December 31, 2008
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News: Many Happy (Store) Returns.
To some, it's just ‘old hat'. But to others, it's an enduring experience. Waiting in long lines to return un-needed Christmas gifts only to find that they had been purchased on a credit card that you don't carry. It seems like every store has it's own unspoken return policies and navigating through credit card entanglements only makes things worse. But there are some generalities with credit card constraints that may be helpful to know for this post-Christmas season.
First off, having a receipt can make a lot of difference. Without a receipt, a lot is put on the clerk on what to do. With frustrating long lines, judgment calls are required concerning how much time to spend with one customer with so many others still waiting in line with the attitude that their needs are simple (not always the case) and they should be attended to first. So, without a receipt, the clerk is deliberating if it's worth the hassle to allow the return or not. This is key because it can save much time by just saying ‘No'. One redeeming benefit of using credit cards is that it makes things much easier for the clerk to locate the transaction and perform the refund. Odds are good if a credit card was used because the clerk is able to find the transaction fairly easy.
That's the good part but, it can get muddy. If you are not carrying the credit card used for the purchase, another judgment call is required. If the card is registered to you, often times the clerk can refund that same card. It's impossible, however, to refund monies to a different card because the card industry will not allow a refund to be placed on any card that doesn't show the original charge. The charge has to be located in the account before a refund can be issued to it. There is a possibility that the store can issue you a ‘store credit' (meaning you must purchase that amount of goods from that store in order to redeem the credit). Cash refunds are far less likely with a credit purchase. If the card used is in someone else's name, you will most likely have to return to the store with the original card holder to make the return.