Internet store forgot to charge me ?

mauro.sk

Hi

Is it possible that online store would forget to charge me ?

My girlfriend used my visa card to buy me a present for Xmas (for over 400quid).

She bought it on Monday 21st, then checked my account online to see if it had gone through (just to be sure) and the money was taken off the account.

She received the goods on Thursday 24th.


Two days ago, I was checking my bank account balance online again and I found out that that transaction never went through.

I did a bit of research and found in their T&C that at time of purchase they do something like a pre-check or pre-authorisation but they actually take the money from the account at time of dispatch.


Is it possible that they have just forgotten to charge me ? I'm not too keen to ring them if I can get away with it you know.. free Xmas present



Another thing is that before she bought it she did a little test and put that item in her shopping basket and then cancelled it.

She got a phone call from them the day after she ordered it to confirm the order and the address and she told them that yes she did order this item but she also test-ordered it before but she cancelled it.

Could there be some confusion caused by this ? like.. they thought the order was cancelled (as it was mentioned on the phone) and still shipped it or something like that ?


What should I do ? wait ? how long ?
I don't want to ring them to tell them that they gave us free Xmas present




Regards

Mat

number10a

This has happened to me quite a few times both online and in high-street physical shops. Don't worry. They won't forget to charge you.

Was it Amazon by any chance? The process sounds like it's them.

amcalester

You'll be charged eventually. I bought an xmas present last year and wasnt charged at the time but I was charged at the end of February.

alexlyons

ye you'll get charged. it's a complete pain, they can charge you whenever they like. Horrible if this happens and you're not expecting it and it messes up the budget, at least in your mind

mauro.sk

it actually wasn't, it was pixmania, what was the most you weren't charged for? and technically according to their t&c i should have been charged already which means that if i spend money now (lets say i didnt notice that i didnt get charged) they could do nothing because their breached their own rules?

number10a

They've been guaranteed that money by your bank so the bank will pay up and you'll be left with charges for going over your limit. That's why your gf thought it was gone from the card. It was authorised by the bank (so looked like it was gone - money seems to disappear for about 24h) but wasn't actually charged.

mauro.sk

thank you for replies, btw how come they can charge me at time that is different from their own conditions? what if i really hadnt noticed and spend some of that money in a few weeks, then they would charge me which would inccur fees to me for going over my accounts limit?

Pacing Mule

The pre auth on your card lasts a maximum of 60 days (and for a lot of cards issuers it's 30 days) After that time the attempt to settle the transaction will fail. On some payment systems the transaction will automatically cancel after the expiry period. It is quite plausible that a retailer could forget / miss the window to settle the transaction and it would require your consent to put through the transaction again. The retailer may not even have your card details on record themselves (in fact they really shouldn't unless they are prepared to spend a lot of money on server security) in which case they won't be able to process the transaction after the expiry. If they do process after the initial 30/60 days you would win a chargeback claim through your bank.

All that said - doing a chargeback would be a real dick of a move and karma should bite you in the arse for it later in life

mauro.sk

thank you, this was actually helpful information, i'll just leave it and if nothing in two months i will forget about it and spend the money people always have to pay for mistakes...not paying motor tax on time? arreas and fines inccur, not paying even eflow on time (if ur not registered) - you pay a good bit for being late, not clearing credit card? fees...if they dont charge me it means they are not missing it, doesnt it?

Pacing Mule

mauro.sk wrote: »

thank you, this was actually helpful information, i'll just leave it and if nothing in two months i will forget about it and spend the money people always have to pay for mistakes...not paying motor tax on time? arreas and fines inccur, not paying even eflow on time (if ur not registered) - you pay a good bit for being late, not clearing credit card? fees...if they dont charge me it means they are not missing it, doesnt it?

Not neccessarily - mistakes happen in companies with billions of cash and ones with not enough to pay the bills. Personally I'd contact them to draw their attention to it.

ASOT

Just tell your bank you lost your card ! well if you really want to get out of paying for it.