Virgin Money - dispute transaction?

Emily_Joy

Thank you everyone.
I have eventually contacted VM via the phone.
They claim they can't dispute charges they haven't applied. They also say that they charge me whatever merchant told them to charge. On a top of that, they say I need to contact the merchant first.
I think at this point I am looking for rules & regulations which apply in this case.

I managed to find the following document: Mastercard Chargeback Guide.
As far as I understand, it is chargeback reason 4846, POI currency conversion, p. 168. Am I right?

chattychappy

Emily_Joy wrote: »

Thank you everyone.
I have eventually contacted VM via the phone.
They claim they can't dispute charges they haven't applied. They also say that they charge me whatever merchant told them to charge. On a top of that, they say I need to contact the merchant first.

All nonsense. On that basis all sorts of merchants could get away with fraud. They can only charge what you have authorised and the onus of proof of is on them to prove you authorised something, not for you to prove you didn't (or go back to the merchant). They are billing you via your credit agreement, so it's your agreement with them that matters. They should be the ones contacting the merchant.

I doubt whether they would give such a stupid answer in writing. Really you need to a written response from them - and go to the ombudsman if necessary.

What is in your favour is you have the CC receipt in yuan. Despite language issues, it seems you did the right thing.

eco_warrior

If you have a receipt in currency A but you were charged in currency B then there is a chargeback for this and its 4834 POI Currency Conversion.

It mightn't be worth getting it though, at least in my experience. The chargeback would be for the full amount, so you would be refunded in full. Then the merchant has 30 days to re-bill you in the correct currency. If this is Yuan then id imagine Virgin will then charge you a foreign currency fee - usually 2.75/3.00% for most banks.

So you'd need to weigh up what the costs would be to see if its worthwhile.

Its a really rare dispute type but you sound like you have a valid claim.

chattychappy

eco_warrior wrote: »

If this is Yuan then id imagine Virgin will then charge you a foreign currency fee - usually 2.75/3.00% for most banks.

The OP mentioned her card doesn't load foreign purchases. In my experience, the DCC loading is typically 7% to 9%, though in one case there was no loading at all.

She might also want to look at the current exchange rate to see what impact a rebilling in yuan would have.

eco_warrior

chattychappy wrote: »

The OP mentioned her card doesn't load foreign purchases. In my experience, the DCC loading is typically 7% to 9%, though in one case there was no loading at all.

She might also want to look at the current exchange rate to see what impact a rebilling in yuan would have.

ah right, didn't see that bit. May well give a saving then, just need to check the rate as you said.

muhandis

I had a similar issue with a Halifax Clarity transaction in Israel and got Halifax to refund an amount which more than covered the extra I was forced to pay.

Don't waste your time with the call center, put a formal complaint in email to their complaints email address attaching a copy of the receipt, that's the only thing which gets them moving.

Emily_Joy wrote: »

Thank you everyone.
I have eventually contacted VM via the phone.
They claim they can't dispute charges they haven't applied. They also say that they charge me whatever merchant told them to charge. On a top of that, they say I need to contact the merchant first.
I think at this point I am looking for rules & regulations which apply in this case.

I managed to find the following document: Mastercard Chargeback Guide.
As far as I understand, it is chargeback reason 4846, POI currency conversion, p. 168. Am I right?

eDicky

Emily_Joy wrote: »

I have eventually contacted VM via the phone.
They claim they can't dispute charges they haven't applied.

What does this mean - what charges haven't been applied?

I'm inclined to agree with Snow Tiger, you have been charged more than the amount shown on the invoice, which you can produce.

A DCC receipt would show an amount in pounds, which yours doesn't. If the transaction on your statement shows the amount in both yuan and pounds with the exchange rate, it was not DCC. If it shows only pounds it probably was DCC (unless Virgin have a shoddy way of presentation).

Emily_Joy

muhandis wrote: »

I had a similar issue with a Halifax Clarity transaction in Israel and got Halifax to refund an amount which more than covered the extra I was forced to pay.

Don't waste your time with the call center, put a formal complaint in email to their complaints email address attaching a copy of the receipt, that's the only thing which gets them moving.

Thanks. Currently I am waiting for a phone call/letter from them. I will see what it says as I am abroad next week anyway.

eco_warrior wrote: »

If you have a receipt in currency A but you were charged in currency B then there is a chargeback for this and its 4834 POI Currency Conversion.

It mightn't be worth getting it though, at least in my experience. The chargeback would be for the full amount, so you would be refunded in full. Then the merchant has 30 days to re-bill you in the correct currency. If this is Yuan then id imagine Virgin will then charge you a foreign currency fee - usually 2.75/3.00% for most banks.

So you'd need to weigh up what the costs would be to see if its worthwhile.

Its a really rare dispute type but you sound like you have a valid claim.

Thank you for taking time to explain this in detail, it makes sense. Based on today's exchange rate I am some £50 out of pocket.

chattychappy wrote: »

All nonsense. On that basis all sorts of merchants could get away with fraud. They can only charge what you have authorised and the onus of proof of is on them to prove you authorised something, not for you to prove you didn't (or go back to the merchant). They are billing you via your credit agreement, so it's your agreement with them that matters. They should be the ones contacting the merchant.

Thanks - it did sound odd indeed.

chattychappy wrote: »

I doubt whether they would give such a stupid answer in writing. Really you need to a written response from them - and go to the ombudsman if necessary.

What is in your favour is you have the CC receipt in yuan. Despite language issues, it seems you did the right thing.

I am positive I did see only amount in yuan on the terminal - never in GBP.

Emily_Joy

eDicky wrote: »

What does this mean - what charges haven't been applied?

The lady from VM on the phone told me they didn't charge a fee for currency conversion and therefore they can't refund it :-)

eDicky wrote: »

I'm inclined to agree with Snow Tiger, you have been charged more than the amount shown on the invoice, which you can produce.

A DCC receipt would show an amount in pounds, which yours doesn't. If the transaction on your statement shows the amount in both yuan and pounds with the exchange rate, it was not DCC. If it shows only pounds it probably was DCC (unless Virgin have a shoddy way of presentation).

The statement shows amount in both Yuan and GBP along with exchange rate applied for other transactions I've made in China, but GBP only for the transactions I'd like to dispute, so I am confident it was DCC.

Emily_Joy

eco_warrior wrote: »

If you have a receipt in currency A but you were charged in currency B then there is a chargeback for this and its 4834 POI Currency Conversion.

Just to avoid future possible confusions: 4834 is duplicate transaction, 4846 is POI Currency conversion.