An Australian business owner was left in disbelief after catching a customer in a very brazen act months after the brand was forced to give her a refund.
Emma Diedrichs is the founder of LuxeLittleOne, a small business selling diaper bags and backpacks for parents.
The Brisbane mom first got the idea for the business a few months after she had her son.
She was tired of juggling clunky baby bags and wanted to create something that was stylish but also functional.
The 30-year-old launched LuxeLittleOne over 18 months ago and, since then, has poured her “blood, sweat and tears” into the business.
“We have grown exponentially and now have our own warehouse and work for myself full time,” Diedrichs told news.com.au.
She has put an incredible amount of effort into the business and has received great feedback from many happy customers, which is why she was shocked to receive her first ever chargeback in February of this year.
A chargeback is when a customer disputes a debit or credit card transaction and the card issuer must determine whether to provide the cardholder with a refund for the transaction amount.
Chargebacks can occur when the products or services received are not as described, they did not receive them within the stipulated time frame or they were not received at all.
Other situations where a person may submit a chargeback is cases where the card is used fraudulently or when there is an error in the billing process.
When Diedrichs received the notification for the chargeback she didn’t know what to do as this is not something she had experienced in her business before.
“Chargebacks just don’t happen with us. We are not fraudulent, we send everything out correctly. If something is wrong someone will just email us or contact us through social media,” she said in a recent TikTok video.
The customer in question had purchased two baby bags, totaling almost $162, with the 30-year-old saying she remembered packing this order as it was unusual for customers to purchase more than one bag at a time.
The business owner looked further into the situation and found the items had been confirmed as delivered by Australia Post and the customer had made no attempt to contact the company prior to submitting the chargeback.
Diedrichs uploaded the documents showing the items had been sent and delivered but, despite this, the bank decided to side with the customer.
This meant that, on top of losing the sale, the business was hit with a $16 fee.
“It’s so disheartening for me. I am a single mom, this is my livelihood. Some people probably think that this is just a company that ships out and don’t care. I literally do a happy dance every time I get an order,” she said in the video, which she shared on her business page.
Diedrichs was then hit with another blow just two weeks ago when she was scrolling on Facebook Marketplace and found a post from the same customer selling the two bags for which she had received the refund.
“X2 LittleLuxeOne baby bags. One pink and grey, the other grey and black. Only used for a few months. Near new condition with no wear and tear,” the ad read.
“Currently on sale for $78 for one. RRP $156 each.”
The discovery left her furious.
“This is so frustrating for me. I work so hard in this business. This is my full-time job. This puts food on the table for myself of my son. I am working day in day out to provide for my family,” Diedrichs said.
“This is my income. You wouldn’t go to somebody’s workplace and take $162 off them.
“Please don’t. It just hurts.”
Speaking to news.com.au, the owner confirmed that, since making the Facebook discovery, she was taking the matter further.
She said that, as the business grows, she understood that issues like this are “bound to happen”, but she was still incredibly “disappointed” as things like this impact her livelihood.
“This impacts us massively. Not only has she got the products, we had to refund $162 and cop a $16 chargeback fee,” Diedrichs said.
Since sharing the situation on social media, the young mom has received a huge amount of support from her followers, with people furious at the situation.
“This is such a horrible thing for someone to do,” one person wrote.
“That’s so disappointing. I hope she sees this and feels awful,” another said.
Other business owners chimed in claiming they had experienced similar issues.
“We have had to deal with a small handful of these, unfortunately one customer did it for 3 massive orders for us. We had evidence to the moon and back and still wasn’t enough,” one small business owner wrote.
Another person claimed they had sent proof of delivery and photos of the customer wearing the items they did the chargeback for, and yet the decision was still not reversed.
“$520ish worth of stock and three orders and the bank rejected our response and continued on with the chargeback. It’s an absolute joke,” they wrote.
Australian Retailers Association CEO Paul Zahra previously told SmartCompany that, while many chargebacks are legitimate, chargeback fraud is still a concern for many businesses.
“Chargebacks protect consumers from fraudulent transactions and help maintain trust in online shopping. They also encourage businesses to maintain high standards of service and product quality,” Zahra said.
“However, for businesses, chargebacks can be costly not only in terms of direct financial losses but also in administrative burdens. Disputing chargebacks often requires time and resources that small businesses might not have.”
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