phildawson
(Sorry, I will have to escalate this.)
1
Yesterday tried to get a partial refund at my local M&S on some clothes that I had bought using Google Pay.
The cashier insisted on a card matching the last four numbers on the receipt otherwise I couldn’t get the money back.
I pointed out I had paid with Google Pay that the number is generated, and that although it shows contactless, the amount is over £30 so I couldn’t have used a card ending with those numbers due to the limit.
It then escalated to the manager and then needing to show the transaction in my Monzo app who then reluctantly said we’ll try that card but it’ll reject it.
It obviously worked, with them looking totally confused.
Refund will work even on a totally different card. Not sure why they don’t know this.
I have had refunds on Google Pay without any issues in past. You can show them the last 4 digits in Google Pay app (there will 2 different numbers, see the screenshot - Your receipt will have virtual account numbers) if they insist and you will also have transaction history in your Google Pay.
3 Likes
phildawson
(Sorry, I will have to escalate this.)
3
Yeah they were adamant it had to be that card with those digits to work, I got the its company policy.
Ah that is useful to know with the number, I hadn’t realised it showed the virtual number at all as I thought it was unique per transaction.
To be fair not being in a big city a lot of cashiers and people in the queue are still perplexed when you pay with your phone.
It’s not about it not working, it’s because they want to refund to the same card for security / fraud prevention / money laundering prevention etc
6 Likes
phildawson
(Sorry, I will have to escalate this.)
5
Yep I’ve just had a quick look.
The refund will be issued to the original payment card, usually within 3-5 working days; gifts will be refunded by credit receipt.
Mind you if someone had nicked your clothes and receipt and attempted to collect a refund and they only pay back to the original card used, then they shouldn’t really need the card again to verify.
A load of stores have policies like that, I wonder if it’s something to do with fraud or chargebacks?
If they complain, get the refund on the Apple Pay card. Most modern terminals allow contactless to be used for refunds.
2 Likes
phildawson
(Sorry, I will have to escalate this.)
7
Just thinking about this, what happens if you don’t have that original card anymore, say if my Monzo card was lost and had got a replacement between buying and refunding? That would be new numbers. Does Monzo verify the old card is cancelled, and that the new card used in the refund is the same sort/account so its classed as valid?
I understand why they do it (money laundering) but the retailers should have better training when it comes to mobile payments. I had a similar experience in Asda where I had to argue for them to attempt the refund. They were baffled when it went through.
So far the only time I’ve got a refund on something that I paid with Google Pay for was in Savers. The girl behind the counter was quite excited to see what would happen when I was refunded for a payment made on my phone!
Of course, nothing happened, I used my physical Monzo card instead and it went back in the following day.
I had this issue with French Connection about a decade ago because they refused to refund a purchase just after my card was replaced on the new card. If I remember right, after escalating it to the manager, I showed them the deduction in internet banking and they reluctantly agreed to refund it to my new debit card. Needless to say I’ve never been back to French Connection since.
Just an FYI, there is no technical limitation to refunding to any card. The cashier, server, etc. Has no idea what card number you have unless they check - they DO have the right to do so. But if they don’t ask, don’t tell.
Think about this, you buy an item with your card, you lose the card / the card expires the next day. You get a replacement… You then return the item you bought, through a long explanation you can sort this out - sure!
Or you can confidently tell the cashier that it’s the same card, they likely won’t check (because why would they call you out to be a liar with no grounds)
And the refund will go through
Right or wrong, it works
There is no way for them to see your card number on their system one you pop it in the reader and enter your PIN. It’s purely a policy thing, I’m imagining to prevent fraud? So you don’t go stealing receipts from bins trying to get refunds?
As for phone refunds, never had an issue! Done it dozens of times, I just ask for a refund, pop my card in, pop the PIN in and job done
It’s purely a process decision - quickest and easiest way to verify you’re legitimately refunding a customer is by sending the money back to the original card.
If they want a refund to a different card, or cash, then there’s the possibility all may not be what it seems and it may be someone’s trying to defraud you. Well-trained and on-the-ball staff know how to deal with and escalate this appropriately, but there’s always plenty who aren’t and don’t. They’re not necessarily wrong in saying they can’t refund to a different card (as policy), but where they fall down is in failing to escalate the request properly.
One reason why businesses (should) always keep their card machines secured is because one method of attack would be for the attack to pinch the machine and process as many bogus refunds to their card as possible.
Just thinking about this, what happens if you don’t have that original card anymore, say if my Monzo card was lost and had got a replacement between buying and refunding? That would be new numbers. Does Monzo verify the old card is cancelled, and that the new card used in the refund is the same sort/account so its classed as valid?
