Conditions

“Counterfeit” means that the goods were not produced by an authorized manufacturer of the goods and therefore infringe on intellectual property rights.

The cardholder contacted the issuer claiming both of the following:

• The cardholder engaged in the transaction.
• The cardholder claims that the goods were purported to be genuine, but were counterfeit.

Dependencies

• A cardholder letter, email, message, or completed Dispute Resolution Form describing the cardholder’s complaint in sufficient detail to enable all parties to understand the dispute.
• Acquirer Reference Number (ARN) of the credit transaction (For improperly disclosed partial credits)
• Merchant documentation to support a credit is due to the cardholder (Optional)
• Proof of an improperly disclosed in-store credit and cardholder explanation (Optional)
• The messageText field must include the value "COUNTERFEIT" (When this recovery option is used, the system will automatically pass this value).

Validations

None.

Related Questionnaires

Mastercard Questionnaire - Merchandise Counterfeit

Notes

Proper Disclosure

Merchants that are unwilling to accept buyer’s remorse returns and cancellations or that want to have special terms including (but not limited to) restocking fees or in-store credits, must disclose these terms at the time of the transaction. The cardholder must be informed of the refund policy as described in the Transaction Processing Rules, section 3.11 Specific Terms of Transaction. Failure to disclose a refund policy will result in the merchant’s requirement to accept the goods for return and issue a credit.

When the merchant informed the cardholder of its refund policy at the time of purchase, the cardholder must abide by that policy. For example, the cardholder’s sales slip clearly indicates that the refund policy is “in-store credit only” or “no refunds.”