Cancelled Amazon order - money not released for 4 days!

DanielS35

Hello,

thanks for reading this.
I am just after talking to Amazon Customer Services and they told me they never hold onto money.
Long story short money for cancelled order was not released automatically and is hold onto by BOI for ages - read 3-4 days already. I can provide with the settlement verification code from Amazon as confirmation that order was cancelled.
I know that Customer Service - like You here - are not to blame. 

Best,
Dan

Bank of Ireland: Sarah

DanielS35 wrote: »

Hello,

thanks for reading this.
I am just after talking to Amazon Customer Services and they told me they never hold onto money.
Long story short money for cancelled order was not released automatically and is hold onto by BOI for ages - read 3-4 days already. I can provide with the settlement verification code from Amazon as confirmation that order was cancelled.
I know that Customer Service - like You here - are not to blame. 

Best,
Dan

Hi Dan, 

Thanks for contacting us here on Boards. 

We will always credit your account as soon as we receive the funds. The time frame for refund would depend on the retailers bank and we would not have control over how long this could take.  

Thanks,
Sarah

DanielS35

Bank of Ireland: Sarah wrote: »

Hi Dan, 

Thanks for contacting us here on Boards. 

We will always credit your account as soon as we receive the funds. The time frame for refund would depend on the retailers bank and we would not have control over how long this could take.  

Thanks,
Sarah

Hello Sarah,
thanks for You quick reply.
From what I know is that Amazon is not holding onto money until they are dispatched.
Since the order was not dispatched they only asked the bank to block the amount for the order. So the bank put the money on hold. It was never sent to Amazon bank account. This amount should be released automatically when order is cancelled and bank receives notification. Which according to Amazon happened.

Thanks,
Dan

Bank of Ireland: Sarah

DanielS35 wrote: »

Bank of Ireland: Sarah wrote: »

Hi Dan, 

Thanks for contacting us here on Boards. 

We will always credit your account as soon as we receive the funds. The time frame for refund would depend on the retailers bank and we would not have control over how long this could take.  

Thanks,
Sarah

Hello Sarah,
thanks for You quick reply.
From what I know is that Amazon is not holding onto money until they are dispatched.
Since the order was not dispatched they only asked the bank to block the amount for the order. So the bank put the money on hold. It was never sent to Amazon bank account. This amount should be released automatically when order is cancelled and bank receives notification. Which according to Amazon happened.

Thanks,
Dan

Hi Dan, 

The return of these funds in these instances can generally take up to five working days. We would advise you to keep an eye on your account for this and if the funds do not adjust back, please contact Amazon directly to enquire about it. 

Thanks,
Sarah

DanielS35

Bank of Ireland: Sarah wrote: »

DanielS35 wrote: »

Bank of Ireland: Sarah wrote: »

Hi Dan, 

Thanks for contacting us here on Boards. 

We will always credit your account as soon as we receive the funds. The time frame for refund would depend on the retailers bank and we would not have control over how long this could take.  

Thanks,
Sarah

Hello Sarah,
thanks for You quick reply.
From what I know is that Amazon is not holding onto money until they are dispatched.
Since the order was not dispatched they only asked the bank to block the amount for the order. So the bank put the money on hold. It was never sent to Amazon bank account. This amount should be released automatically when order is cancelled and bank receives notification. Which according to Amazon happened.

Thanks,
Dan

Hi Dan, 

The return of these funds in these instances can generally take up to five working days. We would advise you to keep an eye on your account for this and if the funds do not adjust back, please contact Amazon directly to enquire about it. 

Thanks,
Sarah

Hello Sarah,

thanks for prompt reply.
Are You saying that Amazon representative was lying when told me that they don't hold onto money? 

Please correct me if I am wrong but my understanding is that BOI holds onto money?
The only reason that comes to my mind is that BOI wants to keep the money as long as it is possible.
Which is utterly wrong.

Would You know if these "5 days" are in terms somewhere? This sounds ridiculous as money should be returned automatically.

Best,
Dan

Bank of Ireland: Sarah

DanielS35 wrote: »

Bank of Ireland: Sarah wrote: »

DanielS35 wrote: »

Bank of Ireland: Sarah wrote: »

Hi Dan, 

Thanks for contacting us here on Boards. 

We will always credit your account as soon as we receive the funds. The time frame for refund would depend on the retailers bank and we would not have control over how long this could take.  

Thanks,
Sarah

Hello Sarah,
thanks for You quick reply.
From what I know is that Amazon is not holding onto money until they are dispatched.
Since the order was not dispatched they only asked the bank to block the amount for the order. So the bank put the money on hold. It was never sent to Amazon bank account. This amount should be released automatically when order is cancelled and bank receives notification. Which according to Amazon happened.

Thanks,
Dan

Hi Dan, 

The return of these funds in these instances can generally take up to five working days. We would advise you to keep an eye on your account for this and if the funds do not adjust back, please contact Amazon directly to enquire about it. 

Thanks,
Sarah

Hello Sarah,

thanks for prompt reply.
Are You saying that Amazon representative was lying when told me that they don't hold onto money? 

Please correct me if I am wrong but my understanding is that BOI holds onto money?
The only reason that comes to my mind is that BOI wants to keep the money as long as it is possible.
Which is utterly wrong.

Would You know if these "5 days" are in terms somewhere? This sounds ridiculous as money should be returned automatically.

Best,
Dan

Hi Dan, 

From what you have mentioned here it sounds like Amazon pre-authorised this transaction which means that they did not fully process the transaction on your account and that this will adjust back to your account. We find that generally this can take up to five working days with most retailers and we do not hold these funds from you. 

Thanks,
Sarah

DanielS35

Hello Sarah,

thanks for Your reply.
Refund arrived to the account on the very same day when You replied (or the day after). 
Strangely it was completely wiped out from the records. No sign of any operation on the account.
Still the money was blocked for 4 or 5 days. This is wrong.
I would like to know what happens with the money when they are neither in my possession nor in Amazon's...

Thanks,
Dan

Bank of Ireland: Elaine

Hi Dan, 

Thanks for coming back to us here and I'm sorry that this situation has caused you frustration. 

I can confirm that a pre authorization is where a retailer initiates a debit on a card to ensure that funds are available and the account is valid prior to processing the order. An authorization code is issued to the retailer from your bank to confirm this. If the order is subsequently cancelled and this code has not already been processed by retailer the hold 'falls off'' within 3 to 5 working days once the code expires. This then renders the amount available again on your account. 

The retailers merchant services would be responsible for the management of pre authorizations. The terms and conditions of our Visa Debit card also cover this process in section 5.3 here. 


I hope this helps clarify this for you and if you need anything else, please don't hesitate to contact us again. 

Elaine