Credit Card payment

[danpooley]

A few months ago I made a payment to a company on a credit card, they have still not processed the payment - how long after they swipe my card can they leave it until it is processed?

[dzug]

Not sure of the exact period but it's a lot longer than a few months. 5 years?

Having said that the chances of it being processed now are fairly low if it was an electronic transaction.

If it was manual (the old style slips that are filled in by hand after swiping) it will be when they get a big enough batch to want to process it. I've heard stories of places in holiday resorts saving these up to the end of the season.

If it's been mistakenly processed on to someone else's account it will depend whether they notice it or not (some people don't check their statements) and whether the card issuer can work out what the mistake was to get it back to you.

[xrayspecs]

EPOS transactions through tills and credit points take 24 hours to be transacted by the bank of origin. As dzug says if it's an old fashioned paper transaction It can be a lengthy process but the clearing bank will usually refuse to process if the transaction if it's older than 12 months. It's also worth noting that paper transactions are now only accepted by clearing banks in very special circumstances. EPOS chip and pin was rolled out country wide during last year. With all retailers now using counter top pin pads as standard. If a retailer is still using an old paper transaction I would question the validity of the process.

[xrayspecs]

If you gave out details over the phone this is knows as a "cardholder not present transaction" These will usually be completed between 24hours and seven days. This method of payment does however depend on the person on the other end of the phone physically putting in the details into a pin pad and posting the transaction (sending it electronically).

Do you know if the company is still trading?

[kempie]

BTW Chip & Pin only becomes fully implemented on 14th February of this year.

[spaced]

dan, I would keep quiet and hope that they never take the money

[sunnyside]

You can contact your credit card company and ask for a copy of your contract, or the terms and conditions. The info you are seeking would be written there.

You can also just ask your credit card company that question...

[lou100]

Hi, I paid for a holiday (over the internet) a couple of years ago using my visa card. I booked it in the February and the payment didn't come out till the October! (I was sad that morning when I opened the bill and they had added it) The holiday had been and gone by this time. I had my fingers crossed about it but knew they would catch up at some point. Is it wrong of me to say hope your luckier than me and they forget?!

[WoWo]

Depending on how much it was for, personally I'd be tempted to close the account down and move to another card.

[WendyS]

Several years ago Barclaycard failed to process a payment of mine for 18 months. I had completely forgotten about it to the extent that I challenged it on my statement and ended up with a rather red face when I finally remembered the purchase. The credit slip had probably got tucked away somewhere but obviously it was still a legitimate chargeable expense.