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Comment by minimaxir | Hacker News Reader

Would threatening a chargeback have changed the response from Baremetrics? That's usually the nuclear action to these type of shenanigans, and the threat of it is often the proper deterrent.

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I did actually, and their last email reply yesterday was:

"Got it! Let me know how I can help with the dispute process."

I didn't post that update on Twitter I think.

Wow. If I were in your shoes I would have gone from not wanting to call to being glad I get to call. Count your blessings, you get a chance to call Brian and give him and ear full. I'd tell Brian I'm recording the call as well.

Are you in CA? File a complaint with the attorney general, they are breaking the law.

Ah, so we are incorporated in the Republic of Ireland, EU. I am talking to our lawyer today.

You can file a complaint here https://oag.ca.gov/ this is not like filling a lawsuit but often gets good results. The AG is like the lawyer for the state. Considering baremetrics is based in san francisco, you might get some interest.

Likewise you could file a complaint with Stripe.

What we have here is inexperienced people in a startup acting stupid, but a little suggestion from the attorney generals office or their payment processor usually gets some really good attention.

Thanks a lot! Very good to know, appreciate it.

It’s like he’s asking to be made an example of.

What's crazy is that they have to pay a fee if they lose a chargeback, so this is essentially a revenue-negative move in addition to being terrible PR.

They probably have to pay a fee even if they win a chargeback.

Yes, this is exactly why you make it clear what people are paying and easy to cancel.

The wrong-headedness here is astounding.

Complaining to Stripe is the best option. Most of their business is based on Stripe Connect. If they ban Baremetrics from the Stripe it will lose their business.

You can do worse than threaten a chargeback by going directly and filling a complaint with their payment processor (Stripe). If Stripe deplatformed them they would be in a scramble to not lose their business entirely, all it takes is an irate phone call from the company that handles all of their revenue to get their issues with violating state law and ToS for their service providers promptly resolved.

I also suggested elsewhere a complaint to the CA AG.

A CEO fielding a call from their payment processor or AGs office has a humbling effect.

I think that's what they are calling a "dispute"? Essentially they are daring OP to go ahead and request a chargeback.

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