5.5. ERMUSR 11-17-2015 - Laserfiche WebLink

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Credit cards have introduced some new challenges, though. Staff has had several fraud claims, which have resulted in chargebacks. A chargeback occurs when a person recognizes a fraudulent purchase on their credit card, calls the card company, and requests the money to be returned to them. The company will remove the funds from the payee's bank account and refund them to the person claiming fraud. Staff has experienced legitimate fraud claims and the money was returned to the rightful owner leaving the account with a balance, and staff has experienced illegitimate fraud claims where it seems as though the customer regrets making a payment and just wants money returned to them. This past month staff disputed a$10,500 chargeback and the money was returned to the utilities' bank account. This does not rid ERMU of the risk, though. In order to dispute the chargeback, staff had to compile 57 pages of documentation that the person who made the payment truly intended on making the payment with their credit card. Because the payer used the pay-by-phone system, we had no in-person proof(signature capture, camera footage, etc)that the person on the other end of the phone was who they said they were,but we had enough documentation to make a strong case. Unfortunately,that might not always be true. Staff would like to discuss different options with the commission for limiting commercial bad debt risk: 1. Limiting commercial customers to deposit prepay or signing a personal guarantee. 2. Credit card payments that can only be made in person. 3. Strengthen the service agreement and require the commercial customer to sign-up for service in the office. ACTION REQUESTED: Staff would like to have a discussion with the commission about these options to develop revisions for the deposit policy. u_. POWERED BY Page 2 of 2 NATURE Reliable Public Power Provider P O W E R E D T O S ERV E 150