Rex B wrote:

My experience has been that only American Express will go to bat for the
cardholder. Amex apparently considers the cardholder as their customer.
MC/Visa will reverse a charge, but it takes more than a bloody glove to
make it stick. When it's your word against the business (who pays
MC/visa) you will lose. For MC/Visa, the business owner is their
customer, and money trumps fair play every time.

I have a USAA issued Mastercard, and was once screwed by a seller via
Paypal. I was attempting to purchase a TiVo upgrade as a gift for my
brother, and after a whole lot of research decided to go with some guy by
the name of "PVRJoe" who seemed to have nothing but good reviews, both on
eBay and in various Usenet groups. Despite that, I got screwed. An order
was made (not through eBay), payment was issued, and then all went
silent. I attempted contact via telephone and e-mail but got nothing. I
called the credit card company to file a chargeback, to which they said I
should go through Paypal's system first, and so I did. Paypal, of course,
did nothing. They "ruled in my favor" but said they couldn't collect.
Called back the credit card company, they sent me a form to fill out about
what happened. Sent it back, and a short while later was refunded my
money. It was the least hassle of the entire situation, actually. Papal
then sent me a nasty letter saying I should have used their complaint
system first (which as I stated I had already done) and then threatened to
cancel my account. Which would suit me fine, as I've experienced nothing
but misery from their services.

In this case, it wasn't my word against the guy who got my money. It was
my word against Paypal's, and yet I still was refunded the money ($250) I
spent. So I don't think it's fair to say that only American Express will
be on the side of the cardholder. In the end, it's more about the bank
that issues the card. USAA will most definitely take your side in these
matters. And really, the card company gets their money either way since
they take a chunk of the transaction every time it happens. In some cases
they take a percent of the sale as well as the chargeback, which basically
means the vendor pays them twice and gets nothing.