General Cycling Discussion - Bike shop overcharged my credit card?

I dropped by this bike shop that I don't frequent that often for a tire and a pair of gloves. Paid for it with credit card except the computer was being real slow in doing the transaction and the cashier cancelled the transaction and I never made the purchase. Except the charge ended up going through. Since I never made the purchase I don't have the receipt or anything. Any ideas?

I'd call the credit card company first and ask them to reverse the transaction. Then it depends whether the bike shop tries to be dishonest and claim that you bought something from them.

I called the credit card company and they said they'll put a standard dispute on it and hold the charge. First thing I should do is make a trip to the store the next time I can and have them issue a refund to the credit card since they can't produce last month's receipt with my signature on it, cause I never got any receipt.

The credit card company will demand a signed receipt from the merchant. Since the transaction wasn't completed, there won't be a receipt. Unfortunately, they allow up to 60 days (?) for such documentation to be presented.

This is not bike related, but my credit card company will issue an immediate provisional credit to my account pending the outcome of their investigation. I had to dispute a charge from an insurance agent, I used the same reason as slvoid, no goods or services provided. I didn't have to do anything except dispute the charge; however The credit card company does expect you to at least attempt to resolve the dispute with the merchant first. In my case the insurance agent was a knucklehead, negotiating with a idiot is futile, but I did attempt it.

I have an REI Visa issued by US Bank.

Dan

The simplest thing, in a case like this, is to go back to the store and say, "I was trying to buy "x" last week and the the charge machine was fouled up, so we cancelled the charge, but I see on my statement that it went through. Would you please fix this."

I dropped by this bike shop that I don't frequent that often for a tire and a pair of gloves. Paid for it with credit card except the computer was being real slow in doing the transaction and the cashier cancelled the transaction and I never made the purchase. Except the charge ended up going through. Since I never made the purchase I don't have the receipt or anything. Any ideas?

I think that you're making this way too hard. Before you do anything else, why don't you telephone the bike shop? Ask to talk with the owner, manager or bookkeeper. Tell them what you just told us and see what they say. My guess is they will process a credit on your credit card and immediately clear the whole thing up.

I think that you're making this way too hard. Before you do anything else, why don't you telephone the bike shop? Ask to talk with the owner, manager or bookkeeper. Tell them what you just told us and see what they say. My guess is they will process a credit on your credit card and immediately clear the whole thing up.

Ditto. You are going about this in reverse. Get ahold of the shop and try and speak to the individual that didn't sell the item to you. They likely will be honest and say,"yeah i remember you.....you din't buy anything."

On a side note, i wonder how much an average credit card holder loses throughout the course of his/her life just threw screwy things like have happened to you. Throw in theft and you have even more losses. I often wonder if the convenience is worth it sometimes but i continue to use them.

My wife and I were in the Cancun MX airport waiting for our flight home one day. She went into a shop and bought a Turqouise necklace. All of the prices were listed in Pecos. The neclace said 250 on it. That would be about $25 US. Later,she was looking at credit card receipts 30,000 feet in the air. Guess how much she was charged for the necklace? Yep.........$250.00. We never were able to recoup our money. OUr credit card said they couldn't do anything about it. That was the most expensive $25 necklace i've ever seen. :rolleyes:

Good thing the trip was free. :D

Back before I realized WalMart is the Great Satan, and I shopped there, they doubled my credit charges several times. But I never had a problem getting them reversed.

The simplest thing, in a case like this, is to go back to the store and say, "I was trying to buy "x" last week and the the charge machine was fouled up, so we cancelled the charge, but I see on my statement that it went through. Would you please fix this."

This is the best idea. Take your monthly statement in and show them the transaction specifically. When presented with the evidence, they should reverse it. If not, name them here.

Something is not right about the store- they know full well when a charge goes through accidentally, and they should have notified you about the charge and taken it upon themselves to rectify the situation. I've been in similar situations, and I've always gotten calls from the stores. They tell me about the accidental charge and take care of it, and when I get my bank statements, I go through it to ensure there's not a problem. I haven't ever had problems.

I agree- go to the store and take your credit card statement over and demand they immediately reverse the charges. And like Chris said, if they won't, let us know who these people are so we can avoid them!

Good luck.

Koffee

"I was trying to buy "x" last week and the the charge machine was fouled up, so we cancelled the charge, but I see on my statement that it went through. Would you please fix this."

Bike shop: "Oh yeah.... I remember you. I am so sorry that the transaction went through after all. We were having computer problems that day. Here, let me reverse the charges right away and this should reflect in your next statement. Again, sorry to have inconvinienced you. Here, take these.......on the house....... for your trouble. No, really.... take 'em........ Hope to see you back again soon."

Well the place isn't close by so I'll have to wait till I'm free to visit. Calling them gets to the cashier who wasn't the one who did the charges, it was one of the guys on the floor that day.
I know if it were me I'd stop right there when there's a problem, instead the guy kept swiping it through 3-4 different transactions, thank god I only have 1 errant one on it. My girlfriend's bill comes later this week, I'll have to check that too since she tried to buy something on the same day.
Thanks for the suggestions guys, just wanted a few opinions before I go about this.

I would recomend circeling the charge in a big ol' sharpie marker all angry like with accent lines coming out of it. Rubber band that around a red brick and throwing it thru the shops front window while riding by on your bike.

I was trying to buy "x" last week
I had you figured as a "corner bar" type person, not a raver.

Unfortunately, I am more of a corner of the couch, sippin' a fourty kind of person :)

Well the place isn't close by so I'll have to wait till I'm free to visit. Calling them gets to the cashier who wasn't the one who did the charges, it was one of the guys on the floor that day.
I know if it were me I'd stop right there when there's a problem, instead the guy kept swiping it through 3-4 different transactions, thank god I only have 1 errant one on it. My girlfriend's bill comes later this week, I'll have to check that too since she tried to buy something on the same day.
Thanks for the suggestions guys, just wanted a few opinions before I go about this.

Man, you are making this too hard!

Here's what happens from the bike shop's point of view. At the end of the day they will try to close out their cash register and reconcile their credit card transactions. It isn't going to balance so they will know there is a mistake but might not be able to figure out which transaction. A telephone call from you might be just the bit of information they need to figure it out. Whoever answers the telephone is likely to want to connect you with the right person to take care of this.

I would recomend circeling the charge in a big ol' sharpie marker all angry like with accent lines coming out of it. Rubber band that around a red brick and throwing it thru the shops front window while riding by on your bike.

That would be good. That way the cops will have your name and address without having to work too hard.