I am in the middle of a purchase and return shop for a high-end store. I've done this shop a few times in the past - I was reluctant to do it this time because I was afraid the staff would remember me from last time, and also because I always feel awkward buying something so expensive ($500+) and then returning it. (I do want to say though, that the sales associates put me completely at ease and didn't make me feel icky when returning.)

Anyway - the scheduler asked me and I explained my hesitance. I also pointed out that it was a big layout of money -- she offered to bump up the pay significantly so I agreed to the shop. I made the purchase on April 8, I returned the item on April 17, and I am still waiting for my refund. The scheduler says to be patient and that it can take up to 15 days to process. It's been way over 15 days, but if we are talking business days, that's today or tomorrow depending on how you count. She also said that the return processing is one of the important topics the client wants to check on.

If I were a "real" customer, I'd have called the store long before now. What aggravates me most is that 1) my credit card bill is due on the 13th and now I am going to be on the hook for interest, and 2) since I can't complete the shop yet, it is bumped into May, and won't be paid until June most likely.

This is mostly a vent but wondering if anyone else had this same issue.

I've had a similar issues with reversals on high end hotels. I will sometimes wait weeks for a charge to be reversed and the bill comes due after the stay, so I will get an interest charge on thousands of dollars if the reversal doesn't come in by the next statement date. It's taken up to six weeks and required multiple emails in the past.

The current trend I am seeing is resorts charging me the full amount of the stay when I make the reservation, so in that case it's almost always 2 billing cycles and I end up footing the bill for interest.

That said, if your billing statement comes and the client reversed the charge on your card prior to the due date for your payment, there should not be any interest. May depend on the type of card you have, but that's how all of my credit cards function.

Thanks @SteveSoCal. I am hoping that when they do reverse it, they will reverse the interest charges as well - some cards do this. I reached out to the scheduler again and she said she would check with the client but we seem to be in different time zones so I probably won't get an update until later tonight.

Following up. A few days ago, the schedule told me to submit the shop. I did, and I used a date of June 1 (more than two weeks from now) as the date my return was processed. The shop was accepted. I still don't have a refund. The scheduler says they have reached out to the client and will follow up again. I really just want to call the store myself but I don't want to risk not getting paid for the shop so I am gritting my teeth.

@SteveSoCal wrote:

I've had a similar issues with reversals on high end hotels. I will sometimes wait weeks for a charge to be reversed and the bill comes due after the stay, so I will get an interest charge on thousands of dollars if the reversal doesn't come in by the next statement date. It's taken up to six weeks and required multiple emails in the past.

The current trend I am seeing is resorts charging me the full amount of the stay when I make the reservation, so in that case it's almost always 2 billing cycles and I end up footing the bill for interest.

That said, if your billing statement comes and the client reversed the charge on your card prior to the due date for your payment, there should not be any interest. May depend on the type of card you have, but that's how all of my credit cards function.

Hmm. I just pay it and then use that card after I get a credit back on it. I would not be paying interest. That's crazy.

There was a shop quite a while back to order something useless but $$$ online, wait for it to arrive, call company for a return authorization tag, ship useless item back, and wait for a refund. No interest involved but the process, including may screenshots, seemed to go on forever.

@BayShopper22 wrote:

@SteveSoCal wrote:

I've had a similar issues with reversals on high end hotels.

Hmm. I just pay it and then use that card after I get a credit back on it. I would not be paying interest. That's crazy.

Some of these hotels are taking payments of $4-5k on my cards, and i was doing multiple properties monthly at one point, so it's not that simple. There was a period of time where I regularly had $15-20k of charges on my cards waiting for reversals.

If you have the credit, you can find cards with a 0% promo rate to use for MS, but continually shuffling to new credit cards took a toll on my credit rating, and banks are not as willing to offer the 0% promos these days.

If nothing else, it's a business expense you can claim...?

There's a European hotel shop that's been sitting on Gigspot for months. The compensation isn't nearly sweet enough to justify a lengthy scenario like this, plus the exchange rate issue...insulting actually.

Edited 1 time(s). Last edit at 05/15/2025 03:45PM by SBP.

(double post)

Edited 1 time(s). Last edit at 05/15/2025 02:49PM by CorrieCJ.

@SBP wrote:

If nothing else, it's a business expense you can claim...?

Thanks - did not think of that but definitely will do.