Credit Card double charged

Ak_camera

My credit card was double charged by over a thousand pounds due to a mistake by a vendor. They refunded the money a week later but by then my credit card bill had already been finalised for the month and so the credit has been applied in the following month. I'm now left with having to pay an inflated bill this month and a lower bill next month causing me a cashflow issue. The vendor is saying it's not their problem as they've refunded me the money. Wondering what my options are. Any advice welcome. Thanks 

jon81uk

What did the credit card company say when you called and asked them?

Ak_camera

They were unsympathetic. Told me to call the vendor as it was their mistake. I'm going to try credit card company again later today to see if I get a different response.

eskbanker

Ak_camera said:

They were unsympathetic. Told me to call the vendor as it was their mistake. I'm going to try credit card company again later today to see if I get a different response.

I think I'd be inclined to agree that it's the vendor's issue rather than the card company's, and don't see what the latter can do, or do they perhaps treat refunds as payments towards your statemented balance?

If not, you could make a partial payment instead of a full one and try to recover the resultant interest charge from the vendor?

phillw

eskbanker said:
I think I'd be inclined to agree that it's the vendor's issue rather than the card company's, and don't see what the latter can do, or do they perhaps treat refunds as payments towards your statemented balance?

Isn't the card issuer jointly responsible? The vendor has refunded, their responsibility kinda ends there as they can't make the card issuer do anything. While the card issuer can freeze interest on the disputed transaction (they can't claim it's not been disputed, if it's already been refunded)

So I would call the card issuer and just tell them "I want to make a complaint".

Whatever happens with their handling of the complaint, I wouldn't pay for the transaction that has already been refunded. If they tried to charge me interest then I'd add that to my complaint and take it to the ombudsman. At that point I'd be asking for compensation as well.

molerat

Which card is it ? Have you actually asked the card issuer how they treat refunds ?  Some cards, such as Santander, will reduce the DD by any refund made before the payment is taken.

Ak_camera

molerat said:

Which card is it ? Have you actually asked the card issuer how they treat refunds ?  Some cards, such as Santander, will reduce the DD by any refund made before the payment is taken.

It's Lloyds. They've confirmed that I have to pay this month's balance (including the double charge) in full or I will be charged interest. The credit of 1000 only gets taken into account for the following month's bill.

eskbanker

phillw said:

eskbanker said:
I think I'd be inclined to agree that it's the vendor's issue rather than the card company's, and don't see what the latter can do, or do they perhaps treat refunds as payments towards your statemented balance?

Isn't the card issuer jointly responsible? The vendor has refunded, their responsibility kinda ends there as they can't make the card issuer do anything. While the card issuer can freeze interest on the disputed transaction (they can't claim it's not been disputed, if it's already been refunded)

So I would call the card issuer and just tell them "I want to make a complaint".

Whatever happens with their handling of the complaint, I wouldn't pay for the transaction that has already been refunded. If they tried to charge me interest then I'd add that to my complaint and take it to the ombudsman. At that point I'd be asking for compensation as well.

The joint responsibility aspect usually applies in the specific context of section 75, but it's not clear that there are sufficient grounds to support a s75 claim when the vendor has already remedied any breach of contract, so the fact that the card company could take action to address OP's essentially tangential cashflow issue doesn't necessarily mean that they're legally liable to....

molerat

Ak_camera said:

molerat said:

Which card is it ? Have you actually asked the card issuer how they treat refunds ?  Some cards, such as Santander, will reduce the DD by any refund made before the payment is taken.

It's Lloyds. They've confirmed that I have to pay this month's balance (including the double charge) in full or I will be charged interest. The credit of 1000 only gets taken into account for the following month's bill.

There are a few different scenarios around what will likely happen according to my Lloyds T&Cs, not as clear cut as you are stating.

How do you pay your card ?

Will the extra £1K cover or more than cover the full outstanding balance on the card at the time of payment ?

born_again

phillw said:

eskbanker said:
I think I'd be inclined to agree that it's the vendor's issue rather than the card company's, and don't see what the latter can do, or do they perhaps treat refunds as payments towards your statemented balance?

Isn't the card issuer jointly responsible? The vendor has refunded, their responsibility kinda ends there as they can't make the card issuer do anything. While the card issuer can freeze interest on the disputed transaction (they can't claim it's not been disputed, if it's already been refunded)

No. Retailer error for taking payment twice. Fair to say they will have no idea on when a statement is due. But end of the day card co have nothing to do with this. 

If you got a nice rep they could waive the interest. End of the day it's no skin off their nose. Complaint should see it sorted. Simply not worth the time it will take the staff compared to the amount of interest.

planteria

my initial thought is that if the credit has been applied after the statement date then surely that is already a partial payment, thereby reducing your bill exactly as you would like, and as you are entitled?
----
having re-read above, if the credit has been applied then your debt has been reduced. i can't see a scenario in which you are out of pocket as a result of this, but perhaps i am missing something?