Out of stock refund

spike87

Hi all,

I recently purchased an item online from a reputable dealer. The day after ordering I got a call saying the item was not in stock and my card will be refunded. The full amount of £150 had already been debited from my account.

I left it a week and called them back asking if the refund had been processed as it was still not in my account. They said it hadn't and it could take anything up to 28 days for them to process the refund.

I'm not happy about this at all. Fair enough I if returned the item for whatever reason, but it wasn't in stock in the first place. Surely the money should never have been debited until the order had been processed.

I just wondered if this was normal procedure and what the law states. I've checked a few websites but can't find a definite answer regarding this situation.

Thanks for your help.

arcon5

In most cases payment is authorised in real-time, before manually being checked by the company.

30 days is normal.

despotthesecond

arcon5 wrote: »

In most cases payment is authorised in real-time, before manually being checked by the company.

30 days is normal.

If it is normal then it's not right.

I'm in a similar boat, having ordered a de-humidifier that, payment having been taken, was found to be out of stock. I received an e-mail offering me an "alternative" at a higher price.

A week later and I've still not had my money returned and I've noticed the item is still listed on the website as being in stock.

I've had this happen a couple of times in the last few weeks and from here on in I'll be ringing stockists for a physical stock check before purchasing anything of significance.

texranger

the seller will be using a dropshipper and a 3rd party payment processor.

you order from them and make payment, then they order from dropshipper to have item delivered to you, but if dropshipper does not have this in stock then they just refund you.

card refunds can take upto 30 days to refund back to your card. this is the same if you were refunded by tesco.

depending on the payment processor it can take days other may take the full 30 days.

despotthesecond

texranger wrote: »

the seller will be using a dropshipper and a 3rd party payment processor.

you order from them and make payment, then they order from dropshipper to have item delivered to you, but if dropshipper does not have this in stock then they just refund you.

card refunds can take upto 30 days to refund back to your card. this is the same if you were refunded by tesco.

depending on the payment processor it can take days other may take the full 30 days.

I'm afraid having someone unofficially borrow my money for a month just doesn't sit right.

david39

It would be interesting to know exactly where this money is between the time that the retailer advises a refund is being made and the time when it reaches the buyer's bank account.

Presumably, an efficient retailer will immediately instigate whatever is needed to start the process of refund but :

Has the payment already been received by the retailer's bank account or does the process of starting a refund preclude it ever reaching them?
If the payment does reach the retailer's bank account, when does it get removed - immediately? or towards the end of the 30 day period?
If the retailer never gets the money, or only holds it for a short while, the processor or the card company have the benefit of the money.

If the retailer holds the money then that is a big temptaton to advertise items that they do not have in stock and thereby get an interest free loan amounting to thousands of £s over a wide range of customers.

The fact is that through no fault of their own, the purchaser is deprived of their money (or goods) while another organisation gets the benefit of it.

Seems like a case for a Parliamentary Select Committee Enquiry !

despotthesecond

david39 wrote: »

It would be interesting to know exactly where this money is between the time that the retailer advises a refund is being made and the time when it reaches the buyer's bank account.

Presumably, an efficient retailer will immediately instigate whatever is needed to start the process of refund but :

Has the payment already been received by the retailer's bank account or does the process of starting a refund preclude it ever reaching them?
If the payment does reach the retailer's bank account, when does it get removed - immediately? or towards the end of the 30 day period?
If the retailer never gets the money, or only holds it for a short while, the processor or the card company have the benefit of the money.

If the retailer holds the money then that is a big temptaton to advertise items that they do not have in stock and thereby get an interest free loan amounting to thousands of £s over a wide range of customers.

The fact is that through no fault of their own, the purchaser is deprived of their money (or goods) while another organisation gets the benefit of it.

Seems like a case for a Parliamentary Select Committee Enquiry !

Sounds good to me.

The 30 day period smacks of horsefeathers. Someone somewhere will be enjoying a nice little float of cash at everyone else's expense.

Gordon_Hose

If I bought a pack of sausages in Tesco, and got them home to find it was a pack of tampons I could take it back to the store for a refund and they would do it there in front of me, putting the money back onto the card I had purchased my Sauspons with.

There is no reason why they can't do it there and then.

However, they will have a whole list of refunds to get through, all for various items, and they'll just get to yours in turn. That is why they quote 30 days, to allow them time to work through their list of refunds. You won't be the only person waiting. And not everyone within the company can authorise refunds, so I suspect a manager will have to process it.

I don't agree that it is right though. But having worked as a Manager a 24/7/365 call centre, it was down to me (on the night shift) to process any refunds that were outstanding. Sometimes there were hundreds, others a few.

texranger

despotthesecond wrote: »

I'm afraid having someone unofficially borrow my money for a month just doesn't sit right.

this i have to agree with you.

As a consumer if you pay with a debit card it is removed from your account straight away, but if you need a refund they can take 30 days to refund you.

this is the law and their is nothing us retailers can do to reduce this timeframe.

Our own payment processor usually refunds within 7 days, but we have to inform customers it can take upto 30 days

texranger

Gordon_Hose wrote: »

If I bought a pack of sausages in Tesco, and got them home to find it was a pack of tampons I could take it back to the store for a refund and they would do it there in front of me, putting the money back onto the card I had purchased my Sauspons with.

yes the refund is started there and then on your card, but it can take upto 30 days to show back in your bank account although this is usually 5/7 working days

Gordon_Hose

texranger wrote: »

yes the refund is started there and then on your card, but it can take upto 30 days to show back in your bank account although this is usulally 5/7 working days

If Tesco put my card into their little machine, and I enter my PIN, then the money has been transferred back to my account.

If it takes "5/7 working days" then that is the bank taking its sweet time processing the payment.

Just like when I submit my expenses claim at work, it takes "up to 3 working days" to show in my account, because of the time it takes for the bank(s) to process it.