I would still look into it - a detailed email might possibly convince the CC company that the merchant was misrepresenting itself, especially if the bogus company refuses to communicate with him regarding his request for a return. As long as you don't abuse charge-backs, I've always heard that the CC companies tend to side with the consumer (meaning the burden to prove no wrong-doing is on the merchant). This is all going off of hearsay, not research, because of laziness.