Chargeback Risk Scorecard for Moving Companies
Moving companies run large tickets on a small number of card transactions, so one disputed move can push your chargeback ratio further than it would for a busy retailer. Enter a typical month and see where your moving company stands, how much room you have, and which fixes for deposits, descriptors, and damage disputes would help most.
Your scorecard
Note: Visa's VAMP ratio counts fraud reports plus disputes, so your Visa ratio may be higher than the dispute-only ratio shown here.
Score breakdown by factor
Your full chargeback report
Worst-case estimate: assumes you lose the full average ticket on every dispute. It excludes the cost of goods shipped, shipping, and any card brand program fines.
Your prioritized fix list
Reduction rates are planning assumptions set by TouchSuite for prioritization, not measured industry statistics. Actual results vary.
Your controls already cover the basics. Focus on fast responses to disputes and tracking reason codes.
If you complete every fix above
Step-by-step setup notes
A specialist can walk through your dispute reports and the chargeback and fraud tools available for your setup. This scorecard is not a quote or an underwriting decision.
Why chargeback ratios behave differently for moving companies
A coffee shop might run thousands of card transactions a month. A moving company might run a few hundred, or fewer, made up of deposits taken over the phone and final balances collected on delivery day. Because the ratio is chargebacks divided by transactions, a small denominator means each dispute moves the number a lot. The headroom figure in your results shows exactly how many extra chargebacks per month it would take to reach 1.00%, and for many movers that number is very small.
Timing matters too. Customers often dispute weeks or months after the move, once a damage claim stalls or the final bill does not match what they expected. Disputes from your peak season can land in a slower month, when your transaction count has dropped, which makes the ratio look worse than the underlying problem. For the most useful score, enter transactions and volume from a typical month rather than your busiest or slowest one, then run it again with off-season numbers to see your worst case.
The tool compares your ratio to a 0.65% caution line (a conservative buffer the tool uses, not a card brand rule) and to Mastercard and Visa threshold assumptions. Mastercard's programs also look at monthly chargeback counts, which most movers will be far below, but your processor can still act on ratio alone. Moving companies are generally underwritten as high risk, so expect your processor to watch these numbers closely.
Where moving company chargebacks usually come from
Damage and loss disputes: the customer files a claim, feels it is taking too long or is underpaid, and disputes the charge instead. A signed inventory, condition notes, photos, and a signed delivery receipt are the evidence you will need, so capture them on every job, not just the ones that feel risky.
Estimate versus final bill: when the final charge is higher than the estimate because of extra weight, stairs, long carries, packing materials, or storage, customers who did not expect it may dispute it. Put the pricing basis and the possible add-on charges in the written estimate and the booking confirmation, and get the customer's sign-off on changes before the truck is unloaded.
Deposits and cancellations: a deposit taken by phone is a card-not-present charge, which is where AVS/CVV and 3-D Secure (for online booking) matter most. If you keep deposits after a cancellation, the policy needs to be visible at booking, not only in your website footer. Calling a deposit non-refundable does not stop a cardholder from disputing it; clear disclosure and a signed agreement are what help you respond.
Unrecognized charges, tips, and storage: if a customer booked under your trade name but the statement shows a parent LLC or a carrier name they never heard of, expect 'I do not recognize this' disputes. Tips added on a card after the job should be confirmed in writing by the customer. Monthly storage fees are recurring billing, so choose a subscription option in the 'How do you bill customers?' question if you charge for storage month to month, and send a reminder before each charge.
Worked example: a hypothetical moving company's scorecard
Hypothetical inputs for a fictional local and long-distance mover: business type high risk (where moving companies fall in this tool), $300,000 monthly card volume, 200 card transactions per month (deposits plus final balances), 3 chargebacks in the last 90 days, refund policy in the website footer only, AVS/CVV on but no 3-D Secure, statements show the parent LLC name, and one-time billing per move.
Free results: 1 chargeback per month, a 0.50% ratio, and a $1,500 average ticket. That is below the 0.65% caution line, but headroom shows the company could absorb only about 1 more chargeback per month before reaching 1.00%. Risk score: about 16.7 ratio points plus 6 (footer-only policy), 5 (one fraud tool), 12 (legal-name descriptor), 0 (one-time billing), and 4 (high-risk baseline) = 44, a Moderate band.
Gated results: each chargeback costs an estimated $1,540 ($1,500 lost sale, $25 assumed fee, $15 assumed handling time), or $18,480 a year ($18,000 lost sales, $300 fees, $180 staff time). That is a worst-case figure that excludes fuel, labor, and any card brand fines. The fix list ranks a clear descriptor first (15% assumed reduction, low effort, about $2,772 a year), pre-dispute alerts second (15%, about $2,772), adding 3-D Secure for online booking third (10%, about $1,848), and showing the refund policy at booking fourth (5%, about $924). Combined, the assumed reduction is about 38%, the projected ratio drops to about 0.31%, projected savings are about $7,064 a year, and the projected score falls to 14, Low. Reduction rates are planning assumptions, not measured results.
Estimates are based on published industry averages and are not a quote. Actual rates depend on card mix, ticket size, industry, and underwriting.
What a good result looks like for a moving company
A healthy profile for a mover is a ratio comfortably below the 0.65% caution line with headroom of more than one or two chargebacks per month, a statement descriptor that matches the name on your estimate and trucks plus a phone number, cancellation and deposit terms shown at booking and in the confirmation email, and AVS/CVV on every phone deposit. A Low or Moderate band with those controls in place is a realistic target.
While you have your statement open, check what you are paying per chargeback (the tool assumes $25; if yours is higher, your real cost is higher), whether a reserve is being held on your account, and whether there are recurring charges you cannot explain, such as PCI non-compliance or account maintenance fees. These are common on high-risk accounts and worth asking about.
If your score lands Elevated or High, or your peak season is coming up, talk to a payments specialist about descriptors, alert enrollment, and taking final payments in person with a mobile reader at delivery.
Frequently asked questions
We only run about 150 card transactions a month. Why does a single chargeback hurt our score so much?
The ratio divides chargebacks by transactions, so with a small count each dispute is a large share. At 150 transactions, one chargeback a month is about 0.67%, already in the caution zone. That is why the headroom number matters more for movers than the score alone.
Should a deposit and the final balance count as two transactions?
Enter the number of card transactions your processor statement shows. If you run the deposit and the balance as separate charges, they are typically counted separately. Use the statement figure rather than your number of jobs so your ratio matches how your processor sees it.
A customer disputed the charge while their damage claim is still open. Does that count against us?
Yes. A chargeback counts once it is filed, regardless of where your claims process stands. Respond with the signed estimate, inventory, delivery receipt, and claim correspondence. Resolving claims quickly and communicating status reduces the chance a frustrated customer goes to their bank.
Customers book through a broker or our website under our trade name, but the charge shows our LLC. Which descriptor option do we pick?
Choose 'processor or legal name' if the statement shows anything other than the name customers booked with. This is often one of the cheapest fixes for movers; ask your processor whether your descriptor can show your trade name and a phone number.
Can we make deposits non-refundable or add a card surcharge to offset chargeback costs?
Rules on surcharges, cash discounts, and deposit terms vary, so confirm with the card brands and your state before changing anything. Either way, a non-refundable label does not prevent a dispute. Clear terms shown at booking and signed by the customer are what help you respond to one.
How this works: every assumption behind your score
These are the exact values the scorecard uses. Threshold values, cost figures, and fix reduction rates are assumptions, not card brand guarantees or measured statistics. Confirm current card brand rules and your actual fees with your processor.
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