The moment no-nonsense Aussie business owner confronts sneaky customer whose ‘dodgy’ 30-second act cost her $450: ‘I’m coming for you’

A business owner has revealed the unexpected – yet genius – way she got back at a deceitful customer after their sneaky act left her $450 out of pocket. 

Marisa Taschke, who runs a maternity fashion label called The Lullaby Club, told Daily Mail the shopper had purchased $450 worth of clothes from her business.

After the order was delivered, the customer quietly claimed a ‘chargeback’ on her credit card to secure a full refund, informing her bank the transaction listed on her bank statement was ‘fraudulent’. 

A chargeback is a process where a credit or debit card issuer reverses a transaction and returns the funds to the cardholder, typically when a customer disputes it.

Chargeback fraud is one of the latest scams affecting small businesses across Australia – and the worst part is, dodgy customers are getting away with it.

However, the mum-of-two decided to take matters into her own hands after discovering the address was linked to the shopper’s workplace.

She called up the office and a receptionist confirmed a person by that name worked there.

When Marisa got hold of the customer on the phone, she told her she needed to repay the money immediately or she would have the police come to her workplace to question her in front of her colleagues.

‘I don’t usually look into chargebacks but this has just been a bit of a week for me so I just thought, “Not today, Satan”. Anyway, I looked into it. I Googled the address and I realised it was a business address. I decided to call that business,’ Marisa explained.

When a receptionist answered, Marisa asked if she could talk to the woman.

‘The receptionist said, “What is this regarding?” I said, “It’s regarding an order that was delivered to your business place, and they’re saying that it’s fraudulent, I’d just love to have a chat to her”,’ she said.

‘I got on the phone to the person and she was definitely shocked to hear from me and said, “Oh I had no idea that there was a chargeback”. 

‘Then I said, “Look, if you don’t sort this out today, I’m gonna have to get the police to your workplace and that could be quite embarrassing.

‘Anyway, she said, “Yeah, I’ll get it all sorted”.’

Shortly after, the customer called Marisa back in tears, claiming it was her dad’s credit card that was used to make the big purchase. 

‘I felt really bad and I was like, “That’s OK, I can send you an invoice to pay for it,” the business owner said, adding she was feeling sympathetic over what she thought was an innocent mix-up. 

She told the customer she also needed to cover the $25 fee, which business owners incur whenever someone files a chargeback. 

‘Every time someone does a chargeback for a business, we have to pay a $25 fee. They obviously get to keep the stuff that they’ve stolen, and then they keep the money too because they get the money back,’ Marisa explained.

‘So she said that it was her dad’s credit card, he’s not gonna cancel the chargeback, and I said, “You’re gonna have to pay for it, and the $25 fee too.

‘I sent her the invoice, she paid the $25 fee and the invoice, and that was that.’

Marisa said she realised this wasn’t the shopper’s first attempt at getting free items after she spoke to a friend, who’s a fellow business owner.  

‘We’re talking about chargebacks and how s*** they are, and how you never win, and the banks are just ridiculous… So she said, “What’s her name? Let me check if she’s done it to us.” And she checked it and she had done it to her in 2023,’ she said. 

‘So this person is going around scamming businesses and then calling up with her crocodile tears, saying that her dad did it.’

‘If you’re seeing this, we know what you’re doing, it’s disgusting.’

Marisa shared her story on social media to warn other business owners to be diligent – as she joked she’s now the ‘bounty hunter of chargebacks’. 

‘You f***ed with the wrong person today so I hope this is a lesson to you not to get your stolen goods sent to your workplace and maybe just don’t do it anymore because it’s just s***. I’m coming for you scammers,’ she said. 

After her video went viral, she received an unexpected call from the customer. 

‘She actually had the nerve to call us again when she saw the video to ask me to take it down because she had “changed”. I said, “No… It’s a reminder that if you behave this way you will eventually be caught,’ Marisa told Daily Mail.

‘Initially, I felt bad for her when she said it was a mistake and it was her dad’s card she used and he filed the chargeback. But I was angry once I realised she lied and she did this all the time – and it was a lie to make me feel bad for her.’

Unfortunately for Marisa, her small business is seeing chargebacks more and more frequently.

‘It’s very common, it happens at least once a month,’ she said.

‘And you never win a chargeback no matter how much evidence you have.’

Chargeback fraud is becoming increasingly common in Australia, with many business owners sharing stories of how they are left hundreds, if not thousands, of dollars out of pocket. 

‘We get this all the time. We had a customer do this to us TWICE last month, chargeback both her orders, saying her dad did it on his credit card thinking they were fraudulent,’ one shared. 

‘We had this EXACT situation! Chargeback, they “didn’t know”, it was the parent’s card. Had happened twice this month,’ another revealed.

‘One of the reasons why I closed my retail business is because of the scammers and chargebacks,’ one former business owner added.

Many were shocked to see dodgy customers scamming small businesses.   

‘It blows my mind how dishonest some people are just to get some free stuff. If you can’t afford to shop, why are you buying stuff in the first place?’ one said. 

‘Wow, it’s really disappointing to have such a dishonest generation coming up in the world. Why don’t parents teach their children right from wrong any more? Shame on her,’ another pointed out. 

‘Good on you for doing this! What a scamming lying little b****. She must have s*** her pants when she realised she was screwed,’ one suggested.

Meanwhile, many business owners said Marisa’s story has inspired them to pursue dodgy customers making chargeback claims.

‘This is brilliant. I’m definitely calling the next person who does this,’ one said.