Refund onto credit card / Section 75

Hey folks :wave:

I’ve paid off my credit card in full (£1,500 limit) but am expecting a refund of £1,500. How will that work - will I just be given ‘credit’ so that for all purposes my available balance will now be £3,000?

This has all come about as we may need to cancel a stag I’ve organised due to the new covid rule around gatherings of 6 people+. The venue (an air BnB) have previously said ‘no refunds allowed’, so I’ll need to revisit with them, given it would actually be illegal now. The event is 6 weeks away - obviously tricky as things may change again before then.

Failing that will need to look into whether S75 can help.

Any advice would be grand!

Yes, you’d just go into credit.

I think you can request any credit back, but not 100% sure on that as I’ve never done it.

Most credit cards have a FAQ covering this. You can usually call and request a refund if you’re now in credit.

Some like Lloyds may let you do a money transfer with a fee, then refund the fee a few weeks later.

Who is your card provider?

I hope you get your refund. Common decency would suggest you should.

If not, then it may be an insurance issue. If your insurance doesn’t cover it (which most post-March policies won’t), then you can try a chargeback. But I’m not sure what chargeback rule you’d be covered by.

Similarly, an S75 would rely on showing that the merchant (and therefore the bank) breached the Consumer Rights Act, which is also tricky in these circumstances.

A complaint/threat of legal action against Airbnb themselves might be worth a shot.

not wishing to throw a spanner in the works , it would be you breaking “the law” as you have decided to occupy the house with the number of guests , not the house owner, wouldn’t it ? - The house owner is just providing the house…

I’m sure I heard that Martin Lewis say on TV that it’s not normally a problem getting a credit balance transferred. If you need access to the money, and they won’t play ball, you could always close the account (or suggest to them that you might).

Good luck with the refund👍

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The Air BnB booking order shows this is for 16 people, so I’d argue they’re on the hook for this, but I take the point… horribly murky territory.

We’d happily postpone this rather than get the refund. Hopefully we can agree something sensible.

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Although the AirBnB booking order shows that it is accommodation for 16 people, unless more than 6 people are in each accommodation unit, I fear you may meet some resistance.

For example, 8 rooms for 2, or 4 rooms for 4, would not contravene the new guidelines.

Only when you all decide to meet up together would the guidelines be breached.

That would be out of the control of the AirBnB provider.

Good luck though :crossed_fingers:

When did you book it?

As long as there are sensible people on both sides of the fence, you should be OK. One way or another.

Thanks all for advice. Will see what the gov come out with later.

Regarding claiming credit from your card I’ve done this a few times. Typically your provider doesn’t make it as easy as it is to pay a bill but if you call them up and ask for your credit balance to be transferred to your bank they will do it in a day or two.

I have done this with MBNA, Amex and Barclaycard in the last 12 months. (Due to things being cancelled after paying off the balance on my card)

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Echoing @Stompy, I can add that Nationwide returned my credit balance within a reasonable time, and without fuss too.

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