PS click and collect was chosen as an option due to COVID lockdown
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Just another example of why Harvey Norman has such a disgusting reputation.
Hello and welcome to the forum.
I have moved your post to an existing thread relating to Harvey Normanās online ordering issues.
If your son paid by credit card, he can always ask for a reversal of the transaction which may get him the money back much faster.
If you search for Harvey Norman using the magnifying glass icon at the top right, you will see lots of threads outlining problems people have had with them. All in all, customer service is not their forte.
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Thanks Iāll let him know to try to get it reversed 
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This is a standard timeframe for refunding with a credit card. We use Square with our business and if we refund, it takes 3-5 business days for it to be processed by the relevant credit card company and amounts deducted from our account.
It isnāt Harvey Normanās fault, but the credit card company timeframes for reversing the transaction and issuing a refund, so it can be passed back to the customer. The customer is advised it can take 7 days (5 business days to see monies returned to their account).
In theory, the same minimum timeframe would still exist, however getting a reversal from the credit card/chargeback will take substantially longer as it involves longer timeframes to allow a company/business to respond to the credit card reversal/refund request.
This website explains it furtherā¦
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uumm sorry PHB, missing the point. Website says in stock, take the money and then an hour later say transaction denied. Should check stock level first and then take the money when order is confirmed. Not rocket surgery here. The specific store has it listed as being in stock. This is not a once off, it happens all the time to people and it shouldnāt. Not a credit card purchase, was from his debit account. So who has the $300?? BIG FAT CAT at the top, thatās who. HN, bank, whoever. Certainly not the kid who works 8 hours a day for 18 bucks an hour and has to save for a month so he can afford it
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I was responding to the allegation made that Harvey Norman were tardy in the refund. HN isnāt the one who is tardy.
Yes, they shouldnāt have taken the order if it wasnāt in stock and couldnāt be delivered in a timely manner. Harvey Norman doesnāt use the term ādeniedā but use the term ārejectā. While it may not seem acceptable, buying online allows them to reject an orderā¦including
for any reason (or no reason), including an error in the advertised price for, or description of, the products on the website, or an error in your Order.
There are other threads on this forum about backorders and how businesses deal with theseā¦and businesses should be clear at online checkouts that products are backorders, unavailable or canāt be delivered. Unfortunately we donāt live in a perfect world and many retailers (Kmart, Bunnings etc) suggest one calls the store where purchase is being made to confirm if it is in stock (where online it is shown as low stock) and if it is needed quickly.
This is possibly a lesson for your son to call and check the item is available before purchasing onlineā¦or better, get the store to put aside to be collected promptly and paid on collection to prevent an online order being rejected.
The process for refunding to a debit Visa/Mastercard and credit Visa/Mastercard is the same. The difference is at the purchaser end where one needs funds in oneās account to purchase using the debit card.
He will get the money back in the timeframes outlined above. Patience is needed.
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I have always wondered about that because sometimes I return something for a refund and the credit/redeposit shows in my account within minutes, just like an authorisation on a charge or a direct debit (EFTPOS). Most times it is ~3 days as you wrote. It does not seem consistent regarding the card, only the merchant and perhaps more likely the payments system the respective merchants use.
What causes the difference? In these days when an EFT for a small amount is instantaneous this delay for getting a credit seems a legacy situation that may be explainable, but should it still be acceptable?
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Some of it depends on when they do Bulk remittances eg Refunds are sometimes treated as bulk. This posting can take 24 hours or more before they occur.
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Good old overnight batch processing, sometimes once a week (or less)?
I would think not, but since it is how it was, is, and will probably be for some time to come?
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A debit from an account electronically can happen almost instantaneously. So can a credit.
The purpose of delaying a refund credit is to try to keep a customer.
They have paid for something, but there is a delay. Just stick with us.
Or perhaps we can supply something similar. Ok with that?
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In the case cited an order was placed, money was taken, no stock - cancel order and refund in 3-5 days. How will that keep a customer? It will probably lose one for years if not forever.
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That is the only way I can explain why an electronic transaction can occur in one direction from a customer account to a merchant account in real time, but in the other direction it takes days, weeks, or even months.
The transaction process is designed that way. Why? Well I have offered my opinion of why a business would want it that way.
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Interesting, as I have had credit card refunds appear in my account with the same speed as debits from various retailers. I guess it depends on whether the retailer and the buyer use the same financial institution or not.
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I post I did in another Topic.
As the Bunnings staff member told me, insering the credit card will result in a much faster refund turnaround than swiping the card.
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It is more likely the delay is due to batch processing, many do it once (or possibly more) a day but some businesses aggregate their various stores into a single batch and then reduce the batch frequency to once a week to reduce batch costs. Every batch costs the Store/Business money so many try to reduce those costs. Often with big businesses they have enough Card business to do multiple batches in a day. HN Stores are not a single entity but many franchises and so aggregation does not occur more frequently as it would for say Coles or Woolworths.
To read more about batching see:
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That does not make sense! Can anyone verify this statement?
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Yes. I can based on my personal experiences.
As Bunnings are happily providing change of mind returns, why not buy 2 items on 2 separate transactions and return each using insert for one and swipe for the other?
Maybe I should have stated that anecdotes are not data - or ācitation neededā. I am seeking confirmation that the standards applied to these machines differentiate based upon how a card is read.
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I would say that this is the case. Some transactions appears quickly as pending online before being added to a statementā¦others seem to authorise the expenditure being shown in balance with the transaction appearing a day or few later.
It must be how the bank the business uses clears the funds and processes the transactions.
An example is Tassie with personnel free servos, the preauthorisation amount (maximum amount one sets for refuelling) is withdrawn and refunded on the same date as the actual transaction, if the amount refuelled is less than the preauthorised amount. The three transactions however appear a day or two after the purchase.
I find Woolworths can appear as pending transaction or be a transaction in the statement the same day. Other businesses such as a local independent store purchase reduces balance but transaction only formally appears a day or two later.
Hope this makes sense.
And tappingā¦ technically shouldnāt make a difference as the transaction processing is just the same. The bank wonāt know the difference once it leaves the charge point.
Possibly selecting savings or credit may have a difference in the past as the savings transaction was direct with the bank while credit went through the credit card company.
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