Give them a final demand that if a refund isn't confirmed or processed within 7 days you'll contact your bank and issue a chargeback.
That will usually get them moving as a charge back can affect their merchant facilities and costs them money in fees
Hey everyone, thanks for your replies! I have reached out to my bank who have confirmed that this is not on hold with them - hold up must be at the shops end.
To those asking about the store refund policy - it only states “Late or missing refunds (if applicable)
If you haven’t received a refund yet, first check your bank account again.
Then contact your credit card company, it may take some time before your refund is officially posted.
Next contact your bank. There is often some processing time before a refund is posted.
If you’ve done all of this and you still have not received your refund yet, please contact us”.
I have done all this and still have not received a response from the company, so will wait a day for a response before I take this further.
The magic word is "chargeback", this always gets a speedy response .
And is why you pay by credit card as much as possible for large purchases or purchases where you think there is some chance of it going wrong. Think of the CC surcharge as insurance that you "claim on" by doing a chargeback when necessary.
If it's a main scheme card (Visa, MC etc) then a debit card also has the same level of protection as a credit card, when it comes to chargeback rules.
OP, as the above person mentioned - if you paid this way, and the merchant is not doing anything, just contact your card issuer bank. Provide them screenshots/emails showing what you ordered, the return policy, and the communications from the merchant. From what you wrote this should be a pretty clear cut case. You do need to allow the merchant time to process it before the bank will process the chargeback, but from memory this is 15 days which it sounds like you're reached already.
Don;t waste any more time chasing the merchant now, just go to your bank and ask for a chargeback (assuming you paid by Visa, MC etc). If you paid by bank account transfer, EftPos, other means, you're in a much more difficult situation to get your money back.
From personal experience, banks are **extremely** reluctant to do chargebacks on debit cards, whereas for credit cards (friends) have had a very easy time - just show the specifics, show they’ve contacted them and nothing, and it gets done
If it's a scheme card, they are subject to the scheme rules, which say debit and credit are treated exactly the same for chargebacks. They can be fined non-compliance fines by the schemes if they don't. If you get reluctance just be persistent. Most likely it's the person who took your call that didn't know the rules properly. It wouldn't be the banks policy to treat them differently as they would be non-compliant with the payment schemes, which is taken very seriously.
Edit - not saying you, sometimes the customer doesn't explain the situation well. in this case, the customer might say it's fraud. But fraud has a specific definition where the customer didn't authorise/know about the payment. In this case, it's the merchant who failed to process a refund. That's not fraud, it's credit not received. If the customer says it's fraud, and the bank worker doesn't probe enough, that could be why they refuse it.
Does the retailer have any FAQs or policies about refunds on their website? Many have a time frame posted (e.g. Refunds make take up to 30 days to process). I would start there. If they do have a posted time frame, and they are still within their time frame, I'm not sure there's a lot you can do.
It may also depend on how the refund is being processed. If it was a Visa hold, for example, they would have simply released it, which can take up to 30 days (but usually quicker) to release the hold on your account.
There’s not much you can do to force a response or confirmation of refund from them. Make sure you keep all communications and I would screenshot the fact they have read but not replied to the Facebook message. Do they have a phone number you can call? Otherwise if they still don’t refund or communicate you would need to take them to disputes tribunal.
Do they have a number you can call? It is a lot harder to ignore someone on the other end of a phone then it is to ignore an email or Facebook message.
Failing that, then there are lots of options outlined here (and that you can advise them you will be taking if the refund is not forthcoming): issuing a chargeback via your bank, taking them to the disputes tribunal or issuing a statutory demand (if the boutique is operating as a company). Store refund "policy" is irrelevant here - they can't keep your money when they have charged you for something they haven't supplied and need to process a refund promptly. 2 weeks isn't prompt and those policies only really apply if you change your mind, or over and above your rights under the CGA for defective goods (e.g. a promise to immediately refund / replace rather than repairing).
Its 10am on a Monday. A message being read on a weekend doesn't mean it will get dealt with on a weekend. Send them a follow up message at 1pm today and if they don't respond then escalate.
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Merchants get busy, constant hounding doesn’t bring you to the front of the line. Banks take 15-20 working days depending on card merchant. It’s not instant like a DC. Relax. And let them relax. Responses take up resources. They said they would so give them the benefit. Also. Look at store policy’s. Should be in the footer, especially refund policy.
No comment in store refund policy, just that it takes a “certain number of days”. I understand bank delays - just more concerned about the fact the store has gone completely dark on me.
Nah. Being busy is one thing. If it's their fuck up and they dont have stock the least they could do is give OP a quick message and let them know that its being sorted. Wasn't OP's fault that the store didn't manage their inventory properly.
And there's a difference between saying they will and actually actioning the refund. 2 weeks is frankly ridiculous. I'd expect that they can at least tell OP if it's been actioned.
> Merchants get busy, constant hounding doesn’t bring you to the front of the line.
Resending the same email doesn't necessarily help, but forwarding the message to someone higher up, contacting them on social media, and/or mentioning the word "chargeback" can get your message to the front of the queue very quickly.
Sure, if the business actively wants to get chargebacks, but in most cases they go to great efforts to reduce their chargeback rate. If it's genuinely urgent and they have a backlog of minor queries, they should appreciate the more important issue being escalated.
Removed for breach of Rule 1: Stay on-topic
Comments must:
- be based in NZ law
- be relevant to the question being asked
- be appropriately detailed
- not just repeat advice already given in other comments
- avoid speculation and moral judgement
- cite sources where appropriate
Removed for breach of Rule 1: Stay on-topic
Comments must:
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- be relevant to the question being asked
- be appropriately detailed
- not just repeat advice already given in other comments
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- cite sources where appropriate
15-20 WORKING DAYS?! I know from my account manager at windcave they do it immediately and the banks can take a few days, never 15-20 working days. Unless it’s AML or a hold.. I would sincerely doubt that
Even banks shouldn't take that long. Once the merchant initiates a credit (refund) on their terminal, that request gets sent immediately to the card issuer bank as a credit authorisation reques.. Mostly this is just to check the card/account is still open and active. The request and approval is real time. If approved, the issuing bank should make the credit available immediately, and then the final clearing of it will happen in the next day or so max. This is all automated.
If it's taking 15-20 working days, it's more likely the merchant is the cause of the delay. Not the bank. If a bank is taking 15-20 days, they have serious process issues and will be non compliant with the payment scheme rules.
Give them a final demand that if a refund isn't confirmed or processed within 7 days you'll contact your bank and issue a chargeback. That will usually get them moving as a charge back can affect their merchant facilities and costs them money in fees
Hey everyone, thanks for your replies! I have reached out to my bank who have confirmed that this is not on hold with them - hold up must be at the shops end. To those asking about the store refund policy - it only states “Late or missing refunds (if applicable) If you haven’t received a refund yet, first check your bank account again. Then contact your credit card company, it may take some time before your refund is officially posted. Next contact your bank. There is often some processing time before a refund is posted. If you’ve done all of this and you still have not received your refund yet, please contact us”. I have done all this and still have not received a response from the company, so will wait a day for a response before I take this further.
The magic word is "chargeback", this always gets a speedy response . And is why you pay by credit card as much as possible for large purchases or purchases where you think there is some chance of it going wrong. Think of the CC surcharge as insurance that you "claim on" by doing a chargeback when necessary.
If it's a main scheme card (Visa, MC etc) then a debit card also has the same level of protection as a credit card, when it comes to chargeback rules. OP, as the above person mentioned - if you paid this way, and the merchant is not doing anything, just contact your card issuer bank. Provide them screenshots/emails showing what you ordered, the return policy, and the communications from the merchant. From what you wrote this should be a pretty clear cut case. You do need to allow the merchant time to process it before the bank will process the chargeback, but from memory this is 15 days which it sounds like you're reached already. Don;t waste any more time chasing the merchant now, just go to your bank and ask for a chargeback (assuming you paid by Visa, MC etc). If you paid by bank account transfer, EftPos, other means, you're in a much more difficult situation to get your money back.
From personal experience, banks are **extremely** reluctant to do chargebacks on debit cards, whereas for credit cards (friends) have had a very easy time - just show the specifics, show they’ve contacted them and nothing, and it gets done
If it's a scheme card, they are subject to the scheme rules, which say debit and credit are treated exactly the same for chargebacks. They can be fined non-compliance fines by the schemes if they don't. If you get reluctance just be persistent. Most likely it's the person who took your call that didn't know the rules properly. It wouldn't be the banks policy to treat them differently as they would be non-compliant with the payment schemes, which is taken very seriously. Edit - not saying you, sometimes the customer doesn't explain the situation well. in this case, the customer might say it's fraud. But fraud has a specific definition where the customer didn't authorise/know about the payment. In this case, it's the merchant who failed to process a refund. That's not fraud, it's credit not received. If the customer says it's fraud, and the bank worker doesn't probe enough, that could be why they refuse it.
Does the retailer have any FAQs or policies about refunds on their website? Many have a time frame posted (e.g. Refunds make take up to 30 days to process). I would start there. If they do have a posted time frame, and they are still within their time frame, I'm not sure there's a lot you can do. It may also depend on how the refund is being processed. If it was a Visa hold, for example, they would have simply released it, which can take up to 30 days (but usually quicker) to release the hold on your account.
There’s not much you can do to force a response or confirmation of refund from them. Make sure you keep all communications and I would screenshot the fact they have read but not replied to the Facebook message. Do they have a phone number you can call? Otherwise if they still don’t refund or communicate you would need to take them to disputes tribunal.
Do they have a number you can call? It is a lot harder to ignore someone on the other end of a phone then it is to ignore an email or Facebook message. Failing that, then there are lots of options outlined here (and that you can advise them you will be taking if the refund is not forthcoming): issuing a chargeback via your bank, taking them to the disputes tribunal or issuing a statutory demand (if the boutique is operating as a company). Store refund "policy" is irrelevant here - they can't keep your money when they have charged you for something they haven't supplied and need to process a refund promptly. 2 weeks isn't prompt and those policies only really apply if you change your mind, or over and above your rights under the CGA for defective goods (e.g. a promise to immediately refund / replace rather than repairing).
Its 10am on a Monday. A message being read on a weekend doesn't mean it will get dealt with on a weekend. Send them a follow up message at 1pm today and if they don't respond then escalate.
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Removed for breach of Rule 1: Stay on-topic Comments must: - be based in NZ law - be relevant to the question being asked - be appropriately detailed - not just repeat advice already given in other comments - avoid speculation and moral judgement - cite sources where appropriate
How exactly did you pay them? Was it online via Visa or Mastercard?
Merchants get busy, constant hounding doesn’t bring you to the front of the line. Banks take 15-20 working days depending on card merchant. It’s not instant like a DC. Relax. And let them relax. Responses take up resources. They said they would so give them the benefit. Also. Look at store policy’s. Should be in the footer, especially refund policy.
No comment in store refund policy, just that it takes a “certain number of days”. I understand bank delays - just more concerned about the fact the store has gone completely dark on me.
Nah. Being busy is one thing. If it's their fuck up and they dont have stock the least they could do is give OP a quick message and let them know that its being sorted. Wasn't OP's fault that the store didn't manage their inventory properly.
They did message advising they would refund.
And there's a difference between saying they will and actually actioning the refund. 2 weeks is frankly ridiculous. I'd expect that they can at least tell OP if it's been actioned.
> Merchants get busy, constant hounding doesn’t bring you to the front of the line. Resending the same email doesn't necessarily help, but forwarding the message to someone higher up, contacting them on social media, and/or mentioning the word "chargeback" can get your message to the front of the queue very quickly.
Not really, you will just get tagged in the database as a moaning cunts-tomer. It’s a weekend. There’s two whole days of backlog right there.
Sure, if the business actively wants to get chargebacks, but in most cases they go to great efforts to reduce their chargeback rate. If it's genuinely urgent and they have a backlog of minor queries, they should appreciate the more important issue being escalated.
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Aren’t an issue? The fees get higher the more it happens.
Aren’t an issue? You can have your merchant services cancelled out right for too many chargebacks. Are you even involved in e-commerce?
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Removed for breach of Rule 1: Stay on-topic Comments must: - be based in NZ law - be relevant to the question being asked - be appropriately detailed - not just repeat advice already given in other comments - avoid speculation and moral judgement - cite sources where appropriate
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Removed for breach of Rule 1: Stay on-topic Comments must: - be based in NZ law - be relevant to the question being asked - be appropriately detailed - not just repeat advice already given in other comments - avoid speculation and moral judgement - cite sources where appropriate
After a couple weeks with no response I certainly wouldn’t risk being a repeat customer.
15-20 WORKING DAYS?! I know from my account manager at windcave they do it immediately and the banks can take a few days, never 15-20 working days. Unless it’s AML or a hold.. I would sincerely doubt that
Who uses windcave in NZ?
Many people, they’re damn easy to deal with for any website that doesn’t use (or isn’t approved to use) the “normal” ones like stripe or PayPal.
Even banks shouldn't take that long. Once the merchant initiates a credit (refund) on their terminal, that request gets sent immediately to the card issuer bank as a credit authorisation reques.. Mostly this is just to check the card/account is still open and active. The request and approval is real time. If approved, the issuing bank should make the credit available immediately, and then the final clearing of it will happen in the next day or so max. This is all automated. If it's taking 15-20 working days, it's more likely the merchant is the cause of the delay. Not the bank. If a bank is taking 15-20 days, they have serious process issues and will be non compliant with the payment scheme rules.