A small business owner has had to cough up thousands of dollars for the car repair payment he received from a customer.
Mandeep Singh has been running a car workshop in North Melbourne for the last two years.
In early February, Mr Singh repaired a badly damaged car. The repair bill exceeded $4,000 which also included automotive spare parts worth more than $2,000.
Mr Singh told SBS Punjabi that car owner made the payment using a credit card which his bank later found to be ‘fraudulent’.
“This customer paid the repair bills over the phone. The bank approved it at that time and now they’re taking the money back saying it’s a disputed transaction,” he said.
“I have to bear this kind of loss for the first time. I never ever had any bad experience in the last ten years or so."
Mr Singh said the credit card payments are not unusual for any small-scale businesses.
“I often have customers who can’t afford big bills and they direct us to their parents or grandparents to make payments over the phone," he adds.
When Mr Singh contacted the bank he was reportedly told that businesses cannot be protected from this type of fraud and it is on the merchant to make sure the authenticity of the transactions.
“Well, how I am supposed to do it…I am told that it’s my responsibility to reconcile the fraudulent funds,” he said.
To Mr Singh’s frustration, his bank has now started deducting back the money claiming it as a ‘disputed transaction’.
“I don’t think it’s a good enough response. They approved this payment and liability should be with the bank,” he said.
Mr Singh says he is just made aware that the ‘chargeback’ rules are set by all four major financial providers.
“There is not much you can do about it. But it’s hard to see your hard-earned money vanish in such a manner.
Mr Singh who knows the scammer’s identity is now considering legal action.
“He has stopped responding to my phone calls leaving me no option to take a legal stand on this matter,” he said.
“I’ve CCTV footage and his license details which I also intend to post on Facebook… At least, I can make them famous on social media.”
Mr Singh has advised other business owners to be vigilant and stop taking the credit card payments especially when they’re made over the phone.
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