Can merchant refund to an expired credit card?

FatherAbraham
FatherAbraham Posts: 1,024 Forumite
First Post First Anniversary Combo Breaker
in Credit cards
Credit cards expire all the time, of course. If I need to return some goods to a merchant (someone like Marks and Spooky, with a clear, easy refund policy), and I'd used a now-expired MasterCard to buy those goods, will the merchant be able to issue a refund to that card's account? Let's assume I still have the intact, but expired, credit card in my possession.

Furthermore, what happens if I've destroyed the expired credit card in the meantime (when it expired)? That sounds more problematic, because the merchant has nothing to stick into the terminal.

Thanks for any clues. I've asked the card issuer too, but haven't been gotten back to yet.

Warmest regards,
FA
Thus the old Gentleman ended his Harangue. The People heard it, and approved the Doctrine, and immediately practised the Contrary, just as if it had been a common Sermon; for the Vendue opened ...
THE WAY TO WEALTH, Benjamin Franklin, 1758 AD
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Comments

  • BB37
    BB37 Posts: 28 Forumite
    Quick answer: No.

    Where I work if we have to issue a refund to a customer and the card has expired we would normally contact the person and take their new details.
  • exel1966
    exel1966 Posts: 4,978 Forumite
    First Post First Anniversary Combo Breaker
    FatherAbraham wrote: »
    Credit cards expire all the time, of course. If I need to return some goods to a merchant (someone like Marks and Spooky, with a clear, easy refund policy), and I'd used a now-expired MasterCard to buy those goods, will the merchant be able to issue a refund to that card's account? Let's assume I still have the intact, but expired, credit card in my possession.

    Furthermore, what happens if I've destroyed the expired credit card in the meantime (when it expired)? That sounds more problematic, because the merchant has nothing to stick into the terminal.

    Thanks for any clues. I've asked the card issuer too, but haven't been gotten back to yet.

    Warmest regards,
    FA

    Whether your card has expired or not will make absolutely no difference whatsover. The important factor is whether you've closed the account or not. Cards continually expire, but that won't stop the operation of an account.

    OR

    did you really mean can the merchant refund to a closed account ?
  • FatherAbraham
    FatherAbraham Posts: 1,024 Forumite
    First Post First Anniversary Combo Breaker
    exel1966 wrote: »
    Whether your card has expired or not will make absolutely no difference whatsover. The important factor is whether you've closed the account or not. Cards continually expire, but that won't stop the operation of an account.

    OR

    did you really mean can the merchant refund to a closed account ?

    Well, that's a good question too -- can a merchant refund to a closed account?

    Of course, if the account has been closed, then any card on the account must also have been terminated (no matter what future expiry date it says on the front of the card).

    Funnily enough, my real current problem is that following some fradulent transactions, my MasterCard provider has cancelled my card, and is issuing a new one, with a different number (I presume that's a different account, then). However, I need to get a merchant refund for legitimately-purchased goods which I'm returning.

    Warmest regards,
    FA
    Thus the old Gentleman ended his Harangue. The People heard it, and approved the Doctrine, and immediately practised the Contrary, just as if it had been a common Sermon; for the Vendue opened ...
    THE WAY TO WEALTH, Benjamin Franklin, 1758 AD
  • exel1966
    exel1966 Posts: 4,978 Forumite
    First Post First Anniversary Combo Breaker
    No, it's not quite a different account. Yes the card number will be different but the old and new cards will be linked together, just as if you'd lost a card.
    Any refund could be put back onto the new card with the new number and would then be identified back to your old card.
  • FatherAbraham
    FatherAbraham Posts: 1,024 Forumite
    First Post First Anniversary Combo Breaker
    exel1966 wrote: »
    No, it's not quite a different account. Yes the card number will be different but the old and new cards will be linked together, just as if you'd lost a card.
    Any refund could be put back onto the new card with the new number and would then be identified back to your old card.

    Yes, thanks for that. The MC provider has also just told me that the refunds should be made via the new card.

    All I have to do now is convince the merchant that he can refund to a card with a different number to that listed on the receipt without getting blacklisted by MasterCard.

    Warmest regards,
    FA
    Thus the old Gentleman ended his Harangue. The People heard it, and approved the Doctrine, and immediately practised the Contrary, just as if it had been a common Sermon; for the Vendue opened ...
    THE WAY TO WEALTH, Benjamin Franklin, 1758 AD
  • HamiltonL
    HamiltonL Posts: 284 Forumite
    Make sure you give them the new card number. If it's transferred back to the old card it sits in a holding account, and is a nightmare trying to trace back and transfer to new card number.
  • drezsa
    drezsa Posts: 127 Forumite
    HamiltonL wrote: »
    Make sure you give them the new card number. If it's transferred back to the old card it sits in a holding account, and is a nightmare trying to trace back and transfer to new card number.

    I was dreading that happening when I rang up for a refund on something back ordered for 4 months. Morgan Stanley sold my Mastercard provider to Barclaycard who issued a new card.

    I told the shop the card had expired and they said they'd send a cheque moments later I got a NoChex email saying the refund had been applied to the old card. Two days later its showing up as a credit :j
  • One_Day_Rodney
    One_Day_Rodney Posts: 117 Forumite
    I've had it where car insurance premium refund went back onto a card whose account I had closed. They said it had to go back to the card due to 'money laundering' :cool:

    I rang the card company up (CapOne), and they confirmed the refund and just sent me a cheque.
  • savagej
    savagej Posts: 1,158 Forumite
    As many people have pointed out card expired or not, account closed or not the money can go back using the card number that was used to make the purchase and under the merchant aquirer rules it must go back to the same card number.

    It will then depending on your bank go back to your account and you can get it back by either using the card or asking for a cheque (if it has taken you in to credit or the account is closed) or it will go into an account which holds payments that could not be matched to an account and you will need to ask the bank to put it back in to your account.
  • Seamonster_2
    Seamonster_2 Posts: 82 Forumite
    First Post First Anniversary Combo Breaker
    I know this is an old thread, but I hope someone can advise me as I'm in a similar position to the OP. I recived a new Tesco CC this morning, with a different number to my old one. I know the new card is active as I just used it. I am about to return an item to an online shop for a refund to my old Tesco CC, and am wondering whether I will hit problems as it has been replaced. One point to note is that the old card has an expiry date of end July 2010, so I wondered if I will be OK until then? Or does an old card expire as soon as you begin to use its replacement?

    Any advice would be welcome!
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