Chargeback Policy

Last Updated: August 03, 2023.

Chargebacks occur when a buyer disputes an online transaction(s) with their financial institution, who will then investigate if the buyer (attendee) should be charged for the transaction or if they deserve a refund. The financial institution first step is to request additional information from the merchant. By using Frontline Ticketing Payment Processing, Frontline Ticketing is the merchant, which means we manage chargebacks on your behalf. Once the financial institution reviews documentation from both the buyer and the merchant (this process can take up to 120 days), the financial institution decides whether to refund the charge or not.

How do chargebacks happen?

To start a chargeback, buyers dispute a charge with their financial institution. Buyers can dispute a charge for many different reasons, but these are the most common ones:

  • Fraudulent Transaction (the buyer did not make the purchase).
  • They didn’t get the advertised services.
  • They were told that they would get a refund (but didn’t receive one).
  • Merchandise not received.

Important: Chargebacks can be filed even if an event has a “No Refund” policy, and chargebacks are especially likely to be filed if the event is canceled without a refund or credit.

What happens when a buyer files a chargeback for one of my events? What do I do next?

  1. An email will be sent to the organizer with a pending notification.
  2. The full price of the ticket and service fee is Placed on hold.
  3. A $25 processing fee is added by the financial institution.

Frontline Ticketing cannot guarantee that chargebacks won't happen, Frontline Ticketing wins chargebacks at a high rate and has a dedicated team of chargeback experts who manage chargebacks on your behalf, saving you time and hopefully reducing your loss. It’s important to note that Frontline Ticketing will fight every chargeback on your behalf no matter the outcome.

Frontline Ticketing will respond to the dispute claims right away on your behalf. Our success in fighting chargebacks increases as event organizers follow the best practices outlined in our refund policy. Being transparent and fair with the buyers (attendee) also helps to reduce the risk of chargebacks. Here is some of the information that we use from your event to help assist us with fighting a chargeback, including:

  • Proof the order was legitimate.
  • Evidence the attendee attended the event.
  • The time stamp showing date/ time that the buyer agreed to the refund policy and terms of use.
  • Proof of address used at check out.
  • A link is provided with our refund policy and terms of use.

Once the financial institution reviews the documentation from both the buyer and the merchant (a process that can take up to 120 days), they decide whether to refund the charge. If the financial institution decides in favor of the merchant, the transaction is not refunded and whatever funds were Placed on hold from your Frontline Ticketing account will be released to you (organizer). If the financial institution decides in favor of the buyer, the financial institution will issue a refund and a charge will be added to your account for the full order amount, including the Frontline Ticketing service fee and payment processing fee.

When the bank decides to refund the charge, an email will be sent to your email address on file. Here are your next steps:

  • An email will be sent with a won / loss notification.
  • Should you receive a chargeback before your event. Go to the attendees on the app or website, search for the attendee email, click view ticket and disable the ticket.
  • If the event already happened, you’ll see a charge in orders and chargebacks on your event dashboard on the website. The charge will be for the total ticket sale, service fee and chargeback processing fee.
  • If your event was completed and funds released to you, the charge will apply to your next payout. You will see negative funds in your Frontline Ticketing escrow account. This will remain until you generate funds from your next event, then the funds will be removed from your escrow.

How can I reduce the risk of receiving chargebacks?

While you can’t fully prevent chargebacks, you can reduce the risk of receiving them by taking these steps:

Set clear expectations

It’s important that attendees know what to expect from your event.

  • Include relevant and accurate details in your event description.
  • Make sure a nonrefundable badge is present at check out and refer to Frontline Ticketing refund policy.
  • Make sure to have the address of your event listed before the start date of your event.
  • Make sure to state in the ticket description: when the event starts, when time the venue door closes and what time the event ends.
  • If the details of the event change, email your attendees as soon as possible to let them know about the changes and any options you’re offering because of the changes.
  • Issue any necessary refunds through Frontline Ticketing directly so we have record of the refund and can provide this evidence when we represent any associated chargebacks.

Refund requests

If attendees request a refund and don’t hear back or are unsatisfied with your response, they are more likely to file a chargeback. To help prevent this:

  • Respond to all refund requests promptly (we recommend within 2 business days). The longer you wait to respond to a refund request, the higher the chance a chargeback will occur.
  • If you receive a refund request that's outside of our listed refund policy and decide to decline the refund request, consider offering an alternative solution to address the attendee’s concerns. For example:
    1. A credit to a future event.
    2. If you offer an alternative, make sure to email the attendee using the email you have on file with Frontline Ticketing, especially if it was specifically agreed to by the attendee. If relevant, we may request this documentation so we can help fight any chargebacks that might follow.

Important: Regardless of our refund policy, even with a "Nonrefundable" badge, Frontline Ticketing expects you to refund attendees in certain cases, like event cancellations and postponement. For more information, see Frontline Ticketing terms of use and refund policy.

Use an email address that you regularly check

Important notifications, including refund requests from your attendees and requests from our Chargeback Operations Team, are sent to the email address on file in your Frontline Ticketing account. Be sure that your Frontline Ticketing account email is one you check on a regular basis, so you don’t miss any of these important notifications.