Qantas refund missing

[garol]

I cancelled a Qantas redemption booking for an Emirates flight in July. The points were refunded promptly but the taxes portion (over $1200) was refunded to an ANZ credit card that was already closed.

3 months later during which I have made 5 calls to Qantas, 3 calls to ANZ and 3 x Qantas support requests, ANZ is adamant the money was sent back to Qantas in July (they have confirmed this in writing in both SMS and a letter), and Qantas is adamant the money is with ANZ and keeps telling me to go back to them.

I have run out of options, does anyone have any suggestions on where to go from here?

 

[MH_fan]

Yikes! I have been waiting 3 months for a refund of the taxes from a cancelled redemption booking where only my credit card expiry changed!
I don't know how they could have refunded the money to your credit card when it no longer existed. I bet it's still with the airline. If they had attempted to refund the money and your credit card no longer existed, it would have bounced straight back to them. I would trust ANZ more than Qantas in your situation!

 

[aikman]

Tough one. Definitely a case of prevention being better than a cure. I can see the money being with either Qantas or ANZ, lost in their system somewhere. I believe the most common outcome is that the bank sends you a cheque for the refund when the card is closed but this may vary between banks. Good luck.

 

[one9]

Yes it's a tough one as it's hard to be sure where the money is. You may need to escalate the issue with either the bank or Qantas. If escalating it with the bank, I would be wanting to know exact details of the two transactions. eg. Date/time/amount etc of the refund and date/time/amount etc of when the funds were sent back to Qantas.

I had a somewhat similar issue, but with a different bank and the funds were being held in some internal sundry type account of the bank. From my understanding (which could be wrong), if a credit card refund is successful, the money is with the bank. There isn't a process where the bank can later give the funds back to the merchant. At some point after the card is closed (6 months? 2 years? expiry date of the card?) the card will no longer accept refunds and trying to refund the card will give an instant failure.

 

[MEL_Traveller]

Yes it's a tough one as it's hard to be sure where the money is. You may need to escalate the issue with either the bank or Qantas. If escalating it with the bank, I would be wanting to know exact details of the two transactions. eg. Date/time/amount etc of the refund and date/time/amount etc of when the funds were sent back to Qantas.

I had a somewhat similar issue, but with a different bank and the funds were being held in some internal sundry type account of the bank. From my understanding (which could be wrong), if a credit card refund is successful, the money is with the bank. There isn't a process where the bank can later give the funds back to the merchant. At some point after the card is closed (6 months? 2 years? expiry date of the card?) the card will no longer accept refunds and trying to refund the card will give an instant failure.

My thinking is the same as yours. Monies can be refunded into closed or cancelled credit cards, just as payments (debits) can come out.

Usually the bank holds it as a credit until you tell them where you’d like to send it, but obviously in this case that hasn’t happened. My bet is on the $$ being somewhere at ANZ?

 

[markis10]

don't know how they could have refunded the money to your credit card when it no longer existed. I bet it's still with the airline. If they had attempted to refund the money and your credit card no longer existed, it would have bounced straight back to them

Payment systems don’t work that way, a card not present refund does not seek an authorisation like a card present would.

 

[serfty]

Usually the bank holds it as a credit until you tell them where you’d like to send it, but obviously in this case that hasn’t happened. My bet is on the $$ being somewhere at ANZ?

This is almost certainly the case.

I have run out of options, does anyone have any suggestions on where to go from here?

It is up to the ANZ to prove they sent the fund back to Qantas. I'd suggest revisiting your complaint with the ANZ, asking for documentary proof.

ANZ Complaint Form | ANZ

ANZ values its customers and we are committed to meeting your expectations. To help resolve your issue, please fill out our online complaint form.

www.anz.com.au

If that fails again, raise it with AFCA:

https://www.afca.org.au/make-a-complaint/credit-finance-and-loan-complaints