Dresses.ie order cancelled, awaiting on money?

Lcronin2011

Hey, Was wondering if anyone could help me with this.

On friday 15th of April i ordered three dresses off dresses.ie! During the weekend i ended up seeing dresses in town i would prefer so i bought them. On the dresses.ie website it says that any orders made on a friday aren't dispatched until the next working day which would be a monday. It also said if you want to cancel an order you should ring before 11 before it is dispatched, otherwise you will have to return it.

So anyway i rang the next monday, 18th of April at 9.30 as it was the next working day to cancel my order and they said that was fine as it hadn't been dispatched yet and they took my credit card details. The woman on the phone said it normally takes between 5-10 working days for the money to go back into your account?

So today is the 4th of April and still no sign of the money? 16 days later? I emailed them last week just to check was the return actually made to my account and they emailed back saying yes it was returned to your account on the 18th of April but it may take longer to go into your account due to the bank holidays?

Now i'm not sure how long i should leave it before i ring again to see where my money is? Seems to be taking very long for a return? or is is just me being paranoid?:o It'll be three weeks next monday? Should i ring them again? Any suggestions would be great

tallaghtoutlaws

I would imagine 5-10 working days and today is the 10th working day if you exclude Good Friday, Easter Monday and the May bank holiday Monday when banks didn't work. Give it another 24 hours and then call them back and tell them you never got the refund. But I would say the holidays didn't help the refund at all.

Lcronin2011

Oh ya totally forgot about good friday and easter monday :rolleyes: thanks for that hopefully i'll have it in my account by tomorrow and if not i will ring them!

jor el

Since they issued the cancellation of the charge on the 18th, then that's the end of it as far as the shop is concerned. If the money charge doesn't get removed from your card, then you should contact the bank about it. The shop can't cancel the transaction a 2nd time.

maxer68

It takes a max of 2 working days for a refund to appear on your laser or credit card. I feel you are being told fibs

Forest Master

maxer68 wrote: »

It takes a max of 2 working days for a refund to appear on your laser or credit card. I feel you are being told fibs

This is simply wrong. I've had refunds from Superquinn, Woodies, B&Q, M&S, Dunnes and Aer Lingus over the years, and it's varied anywhere from 2-8 days approx.

maxer68

Forest Master wrote: »

This is simply wrong. I've had refunds from Superquinn, Woodies, B&Q, M&S, Dunnes and Aer Lingus over the years, and it's varied anywhere from 2-8 days approx.

It may take a couple of days to ensure the refund is correct, but once put through the card machine it takes 2 working days to appear in a customer's account. The op said the company put the refund through on 18th april, they should have had it that Wednesday - its now 9 bank days since the refund - this is 2011 technology, not 1980!

Though maybe the op should double check that they are looking at correct card statement - could it be a different card you used?

Lcronin2011

maxer68 wrote: »

It may take a couple of days to ensure the refund is correct, but once put through the card machine it takes 2 working days to appear in a customer's account. The op said the company put the refund through on 18th april, they should have had it that Wednesday - its now 9 bank days since the refund - this is 2011 technology, not 1980!

Though maybe the op should double check that they are looking at correct card statement - could it be a different card you used?

Ya i had a feeling there wasnt something right either? it could hardly take that long i only have one card, my laser card so there is no mistake there! They made me call out my card number over the phone though, hope the idiot on the other end didnt take it down wrong

jor el

maxer68 wrote: »

It may take a couple of days to ensure the refund is correct, but once put through the card machine it takes 2 working days to appear in a customer's account.

Where are you getting this from? It's simply not true. It can take up to 10 working days for a transaction reversal on an account. It might happen in 2 days, but that is not a maximum.

maxer68 wrote: »

The op said the company put the refund through on 18th april, they should have had it that Wednesday - its now 9 bank days since the refund - this is 2011 technology, not 1980!

It has nothing to do with the technology, this is simply how it works. And besides which, credit card technology hasn't actually changed much since the 1980s anyway.

maxer68

jor el wrote: »

Where are you getting this from? It's simply not true. It can take up to 10 working days for a transaction reversal on an account. It might happen in 2 days, but that is not a maximum.



It has nothing to do with the technology, this is simply how it works. And besides which, credit card technology hasn't actually changed much since the 1980s anyway.

I'm in the retail arena for 27 years and the internet retail for 8 years. Once the details are entered on the terminal, it takes a max of 2 days to appear in the customers bank.

Technology on credit card machine have changed dramatically. Through to mid nineties many smaller stores still used the paper method which would depend on when they lodged the slips and then another 5 days for processing. Today's machines and software do everything from stopping stolen cards & over limit cards within seconds of report / reaching limit, payments can appear within minutes on your account and refunds take no longer than 2 working days days from being entered on the machine to reaching the customers account.

Mnay places will have a system for refunds and only one person may have password access and this may cause delay, but once its entered on the terminal there's nothing that can delay the process.

jor el

maxer68 wrote: »

I'm in the retail arena for 27 years and the internet retail for 8 years. Once the details are entered on the terminal, it takes a max of 2 days to appear in the customers bank.

As a retailer, how would you know what happens between the bank and the customer?

maxer68 wrote: »

but once its entered on the terminal there's nothing that can delay the process.

It may take 2 days for the refund to go from the retailer's machine to the credit card company, but the CC company can take as long as they like in processing that refund back to the customer's account. You have no say in this, and there is definitely not a 2 day maximum on it. 10 days is fairly typical. The technology has done nothing to change the credit card companies processing times, they will delay for as long as they can get away with.

maxer68

jor el wrote: »

As a retailer, how would you know what happens between the bank and the customer?



It may take 2 days for the refund to go from the retailer's machine to the credit card company, but the CC company can take as long as they like in processing that refund back to the customer's account. You have no say in this, and there is definitely not a 2 day maximum on it. 10 days is fairly typical. The technology has done nothing to change the credit card companies processing times, they will delay for as long as they can get away with.

I've never known a refund to take more that 2 days after being entered on a terminal. There's nothing in any correspondance / leaflet to state that it takes longer. And extensive experience has never shown anything different.

Where does your information come from? Experience / fact / printed or is it just made up to suit a stupid argument?


I have now noted that dresses.ie is a UK company with just a office address in Ireland. Hence, they may have an approval system to go through and that the refund was only passed from the sales floor on 18th. What the OP needs to find out is when it was actually processed.

Lcronin2011

They said it was actually processed on the 18th of April?

jor el

maxer68 wrote: »

I've never known a refund to take more that 2 days after being entered on a terminal.

As the retailer, you have no idea when the refund gets to the customers account, and you have no influence on this either. Different banks take different amounts of time to process payments and refunds. If that bank that operates your credit card terminal is different to the customer's bank, then the delay will be even longer.

maxer68 wrote: »

Where does your information come from? Experience / fact / printed or is it just made up to suit a stupid argument?

I've asked you the same question, and you've failed to provide anything other than your own stupid argument. I hope the irony is not lost on you. Just Google it and you'll see no bank or credit card agency guaranteeing 2 day refunds times. In fact, the majority indicates 72 hours to 30 days required to receive a refund. All depends on the banks involved.

MBNA states, and I quote from their website

This will depend on how quickly the retailer/ merchant process the refund. It will normally display in Online Card Services within 5 business days from the date the refund was processed.

So tell us, where is this 2 day guarantee coming from? MBNA for one certainly don't guarantee it. They can't even tell you how long from when the refund is processed by the retailer that it will show on your account, because it will depend on the retailer's bank too.

I can't find any information from any of the Irish banks to support your claim.

Lcronin2011 wrote:

They said it was actually processed on the 18th of April?

Today is the 10th working day since the 18h of April, but that is still no guarantee that you will see the refund today. You need to contact your own bank to find out if the transaction is pending, or if they've received anything from that retailer's bank yet. No one, not even maxer68, can tell you how long a refund will take, as it's not up to any of us, and no bank will guarantee a refund time in the order of 2 days. They probably won't guarantee 10 days either, as your bank has no influence over the merchant's bank.

There could also have been a mistake in the refund, or between the banks, and these can effect the refund time too.

maxer68

My EXPERIENCE - physical, actual, REAL experience of 27 years in retail, has told me it takes no longer than 2 working days from when an electronic refund is processed to arriving in the customers bank.

MBNA will quote 5 days to be absolutely sure, but the electronic system takes 2 working days.

jor el

So you have nothing to back your argument then, and nothing to refute the fact that it takes longer than 2 days.

It is clear from the OP's experience, that you are 100% wrong anyway, as they have been waiting for 10 days now, and still no refund showing. It might be 2 days, but there is no guarantee of that in the banking system.

maxer68

jor el wrote: »

So you have nothing to back your argument then, and nothing to refute the fact that it takes longer than 2 days.

It is clear from the OP's experience, that you are 100% wrong anyway, as they have been waiting for 10 days now, and still no refund showing. It might be 2 days, but there is no guarantee of that in the banking system.

Maybe as a moderator you like to bully others into submission. I have looked at some of your other posts and you seem to give wrong information many times.

As I said, I'm 27 years operating retail businesses - not as a employee, but as owner. Since electronic card transactions came into force, I have never known it to take more than 2 days for a refund to appear on a customers card. Ulster Bank merchant services tell us this is the time it takes, it is also our experience.

And I can assure you, I'd accept REAL transactional experience over many years than some crap written on google.

Your back up is total nonsense. The OP hasn't had the refund yet because it probably has not been initiated yet though either mis handling or someone has forgotten.

RangeR

maxer68 wrote: »

Maybe as a moderator you like to bully others into submission.

jor el has absolutely no power in this forum, although I do respect him as a poster. jor el is a moderator in the forums listed under his /her name. Just clarifying for you as you are starting to go down a "road less traveled" which generally doesn't end well.

RangeR

maxer68 wrote: »

I have never known it to take more than 2 days for a refund to appear on a customers card..

Just because it hasn't happened to you, doesn't mean it can't happen.

witchgirl26

Have to say I've experience of it taking around the 10 day mark to get a refund on my credit card. This was on an online transaction about 6 months ago so it does happen. In fact most times I've gotten a refund to my card it's taken approx 5 days for it to appear back into my card. Just my experience.

To the OP - I think the suggestion of giving your bank a ring to see if there's a refund pending on the account is a good one. Especially if there's nothing there today. Hope it gets sorted for your soon.

Lcronin2011

Thank you witchgirl26! I've decided to wait until tomoro morning, if it is not in my account by then ill give the bank a ring before they close again for the weekend! If they say nothing is pending then i will give dresses.ie a ring and tell them either they haven't put it through or else they have put it through on a wrong card number coz it certainly isn't in my account!

Thanks for all the advice guys, and less fighting for opinions :D

maxer68

It can take a year if it hasn't been processed. But once its been processed on an electronic terminal the time it takes is 2 days. I've even put a call through to Streamline and they have confirmed same about 5 minutes ago.

Delays can be caused by retailers not doing end of day reports daily or not processing it electronically when they say so. But once the infomation goes down the line, the expected time is no longer than 2 days.

witchgirl26

Lcronin2011 - sounds like you have yourself a plan there. Just thought as well, are you checking the actual list of transactions or whether your balance has increased? Sometimes it takes a while for the list to update where the money is already there/gone.

maxer68 - with all due respect Streamline are only in relation to Ulster Bank so if the merchant is using BoI or any other bank then they may have a different system. Also there can be a delay caused if the merchant's bank is different to that of the customers. This happens when there is just a straight transfer of funds between two people in different banks. If a cheque can take 5 - 10 working days to clear into a bank account so that the bank can ensure the transfer of funds from the cheque holders account, then it's not unreasonable to assume that a refund from one bank to another may take the same time length in order to ensure the transfer of the funds.

If the OP has been told that it could take up to 10 days then they should wait until after that 10 day period as otherwise, if nothing else, the answer they could get from the merchant is that it hasn't been 10 days yet.

jor el

maxer68 wrote:

Maybe as a moderator you like to bully others into submission. I have looked at some of your other posts and you seem to give wrong information many times.

If you have an issue with me or my posts, then do not bring it up on the forum. You can also keep your accusations to yourself. Read the rules before you continue on this style of posting. This is a discussion forum, if you disagree with me, then fine, but if you want to act like a child then you can go elsewhere. Back up your claims with even one bank's website that agrees with you, as I have done.

maxer68 wrote:

Delays can be caused by retailers not doing end of day reports daily or not processing it electronically when they say so. But once the infomation goes down the line, the expected time is no longer than 2 days.

I'm trying not to let false information mislead the person that started this thread. You have no information to back what you say, and any information to be found online (on bank's own sites) disagrees with you. Yet you insist in the face of overwhelming evidence to the contrary, that you are right. The OP's own experience here says that you are wrong, yet you persist in your one man mission to claim that there is 2 day guarantee on credit card refunds, when that is clearly not the case.

The Lovely Muffin

I had a refund onto my debit card that took almost three weeks, that's with Ulster Bank.

davo10

I recently had a refund put back on my card and it also took 3 weeks with AIB. Jor el, sounds like Maxer has a lot of experience with this, maybe he has had to refund an awful lot of people.

tallaghtoutlaws

maxer68 wrote: »

It can take a year if it hasn't been processed. But once its been processed on an electronic terminal the time it takes is 2 days. I've even put a call through to Streamline and they have confirmed same about 5 minutes ago.

Delays can be caused by retailers not doing end of day reports daily or not processing it electronically when they say so. But once the infomation goes down the line, the expected time is no longer than 2 days.

My ex wife is an accountant for one of the Irish banks and before she became an accountant she worked in the accounts section that dealt with refunds and transfer of money from the retail sector to and from customers accounts.

I can tell you it can take up to 10 business days for refunds to go from a retailer through the different processes and accounts banks use before reaching the customers account. And with the amount of holidays the banks have had in the last 2 weeks the delay here could most likely be the case of it taking long for the bank to pass it through.

Now having said that the company might not of put it through on the 18th or might not have put it through at all who knows but it doesn't change the fact it can take up to 10 business days for the money to reach back to a customer even from the minute the retailer puts it through on the machine.

Lcronin2011

davo10 wrote: »

I recently had a refund put back on my card and it also took 3 weeks with AIB. Jor el, sounds like Maxer has a lot of experience with this, maybe he has had to refund an awful lot of people.

Ya i am with aib too so maybe myn will take a bit longer too?

And witchgirl26 i have been checking my actual balance and not the list. The list does take a while to update itself its done it plenty of times before but the amount of money in my account defo hasnt increased!

dudara

maxer68 and jor el I think there's been enough discussion on this topic.

From personal experience, I've seen refunds take 2 days to 10 days. It completely varies. If the refund hasn't appeared on your card by now, it probably means that they have forgotten to process the refund. You should get in touch with them.

Lcronin2011

Got onto bank this morning and no sign of money so i sent dresses.ie an email saying i want a recepit of the refund because I still haven't recieved my money. I got an email back there saying ' I do apologise for the inconvience, I will check with a gut in Finace, he is off this week but I will get onto him on monday and she was the delay is.' Wow that really puts my mind a rest, a person who cant spell!!! :mad:

maxer68

davo10 wrote: »

sounds like Maxer has a lot of experience with this, maybe he has had to refund an awful lot of people.

Yes, we do refund a fair few. I don't believe in credit notes so when someone has a change of mind with 28 days we refund. If a product is faulty within 28 days, we refund. On our online stores, if you buy a spre part and the postage is less than our standard delivery rate, we refund. Its called Total Customer Satistisfaction and one of the reaosns we've grown our business in a recession.

As for the original argument here's what I did last Thursday.

Online via streamline. Refund €15 to my NIB mastercard + refund €15 to my NIB laser card + €15 refund to wife's AIB Visa + €15 to her AIB laser.

€15 Physical store refund from store in cork to staff ptsb visa debit card via elavon (bank of Ireland), physical store refund to my NIB laser card (elavon) €15.

Guess what? - Each and every one of these hit the various credit card & bank accoutns this morning. Hence - fro the time the tranaactions enters the electronic system of either streamline or elavon, it takes 2 working days to hit the customer's account. As confirmed by Streamline themselves.

Now - do you want to believe actual physical evidence from 6 transactions and comment from of a credit crad processor (streamline) or some BS from posters that are not in the business?