Should a company providing a service be able to refund your card?

homeless9

Hi,

I bought a service (osteopath treatment).... I was overcharged.... the owner agreed I'd been overcharged. They said my next appointment would be reduced by the overcharged amount, but I had already paid up-front for the next 2 appointments and may not need a 3rd....

I have never worked in retail, but wouldn't the retailer be able to refund me by either....

Refunding my bank seeing as I have paid online.

Refunding my card during the next appointment. Which happens when I return products to shops - you put your card in their card machine and they top you up....

With the latter, I asked if they could do this at my last appointment and they said they can't...

By law do they have to be able to do so?....

I am fed up with the faffing about. Not sure why they couldn't have just refunded £20 online or refunded my card when I saw them last.

Brie

Maybe they can't as they don't know how?  A service is less likely to need to refund someone than a shop.  Or maybe they are reluctant as they are charged by the banks if they are using a card reader.  Ultimately if they don't refund you and you don't need their services anymore you could try a charge back with your bank.

homeless9

Brie said:

Maybe they can't as they don't know how?  A service is less likely to need to refund someone than a shop.  Or maybe they are reluctant as they are charged by the banks if they are using a card reader.  Ultimately if they don't refund you and you don't need their services anymore you could try a charge back with your bank.

well...

if they don't know how after being in this industry for so long - I dunno what they are doing.

if they don't want a fee from the bank when it's their mistake and they earn a ridiculous amount of money, especially when they are incapable of making a correct diagnosis.....then I dunno what's going on. They'd rather have a bad review for sending me on a wild goose chase to get just £20 back....

If they can't refund me via the 2 ways I mentioned..... and I speak to the owner/principle osteopath for my appointment tomorrow (which is already paid for), about reducing my unpaid for appointment with a different osteopath next week.....she will likely agree, but I have a feeling she will forget to tell her employee to reduce the price.....then I will be furious as they have already sent me round in circles.....

DullGreyGuy

They will have paid a fee on the payment and there is a limited window in which to process it as a true refund (in which case they get the fees reimbursed).  If they BACS you the funds or process it as a card refund post the window of opportunity they are out of pocket because they charged you say £100, they received £99 after fees but you want £100 back. 

Clearly keeping it as a credit towards future services avoids that issue for them and increases the chance of further repeat business from you. This is fine if you are happy with it but as it was their error you are entitled to demand a refund instead

Okell

I would say it's covered by s56(4), (5) and (6) of the Consumer Rights Act 2015 (legislation.gov.uk):

"... (4)  A refund under this section must be given without undue delay, and in any event within 14 days beginning with the day on which the trader agrees that the consumer is entitled to a refund.

(5)  The trader must give the refund using the same means of payment as the consumer used to pay for the service, unless the consumer expressly agrees otherwise.

(6)  The trader must not impose any fee on the consumer in respect of the refund"

If you're only talking about £20, then if refunding to your card is too difficult for them, tell them you'll accept cash.  Assuming you'd be happy with that.

(As a retired NHS manager I shall refrain from commenting on the wisdom of employing the services of an osteopath as opposed to a physiotherapist...)

jon81uk

If it was done online it may be a third party set up where they can’t do a partial refund.

Jumblebumble

DullGreyGuy said:

They will have paid a fee on the payment and there is a limited window in which to process it as a true refund (in which case they get the fees reimbursed).  If they BACS you the funds or process it as a card refund post the window of opportunity they are out of pocket because they charged you say £100, they received £99 after fees but you want £100 back. 

Clearly keeping it as a credit towards future services avoids that issue for them and increases the chance of further repeat business from you. This is fine if you are happy with it but as it was their error you are entitled to demand a refund instead

I cannot help wondering  why any business would care about the tiny fee that they might lose ( £1.00 in your example)  rather than annoy a customer but I suppose for some business people it is all about the money and not the relationship

ArbitraryRandom

I think they can be as high as 5 or 6%, depending on the volume of annual transactions - then there's the complications with the accounting re VAT etc. 

For a sum as small as £20 the admin costs could be higher than the refund, so I agree refunding in cash (assuming they have some form of petty cash mechanic) or a discount on a different product/later service is much easier for the business. The question would be if it's worth it to the customer to enforce their rights. 

born_again

homeless9 said:

Hi,

I bought a service (osteopath treatment).... I was overcharged.... the owner agreed I'd been overcharged. They said my next appointment would be reduced by the overcharged amount, but I had already paid up-front for the next 2 appointments and may not need a 3rd....

I have never worked in retail, but wouldn't the retailer be able to refund me by either....

Refunding my bank seeing as I have paid online.

Refunding my card during the next appointment. Which happens when I return products to shops - you put your card in their card machine and they top you up....

With the latter, I asked if they could do this at my last appointment and they said they can't...

By law do they have to be able to do so?....

I am fed up with the faffing about. Not sure why they couldn't have just refunded £20 online or refunded my card when I saw them last.

Just how did you pay?

Okell

born_again said:

homeless9 said:

Hi,

I bought a service (osteopath treatment).... I was overcharged.... the owner agreed I'd been overcharged. They said my next appointment would be reduced by the overcharged amount, but I had already paid up-front for the next 2 appointments and may not need a 3rd....

I have never worked in retail, but wouldn't the retailer be able to refund me by either....

Refunding my bank seeing as I have paid online.

Refunding my card during the next appointment. Which happens when I return products to shops - you put your card in their card machine and they top you up....

With the latter, I asked if they could do this at my last appointment and they said they can't...

By law do they have to be able to do so?....

I am fed up with the faffing about. Not sure why they couldn't have just refunded £20 online or refunded my card when I saw them last.

Just how did you pay?

Ah...   Good point.

I assumed they'd paid by card as they wanted the refund to go there - hence my link to s56(5) "... same means..." etc

DullGreyGuy

Jumblebumble said:

DullGreyGuy said:

They will have paid a fee on the payment and there is a limited window in which to process it as a true refund (in which case they get the fees reimbursed).  If they BACS you the funds or process it as a card refund post the window of opportunity they are out of pocket because they charged you say £100, they received £99 after fees but you want £100 back. 

Clearly keeping it as a credit towards future services avoids that issue for them and increases the chance of further repeat business from you. This is fine if you are happy with it but as it was their error you are entitled to demand a refund instead

I cannot help wondering  why any business would care about the tiny fee that they might lose ( £1.00 in your example)  rather than annoy a customer but I suppose for some business people it is all about the money and not the relationship

1% is just an example, in other businesses it will be higher and their loss is not just the fee but the operational cost of processing it etc and potentially another bank charge for making a payment. No idea for Osteopaths but some businesses operate on surprisingly thin margins and yes it's a few pounds (we don't know the actual amount) but its straight off the net profit. 

The OP has stated they don't anticipate being a further customer hence they aren't interested in the credit so what is the value of the relationship?  How much of osteopath new business is by word of mouth referrals?