RANT:Why are refunds not allowed to match when...

Zoee

being credited back to an account?

I had $12.00 taken out of my credit card account by mistake. On that day the conversion was $12.00 = £7.65

The company admitted their error and refunded $12.00 to my account BUT on this day:
$12.00 = £7.15!!

My rant and venting is:
Is it fair that a refund credit should be less than the original debit? In my case, I'm out by 50p (50p is still 50p out of pocket for me) AND my account is not back to it's original balance status prior to their error

Why is this allowed?

I think conversion fluctuations should not apply when it comes to refunds. A refund should be just that a full refund not parital Urrrrgh!

Contacting the credit card company with this feedback, I got the typical automated reply along the lines of 'contact the merchant first and no joy raise a dispute with us blah, blah, blah'.

I'm not gonna raise a dispute for 50p, just wanted to vent somewhere

Has this happened to you too, where the refund did not match the original debit?

Zoee

Azari

They did refund the amount taken. You just lost out because of a conversion rate change. I very much doubt that the person doing the refund was even aware that this would happen.

Really annoying, nonetheless.

catflea

Would you have the same reaction if the coversion went in your favour?

If its a decent credit card they'd likely just give you the 50p if you asked as a goodwill gesture anyway

bap98189

We get this all the time, it's fairly common. It happens because the credit card company use a different exchange rate for the two transactions. There is nothing the retailer can do about it because they have essentially refunded the entire transaction and it's not their fault the bank use different rates.

If you do a chargeback it will be successful, but it will land the retailer with a £20 or so charge from their bank for the chargeback. That seems unfair, but it's just one of the risks of accepting credit card transactions.

meer53

If a retailer debits your account in error and then instantly realises they've made a mistake, they can REVERSE the transaction rather than refunding it which prevents the interest rate difference. However most retailers refund rather than reverse which causes lots of problems for the customer. For large amounts ie. over £50, card issuers can go back through the Visa system to claim back the amount if the retailer has made an error causing the customer to lose out. If the retailer has not made an error when processing the refund ie. the customer has returned goods, or they have simply changed their mind, then the customer would have to stand the loss as it's not a mistake on the retailers part.

biscit

meer53 wrote: »

If a retailer debits your account in error and then instantly realises they've made a mistake, they can REVERSE the transaction rather than refunding it which prevents the interest rate difference. However most retailers refund rather than reverse which causes lots of problems for the customer. For large amounts ie. over £50, card issuers can go back through the Visa system to claim back the amount if the retailer has made an error causing the customer to lose out. If the retailer has not made an error when processing the refund ie. the customer has returned goods, or they have simply changed their mind, then the customer would have to stand the loss as it's not a mistake on the retailers part.

Thanks for that. It's always useful to get our heads round the technical detail of why these things happen.

ProdigalScouser

The problem here is who should foot the bill? If the CC company refunded you at the same rate as the original transaction, they would lose out.

I'm trying to get my head around how, but I'm fairly sure that, if the cc company refunded at the rate of the original transaction, there would be a way of makuing a profit from it. I'm still trying to work out how, though...

Zoee

@Azari

Yeh it is annoying and have to conclude that's one of the ups and downs when it comes to currency conversions refunds.

Just wanted to rant. Thanks for commenting:)

@catflea

Yeh Suppose I could put in a dispute form for 50p and ask for a goodwill gesture The thing is I'm likely to do business again with the USA company and need the UK credit card company to do it:o Got to keep them both happy so don't think it's worth it

and that's my point if they had put in whatever the USA conversion rate equivalent to £7.65 at the time of refund, I wouldn't be 50p out of pocket nor 50p extra in my pocket; if conversion had gone in my favour. (Is there a way to give back overpayment of a refund?) But as I said to Azari, I have to accept that's one of the ups and downs when it comes to currency conversions refunds.

Just wanted to have a bit of a moan Thanks for reading and commenting

@bap98189

Yeh and for the cost of fines because of a chargeback request, I don't think would go down to well:o

And as I'm more than likely to do transactions again with them both, for 50p sake, rather keep them both sweet so won't bother. I've accept it's just one of those things when it comes to exchange rates transactions

Just getting it off my chest really. Thanks for commenting:)

@meer53

Yes indeed

Anyhow it was over £50 difference, I wouldn't be in this section of Martin's forum, I can tell ya

It was a few days before I saw the transaction and a few more days elapsed with back and forth emailing then they admitted their error and agreed the refund

Interesting to learn from you that they could have reversed the transaction, preventing an interest rate difference. If it happens again, at least me and others reading this now know to ask for a reversal rather than a refund Thanks! And no the error was definitely on their part (was an annual subscription renewal that I had cancelled last year that was renewed automatically this year)

Thanks for commenting:)

@ProdigalScouser

When you've worked it out, perhaps you can let me and others know here?

Thanks for reading and your input

Zoeee

purplepardalis

It is to do with the forex rate. If they gave you back the same it would make gambling on currency risk free. If the currency didn't go in your favour then you could just ask for a refund. Which of course is not how buying currency works.

I know it doesn't feel the same when you are buying goods that just happen to be in a different currency, but it is indeed exactly the same as trading currencies on the market

Dave_C_2

As I read it £7.65 was removed from the acount by mistake from the credit card company. This was "corrected" by replacing with £7.15.

Shirley as the contract is between the OP and the CC company then the exchange rate for a third party transaction shouldn't come into it.

Similar to SOGA when the contract is with the shop, not the manufacturer.

Why was the transaction in dollars? - American Express?

Dave

meer53

Dave_C wrote: »

As I read it £7.65 was removed from the acount by mistake from the credit card company. This was "corrected" by replacing with £7.15.

Shirley as the contract is between the OP and the CC company then the exchange rate for a third party transaction shouldn't come into it.

Similar to SOGA when the contract is with the shop, not the manufacturer.

Why was the transaction in dollars? - American Express?

Dave

The contract is between the OP and the seller of the goods, not the CC company.