Longshot But Anyone Have Knowledge on Credit Card Swipe Codes?

[Christine]

Yes, I know this is unusual....

I was hoping if anyone works retail they might know.

In late-July, I went to a local mattress chain to purchase a mattress for my daughter's college apartment. We wanted to have it delivered there so that we didn't have deal with all that when we moved in. The college is in another state, 4 hours away, but this chain has stores in the area.

The salesman took our order, swiped my credit card. This showed up on my online statement within a day or so. About 3 days after the purchase, the store contacted me and said that when the order went to their district manager, he informed them that the store could not make delivery there. The mattress chain in that area of the same name was owned by another corporation so they weren't really the same store. The salesman should not have sold me the mattress, blah, blah, blah....

This chain has a no-refund policy unless extreme circumstances arise and this was deemed one of them. They told me to come back to the store and they would process my refund.

I go back the store, the salesman fills out a piece of paper documenting why I needed a refund. He then let me read it. He told me that this was actually a "refund request" that had to be faxed to their corporate office. When the approval came back (which could take up to 3 weeks but he's seen it happen in as little as 2-3 days), I would get my refund back on my card. This was August 4th. And yeah, I *really* didn't need to be there for him to do that.

So, on August 18th, they get my "approval". I am steaming about it at this point because I have been "out" $558.00 plus I had to purchase a new mattress in the meantime.

I go back to the store on August 18th and he swipes my card. The receipt, I noted at the time swiped, printed out really fast. But it was there with a refund receipt and it also printed the one out for me to sign.

So today is August 20th and, you guessed it, still no refund on my card. I've contacted my credit card company and must have got someone that wasn't up on things because "he didn't know."

So here's what I have:

My refund receipt says "refund". It lists my VISA card, the total amount, the date, the time, and an Invoice number. Then it says: Apprvd: Offline Batch 00173.

I noticed on the credit slip where I paid for the mattress that there was this:

Apprvd: Online and Batch # and an Appr Code.

So what does this mean? That the charge didn't go through, or it's going to go through in some other fashion.

I wonder if I just need to wait or did I need to go forth with a credit dispute form?

Anyone that knows, I'd appreciate it.

 

[Kimberle]

Dispute the charge with your credit card company.

 

[BellandBeast]

The "offline batch" means that it does not get processed immediately, but will be processed later. This is actually normal for a refund to a credit card. A refund to a credit card will take up to 7-10 business days to show on your card. This is normal for any retail environment and I have experienced this with any return I have done from big chains like Target to small independent stores. I don't know why it is that it takes this long since when you buy something your money is gone as soon as you swipe it, but getting it back seems to take forever. Hope this helps and your money posts to your card soon.

 

[jeanelle]

I would give it a couple of more days. The refund was probably batched out that night and sometimes it will take your credit card company a couple of days until it shows up in your account. When we do a refund, we tell people it can take up to 14 days to show up in their account even though it will usually show up within 2-3 days.

If it doesn't show up within a couple of more days, I would definitely contact the store and let them know that you have not received it yet.

Jeanelle

 

[Christine]

The "offline batch" means that it does not get processed immediately, but will be processed later. This is actually normal for a refund to a credit card. A refund to a credit card will take up to 7-10 business days to show on your card. This is normal for any retail environment and I have experienced this with any return I have done from big chains like Target to small independent stores. I don't know why it is that it takes this long since when you buy something your money is gone as soon as you swipe it, but getting it back seems to take forever. Hope this helps and your money posts to your card soon.

Thanks! I just called my credit card company again (only because this merchant has been giving me the runaround more than I even wrote in my post). This time I got someone more knowledgeable who pretty much said what you wrote. That for a refund, they don't have to get an approval code and it will be processed in a different manner.

I'm only bugged about this because, when I have returned things in the past (most recently using my Ann Taylor card and my AMEX) the refund showed up the next day. Guess I've just been lucky and got spoiled!

 

[njmom47]

All of the above!

 

[LilyWDW]

Thanks! I just called my credit card company again (only because this merchant has been giving me the runaround more than I even wrote in my post). This time I got someone more knowledgeable who pretty much said what you wrote. That for a refund, they don't have to get an approval code and it will be processed in a different manner.

I'm only bugged about this because, when I have returned things in the past (most recently using my Ann Taylor card and my AMEX) the refund showed up the next day. Guess I've just been lucky and got spoiled!

Sometimes it goes right through and posts within a day or so. Sometimes it takes longer. When I would do refunds I would ALWAYS mention that, depending on many factors, the refund could take up to two weeks to show on your account. I would rather a customer expect that and be happy it shows sooner then the other way around.

What I am trying to say is, this is normal and don't worry about it. If you do not see it after 14 days, THEN you may have an issue.