Go on, who has my money?

artbaron · 28 May 2009 at 12:34AM

More of a niggling question than a problem; wondered if anyone can advise. I had a problem with a product I bought and asked for a refund. The shop processed the refund back to my debit card yesterday (within 6 business hours of them receiving the product back - now that's service!) and sent me a printout of the refund document, showing the money refunded via whatever computerised process they use.

I wasn't sure when to expect the funds in my account, so this afternoon I rang my bank, NatWest. I explained the refund, told the woman the dates and amount, and the conversation continued in this Alice-in-Wonderland manner -

ME: ...So when can I expect to see the money in my account?
NATWEST: When it comes through you'll see it in your account
ME: Yes, but roughly when will that be?
NATWEST: When the return has been processed it will appear in your account.
ME: I think I grasp that, I would like to know how long that normally takes?
NATWEST: How much was it?
ME: As I said, £1,134
NATWEST: Well, I'm looking at your account now and there's no transaction for that amount
ME: Well... I know. I want to know when it will appear!
NATWEST: You need to contact the party who is refunding the money.
ME: Don't you know approximately how long this process might take?
NATWEST: All I can say is there's no transaction for that amount currently showing. You need to talk to the party who is refunding your money.
ME: How will they know?
NATWEST: You need to contact them.
ME: So where is it? The money. Who has it?
NATWEST: You need to contact the party who is refunding your money.
ME: That's great. Bye.

So basically that's still my question. Who has my money, what are they doing with it, and when will it appear in my account? I don't expect the process to be instant (although I don't see why it shouldn't be) but whenever I pay something out it disappears immediately. So I guess the money's not in the retailer's account. And it's not in my account. So where is it?

Money_Grabber13579 · 28 May 2009 at 12:48AM

It's kind of in mid air so to speak, but you can be assured some bank is earning interest on it at your expense. Probably Natwest!

Extant · 28 May 2009 at 12:55AM

In reality, it relies on their card processor and how long that takes. How long did it take from your purchasing the item to it showing on the statement? Expect it to be roughly the same.