Credit card screw up

[farmerEd]

OK, what are my chances of this working out....

I bought a piece of equipment about 7 weeks ago, almost $6000, and charged it to my credit card...I checked my CC statement on-line the next day and it didn't list the purchase but did show the available credit had been reduced by that amount (this is typical) Usually a few days later it shows up....so far, 7 weeks later, it hasn't.

Went back to the same store last week and bought $120 worth of stuff...checked cc statement on line, show the reduction in cc limit and 2 days later the charge showed...just like its supposed to.

So, what do you guys think, where did the screw-up take place? and how long before I am certain its "lost" in the system somewhere. Anyone ever have a similar situation?

PS: This happened to me once before about 12 years ago with a $500 color tv I bought, never got charged for it and then the company went bankrupt (no wonder!).

 

[JPatrick]

It sounds as if the company that sold you the stuff never completed the transaction for some reason.
Does your available credit still show the 6K drop or has it been restored?

 

[TromboneAl]

Just so that we're clear here, you are complaining that someone has given you $6,000, right?

 

[cute fuzzy bunny]

It'll show up eventually.

I've had that happen and not seen the charge show up for as long as a year later.

Sooner or later a bean counter will find it.

 

[farmerEd]

It sounds as if the company that sold you the stuff never completed the transaction for some reason.
Does your available credit still show the 6K drop or has it been restored?

No, available credit is restored...so as far as the CC company is concerned, there is nothing pending.

 

[farmerEd]

Just so that we're clear here, you are complaining that someone has given you $6,000, right?

No, I am not compaining one bit...just wondering how long my luck may hold out (but my gut tell's me TH is right...sooner or later someone will notice...$6K is a lot to "overlook")

 

[cute fuzzy bunny]

No, available credit is restored...so as far as the CC company is concerned, there is nothing pending.

Credit holds are for a specific period when they're placed. Usually a day or a week. The credit card company removes the hold when the period expires.

 

[MJ]

No, available credit is restored...so as far as the CC company is concerned, there is nothing pending.

I guess you forgot that you returned it.

 

[JPatrick]

No, available credit is restored...so as far as the CC company is concerned, there is nothing pending.

Interesting, some kind of oversight and I'll bet your transaction isn't the only one.
I'd put the 6K in a MM account and play wait and see.

 

[VoyT]

   Assume you have a receipt for the purchase, so I'd just wait and see, too. Maybe you will get a $6,000 present.

 

 

[Marshac]

When the checker hands you back $20-something in change, even though you gave her a five spot, what do you do? The action chosen shows the threadcount of ones moral fiber I guess....

If it were me, I would ask the store manager about the charge, and if they say "you've paid for it", you can walk out with a clear conscience. If you do nothing, and hope nobody notices, i'm sure you will feel just a bit of guilt for who knows how long.

 

[Nords]

When the checker hands you back $20-something in change, even though you gave her a five spot, what do you do? The action chosen shows the threadcount of ones moral fiber I guess....

If it were me, I would ask the store manager about the charge, and if they say "you've paid for it", you can walk out with a clear conscience. If you do nothing, and hope nobody notices, i'm sure you will feel just a bit of guilt for who knows how long.

Moral fiber my assets. In most cases the truth is easier & simpler than trying to get away with something. You also don't have to remember what a tangled web you've been weaving.

Now if you correct the cashier and get attitude, or if you go to the store and get bureaucratic hassle, then my conscience is clear.

I remember a parachute jump where the lead jumper, an Army captain, assumed his position in the door ready to spring out of the aircraft. The only problem was that the exit procedure for that type of aircraft he was in (a jet) required a short step instead of an aggressive leap. The jumpmaster, one of those classic crusty sergeants, gently pulled the captain back in, shook his head, and pantomimed walking out of the aircraft as the proper method. The O-3 firmly shook his head and reassumed his spring-ready position. The sergeant looked back at the rest of us witnesses, glanced down at his watch, spread his hands & rolled his eyes, and tapped the captain on his shoulder for the "Go!" signal. He leaped out into the turbulence. We heard him hit the fuselage at least three times on his way aft, and his helmet had an impressive dent. (If he'd had any brains they would have been injured.) Of course no one ever mentioned a word to anyone about the incident...

So you should make the attempt to contact the store and explain the situation. But if they piss you off then I'd go home with a smile on my face... and I'd keep the $6000 handy in a MM account for the inevitable accountant's reconciliation review.

 

[cute fuzzy bunny]

Yeah the 'piss off' factor definitely has a play in this.

Couple of experiences:

Bought a laser printer and a cable, back when laser printers still cost $2000+. Small computer store. Took the cable back a couple of days later. Young girl working the register for the first time, decided to take her frustration at not being able to make it work properly out on me. A week later I look at the credit receipt and she credited me for the printer, not the cable. $12 laser printer. I did go back a week later to fix it but the store was out of business. Some surprise.

Bought a car. No financing, I was going to come back with cash the next day. Finance guy is a major dick who gets mad at me for not buying the rust proofing and fabric protection. Says that even though I'm coming back the next day he wants a $500 deposit, so I give him my credit card. Doesnt want the card, wants a check, which I dont have. Finally runs the card through and slaps it back at me in disgust. Next day I pick up the car and insist on a credit for my $500 credit card charge. Everybody's "gone home" and I'm getting stonewalled. Finally someone "finds a vice president who can do it" (amazing, we need a vice president to issue a credit). When I get home, I see that my $500 charge was listed on the paperwork as a down payment...which was NOT the deal, I was to pay it all in cash. Two months later I get the call from the dickhead finance manager, sweet as pie, explaining that a 'little mistake was made' and would I come down to the dealership to straighten it out. I asked him "If a mistake was made and I paid you $500 too much for the car and called you a couple of months later, would you drop by and hand me a check? I dont think so."

Last month the wife and I bought a bunch of stuff at costco. I had a car battery and a couple of cases of dog food underneath the cart and bought my dad one of those $100 "cat trees" as he has two indoor only cats and was talking about getting one. Saw them there and noted they were flying out the door, so we grabbed him one.

Turned out everyone was so focused on that giant cat tree sticking up out of the middle of my cart, festooned with all the other stuff we bought that the cashier, her 'helper' who moved and shifted everything during the checkout, nor the two guys who examine your cart on the way out to make sure you havent stolen anything or not paid for it (oops, sorry, they're just making sure you werent overcharged) noticed the car battery or dog food. I didnt realize I hadnt been charged until we got home. Its a 40 minute drive to costco. Value judgement: if none of their people, including people paid to examine your purchase, noticed it then i'm not driving an hour and twenty minutes to tell them I owe them $75.

Now, on the flip side of this, I've probably had a dozen or so screwups on the other side of the equation where I got dinged and either didnt notice it until it couldnt be reversed, or the company screwed me on it. I think the karma balances out in the end.

By the way, i'm constantly handed change for a $20 when I gave the cashier a $10 (which I always give back), and about 1 in 3 supermarket receipts I actually look at show that I was overcharged or double charged for at least one item. Look at 'em the next half dozen times you go through a grocery store...

 

[JPatrick]

When the checker hands you back $20-something in change, even though you gave her a five spot, what do you do? The action chosen shows the threadcount of ones moral fiber I guess....

If it were me, I would ask the store manager about the charge, and if they say "you've paid for it", you can walk out with a clear conscience. If you do nothing, and hope nobody notices, i'm sure you will feel just a bit of guilt for who knows how long.

Moral fiber?  If you ask the store manager about the charge and he says you paid for it, how can you walk out with a clear conscience?  If you have really got moral fiber you are going to tell him--no I did not pay for it cause it never made it to my balance. Mr store manager you need to check a bit further cause I know I never paid for the item.
Now that's what I'm talking about.

I stand by my suggestion.  Bank the cash and wait and see.

 

[farmerEd]

>>I stand by my suggestion.  Bank the cash and wait and see.

Thats my plan...I feel quite certain if the store screwed up, they will catch it, they are small enough to notice $6K...on the other hand, if the cc company screwed up, I won't be losing any sleep over that