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Hi All! I would appreciate any help on the below, as I feel somewhat stuck in the middle to be honest and am wondering if anyone knows who technically has the money and would need to credit it back
I purchased (online) a handful of Christmas items from a large retailer back in November using a credit card from a large bank. I closed the credit card towards the beginning of the year with this bank. One of my family members returned (stopped working) one of the Christmas items I purchased for them in May.
They ended up having the money credited back to the card I bought it with. I even have an email from the retailer showing the refund receipt with the last four of the card it was purchased with, which was automatically sent to me by email.
Anyways, it has been almost 50 days since the retailer credited back the amount to the closed credit card.
Large Retailer - They are saying the bank accepted the credit. They provided me the transaction code number of the credit. And I have the email, as noted above too that was automatically sent to me
Large Bank - They are saying they do not accept credit to a closed account and send it back to the merchant.
Bank History - When I first contacted them about this issue they couldn't even confirm I was a previous customer, as after so many months they purge your account when its closed. They were eventually able to find my account by escalating it up (manager) and looking up the very last payment I had (since I have the old payment and statement info in my inbox). It seems even though they were able to find the account.. the purge accounts have less info available to them. They said they would send a request to their research department to lookup and I would receive something in the mail. I never received anything and called again, which they are going to have the research department lookup again to see if they can find anything on this credit
It seems the folks I talk to at the bank are completely separate from this research department, which they don't have a direct number or anything.
Has anyone experienced anything like this or know who technically should be sending the credit to me. My understanding is in General... the bank still accepts the credit (even if the account is closed) and mails the customer a check in these cases? Which I don't understand why this bank is saying they do not accept credits back to closed accounts and send it back to the merchant
No experience, but I would ask large bank for documentation that they returned the money to the merchant. If it is true, the merchant should be willing to issue you a refund based on the documentation.
I do wonder why the credit transaction was able to post if the account was closed. That is a question you should ask large bank when you contact them to ask for documentation.
Shouldn't have closed the account. That goes against your credit score. If you don't use it in a few years, they will close the account themselves. Doing it this way has no ill effect on your score.
Shouldn't have closed the account. That goes against your credit score. If you don't use it in a few years, they will close the account themselves. Doing it this way has no ill effect on your score.
If you aren't going to use it for years/never then why risk it being active and having fraud happen on it and dealing with the headache of getting it removed? Also, if it is not a card actively being used then the chances of learning about the fraud (unless the bank contacts you with an alert like they sometimes do) are less likely if you aren't checking it each month.
Plus this isn't close to being my longest length of card so the impacts to the credit score are minimal for closure. I am not looking to obtain a new mortgage, auto loan, etc... anytime soon either so having a credit score on paper a few points higher means very little
No experience, but I would ask large bank for documentation that they returned the money to the merchant. If it is true, the merchant should be willing to issue you a refund based on the documentation.
I do wonder why the credit transaction was able to post if the account was closed. That is a question you should ask large bank when you contact them to ask for documentation.
Appreciate the feedback! That is what I am unclear of. It sounds generally the merchant does send the credit back to the bank (even if the card is closed) and it is the bank who then handles the refund (depending on if you are a current customer, past, etc.), but typically they send you a check for the amount
I am not clear why this bank is saying otherwise or if my understanding above is completely off. But am sort of stuck in the middle since the merchant says they sent it back and it was accepted by the bank. And the bank is saying the don't accept credit back to closed accounts. Hoping the banks research comes up with the details
But other than that, I'm curious about why it took five months for the item to be returned. Did the person you gifted it to USE it? and then return it five months later?
None of this would have happened if the merchant hadn't accepted a return after all that time. Oh well. I'm pro-customer, but to keep an item for five months or more and want a return is ridiculous. I know some merchants accept returns after longer than that. But I still think it's crazy, especially if the item has been used.
But other than that, I'm curious about why it took five months for the item to be returned. Did the person you gifted it to USE it? and then return it five months later?
None of this would have happened if the merchant hadn't accepted a return after all that time. Oh well. I'm pro-customer, but to keep an item for five months or more and want a return is ridiculous. I know some merchants accept returns after longer than that. But I still think it's crazy, especially if the item has been used.
It wasn't used for sometime once given to. The item was a deep fryer, which the issue was the oil kept overflowing when used. They believe the timer on it was malfunctioning, as they even tried different oil to see if that made a difference
I’m not in the banking biz, but here’s a possible explanation: merchant sends credit to bank. Confirmation number is generated as soon as bank receives the money. Bank then tries to apply it to your account, which no longer exists. Might go back to merchant, might just stay in limbo at the bank.
Do you have another bank you deal with that you could ask to get the general procedure for situations like yours?
If you aren't going to use it for years/never then why risk it being active and having fraud happen on it and dealing with the headache of getting it removed? Also, if it is not a card actively being used then the chances of learning about the fraud (unless the bank contacts you with an alert like they sometimes do) are less likely if you aren't checking it each month.
Plus this isn't close to being my longest length of card so the impacts to the credit score are minimal for closure. I am not looking to obtain a new mortgage, auto loan, etc... anytime soon either so having a credit score on paper a few points higher means very little
Yeah I’m with you. I had an account earlier this year that was for business but no longer in use. They kept telling me I could only use it for business expenses but it’s a personal card, and I had nothing to charge on it so it just closed on its own. I don’t care and it won’t and didn’t impact my credit whatsoever. I literally asked for limit increases on almost every card I have and that was $25,000 more credit, 4x what closed. Plus your credit score doesn’t matter much at all over a certain point. No bank cared at all that my credit is nearly 800 when applying for a loan, they just couldn’t get over my tax returns that always show losses. For me at least, I’m done caring about a credit score. I can get approved for any card and that’s enough for me. Whether it’s 750 or 800, who cares, doesn’t matter even 0.1%.
"For me at least, I’m done caring about a credit score. I can get approved for any card and that’s enough for me. Whether it’s 750 or 800, who cares, doesn’t matter even 0.1%.
Credit scores can also affect what you are charged for auto insurance and be a factor in some hiring decisions. People with low credit scores don't get hired into jobs where large cash amounts are easily accessible.
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