Arbitration is a process through which the card’s issuing bank and/or the cardholder contests a dispute after the initial decision. This process escalates the dispute to the card network (e.g. Visa, Mastercard) for a decision via binding arbitration.
Pre-Arbitration is when the dispute has been reopened by the cardholder or issuing bank and the business (you) needs to decide whether to enter arbitration or accept the chargeback.
Parties in the arbitration process include:
The card’s issuing bank
The cardholder (your client)
The card network
Your business
Once a dispute enters arbitration, all parties are asked to submit any additional evidence to aid in making a final determination. You can submit more information as to why the dispute is unwarranted via Boulevard’s Dispute Resolution Center.
Using all available evidence submitted by the parties, a representative of the card network makes a final decision based on what the business has provided as a response and what the cardholder/issuer has provided in their response.
If the card network judges the dispute in favor of the cardholder via arbitration, the network will assess an Arbitration Fee to the business of $500. Please note that Boulevard has no position, influence, or decision-making authority on dispute or arbitration outcomes.
Monitoring Arbitration in DRC
Pre-arbitration and arbitration statuses for dispute cases can be viewed within the Dispute Resolution Center. While customers may still contact Boulevard Support, the DRC includes the most up to date information on each phase (i.e. pre-arbitration, arbitration, and associated win/loss statuses).
When a dispute enters pre-arbitration, you will be able to select whether to accept the dispute or enter the arbitration process through the dashboard. In order to enter arbitration, you will need to acknowledge that a lost dispute will result in a $500 Arbitration Fee assessed by the card network.
When you choose to enter arbitration, you will then be able to upload additional evidence supporting your case. Please note that once files are submitted, they cannot be changed or rescinded.
Examples:
Please contact paymentservices@blvd.co for any questions about Pre-Arbitration/Arbitration.