credit card refunds....can someone explain

i am and have been curious about this for a while...i dont use cash very often. i have a debit card as most of us do but when i make purchases i run them through as credit.....i only get so may pin transactions per month free...that is something else i dont understand so maybe as a side bar someone can explain that as well.

its the same card so why are there charges for debit/pin transactions but not for credit transactions???

the real question though is this


how come if you go to a store and purchase something with your card as a credit transaction the money comes out of your account immediately but if you go back to return the item it takes 3-5 and depending on the store as long as 10 business days for the money to go back in....

i dont get it and it is very frustrating...

you swipe your card at best buy and then immediately log into your bank and check, the money will be gone...
like right now

why cant they give it back to you just as fast?

scratch that...im sure they can...why dont they give it back to you?

they will take your receipt and card...swipe the card again and the refund is issued...
money comes out with a swipe, should go back in with a swipe

anyone work in the financial/banking industry know the answer to this?

thank you

a reply to: Grovit

Because unlike back when cash was king, they have you over a barrel thinking there's some 'magic' to the refund part of things and they get to float the money forever and a day (making billions every second of the day around the planet off the interest on pennies) while you grovel for your funds back.

You're a slave and they own everything including you.

Wait until they decide to 'disappear' people by simply turning off the cards that define them and fund them.

a reply to: signalfire

i figured the money got moved around somehow for their benefit.

not cool.
the money should go back in as fast as it comes out....

The credit card companies get around four to five percent of the purchase from the stores. Sometimes big companies can get breaks if a lot is done. The credit card companies give a small amount of this back to the holder sometimes. They also collect interest from balances.

Now, this means that the stores need to charge this amount of four or five percent more for their products. This is happening all over the place, with the money going to the banks. Often this is more profit than a store makes on something they are selling on sale so they raise the other stuff higher.

Now, the consumer pays for this fee in the price of everything we buy. The ones benefiting the most are credit card companies. They never lose. Look at your interest charges, they reflect the costs of those who go bankrupt, we pay for the ones who made mistakes. The credit card companies do not lose on these bankruptcies and people who die with a balance, they pass the cost on to consumers.

It is all a scam that we were led to believe is better than what we were doing before. The possibility of getting ripped off by credit card fraud is also high. Even if you get your defrauded money back from the card company, they did not lose money. They deducted it from paying the store for taking a bad card and the store raised prices to recover their money or they cut the overhead including wages. Either way the cost goes to the consumer.

Just be happy that you get the one percent back and the airline miles, we are conditioned to believe it is free money Go with the flow.

The longer they keep your money in their account the more interest they get.

a reply to: rickymouse

i know about the percentages.

a lot of the non chain stores have a minimum purchase amount for this reason...

the gas station i go to is a $5 minimum or its a 50 cents fee to swipe a card

a reply to: Grovit Grovit, if you only get so many debit transactions per month, I suggest you have the wrong card. I have been using debit card since about 2010. I never have had a limit to how many times I use my card. The advantage to using a debit card is when you have no money in that account you can not buy anything with that card. Therefore you will not have to pay for any overcharge fees. However, credit cards have fee's for overcharge. Unless you opt for overcharge protection. Then that is a additional fee. So IMO it is safer to use a debit card as a debit card.

Banks get to keep your money those extra days to make money on interest earned during those 3 to 10 days.

If I use my card as Debit the money is taken out of my account immediately but when I run it as credit the money maony is taken from my account 2-4 days later.

I use online banking and check my account usually daily and know exactly when the money is withdrawn from my account so the credit charge takes a few days.

Lets say you make a $100 purchase and you only have $30 in the bank. Charge it as credit and it will take a few days to clear so you could deposit money tomorrow to cover it where as if you run it as debit it would decline the purchase because you are short on funds.

a reply to: Ceeker63

i have free checking with no mandatory minimum balance
i get 10 pin transactions per month free. i have overage protection as well and there is no fee.

thats not really my issue....im happy with my account...

using it as a credit purchase is not a big deal...does not bother me to not use the pin.

i wouldnt have overage protection if it wasnt free...i dont need to be protected about spending money i do not have..

originally posted by: mwood


Lets say you make a $100 purchase and you only have $30 in the bank. Charge it as credit and it will take a few days to clear so you could deposit money tomorrow to cover it where as if you run it as debit it would decline the purchase because you are short on funds.

all banks must not operate the same way.....
i always use my card as credit, never pin and my purchases are taken out immediately.

the only exception is when i pay my utilities....i pay over the phone with my card, as credit and that takes up to 3 days.
everything else though from restaurants to stores, the money is out of my account by the time i get home and check my bank.
always

When I use my debit card as a credit card the money isn`t deducted until a few days later but there is an immediate hold placed on the money.
so, if I have $1,000 and I buy something for $500 my online bank summary will say: account balance $1000,available balance $500.
personally I never use my debit card as a credit card because I don`t want the banks to make money for nothing, since I have the money in my account to make the purchase I just make it as a debit card purchase.
Why should the bank get paid everytime I buy something with MY money? they shouldn`t and it really irks me everytime my wife uses her debit card as a credit card.

a reply to: Grovit

There is no reason it should take 5-7 days, they are simply investing it for that time, something they all but none of them have any right to do. Its just one of those things.

Don't be surprised if one day it blows out to 90 days which is consistent with commercial banking practice when debts must be paid. Who knows, one day it could blow out to even longer for who knows what reason.

a reply to: Grovit

Credit: When you use it as credit the store pays a fee and the money is something like a check in route which is why you can't take an item back and get cash as you would using debit. *It generally takes a business week for the store to clear the money when used as credit. (even though it comes off your account immediately as with anything else)

Debit: When you use it as debit with a pin number it's an automatic withdraw from your bank directly to the store so when you take a item back that was bought with debit you get cash back. (an electronic transfer of money from your account to the stores account)
To sum it up:
Credit is like a promise to pay (like a check)
Debit is like a automatic cash transaction paid right that moment (as with a ATM)