According to this article from WalletPop.com, a consumer watchdog site, the company BadCustomer.com keeps a list of customers who request a credit card reversal after making a purchase with a company. One single credit card reversal can land customers on the list. Companies can then obtain the list from BadCustomer.com and reject customers who have requested credit card reversals in the past.
Previously, if a customer wanted to remove his or her name from the list, BadCustomer.com charged a $99 fee. Recently, the founder of the company announced the company would no longer charge that fee and is trying to make the list more user-friendly in order to avoid blacklisting customers who have a valid reason to request a credit card reversal.
Many consumer groups still find the list troubling. Customers can legitimately request credit card reversals for a variety of reasons, including receiving defective merchandise or the wrong merchandise from the company. However, companies claim they need a mechanism to identify customers who frequently purchase merchandise, use it, and then return it, requesting a refund. Credit card reversals cost U.S. merchants $11.8 billion in 2009 alone.
Websites that blacklist customers do not fall under the Fair Credit Reporting Act, so therefore they are not subject to the same types of regulations as credit reporting bureaus like Experian and Equifax.
What should you do if you find yourself on a credit card blacklist? Contact the company you originally did business with and seek to resolve the credit card reversal issue. Carefully document your interactions with that company, then contact the owners of the blacklist, providing them with documentation that you had a legitimate reason to ask for a reversal.