A ‘chargeback’ is simply the reversal of a debit order payment made from a bank account, where the bank account holder requests that the payment amount be returned to them.
Chargebacks differ slightly from the idea of a refund – where a customer might contact a merchant or service provider for their money to be returned should they be dissatisfied; a chargeback sees a bank directly return a debited amount of money instead.
Chargebacks can help cardholders protect themselves against fraud such as unauthorised debit order scams – however, should you request a chargeback on a loan repayment, there are several important things that you should know about.
Why should I be careful when requesting a chargeback?
Chargebacks were originally designed to give bank account holders a sense of security when purchasing a product or signing up to a new service.
When you take a Wonga loan, however, you will be asked to select a repayment date of your choosing. On that date, either your total repayment amount or your next instalment will be debited from your account – you only need to ensure that you have enough money in your bank account to cover the repayment.
If you attempt to request a chargeback on a debit order repayment, you won’t just be requesting fees or interest be returned to your account – you’ll actually be requesting that an entire repayment be returned to you.
This can have serious consequences for your legal standing, your credit history, and your Wonga trust rating, and might limit your options for borrowing money again in the future. It will also mean that you might be liable for any costs that are incurred while either trying to set up a new repayment date, or when organising a new repayment schedule.
Remember that if you do ever request a chargeback, your bank will also keep some of the returned amount as a ‘reversal fee’ – this will mean that you will not receive the full amount of money in question, depending on your bank’s policies.
What should I do if I feel I should request a chargeback?
If you don’t have an open loan with Wonga and have been debited by a service carrying our name, please immediately contact our Fraud department on 0861 968 424 or email us on [email protected]. You may be a victim of debit order fraud.
If you have been double-debited or wish to change your repayment date, please contact our customer care centre on 0861 966 421 or [email protected] before attempting a chargeback. Our call centre is open from 08:00 - 18:00 Monday to Friday, and Saturdays from 08:00 - 13:00, and we’ll be happy to help with any queries you may have.
