable issues.
Let's focus on larger companies as these are the likeliest targets for refunding services. A customer purchases a new pair of shoes from a large online retailer but the package was empty. What will the customer do? Call the company and complain that the item was never in the package. From the perspective of the customer, the company made an _error_ when processing their order but from the perspective of the company, there are a few concerns.
a) The package was tampered with during transport.
b) The customer is lying and received the product.
c) The company actually made an _error_.
Again, all options are reasonable but by the company choosing to focus on option b, they are blaming the customer, destroying a potential recurring customer and probably will receive negative feedback and/or exposure. It is not a favourable option for the company to accept and will only be considered when enough evidence is presented.
Even if it came down to option a, it would still be the companies subsequent responsibility to resolve the issue.
By now I am sure we can come to an agreement that it's difficult for an online retailer to blame a customer for something going wrong with their order, genuine or not. This is the very issue that refunding services will use to their advantage. Refunding services use social engineering to present one of these undeniable issues to a company to receive compensation for a product.
While social engineering is a topic deserving of its own thread, we'll go through a few examples of how a refunding service would execute their promise. Keep in mind, the service they offer can often be very simple and take no more than 10 minutes.
Method A
Empty Package Method
Method B
PLACEHOLDER
Now the question of how can companies defend from refunding services comes in. There are a number of techniques companies use to determine whether or not to process a claim. Foremost, a check of the customer's history will influence the final decision.
If the claim is coming from a new customer (first purchase), a quick check of "connected accounts" may be done. Often they will check for any accounts that have the same address, phone number and/or credit card attached. This will play a major role in "scoring" the customer. Of course, this is often automated making these concerns an important factor to consider. If connected accounts are found, an investigation will be started (after the claim conversation with the refunder has been concluded) meaning what the rep on the phone says, isn't always final.
It is always in the refunders client's best interest to refund a product on an account without any links to previously used accounts which have flags on them (eg. previous refund requests). However, if the connected accounts have no issues, for example, family members with no refunds, then it is of no concern.
Refunders clients will often combat these types of concerns by ensuring successful and complete previous orders with the same retailer to build trust with the company and often increases the chances of success. The more successful orders an account has, the better.
By now you should have at least a basic understanding of how refunding services work. Usually, refunding services involve social engineering which is a broader topic. Keep in mind that refunding orders that were successful (you received the item with no-fault) is fraudulent and jail time has been served to a number of people involved with such activities. This information is best used to ensure successful refunds for legitimate issues or to defend your own business from malicious attacks on your customer satisfaction policies.
Please support this thread by leaving a comment, ask a question or leave feedback. I am open to adjusting and adding onto this information.