Refund on CC issued but dated in the past?

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Forums › Finance and wealth management › Refund on CC issued but dated in the past?

Batman

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#323460 5-Dec-2025 12:41

Couple of times now, say i paid for something in June, and paid for something in October.

Say got a refund now (Dec), and I can't find it, they insist it's been refunded, both times, the refund on my CC showed up in June, October when i keep scrolling back in time!

How does that work?

Stu

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#3440505 5-Dec-2025 17:18

No idea why this happens, but it's happened to me a couple of times and it's annoying. Trying to reconcile the credit card when it occurs can certainly cause some serious head scratching, especially if there's been no notification that the refund has been processed.

People often mistake me for an adult because of my age.

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jamesrt

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#3440508 5-Dec-2025 17:24

Maybe the refund was by reversing the original transaction; and not a second, separate, payment?

Stu

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#3440512 5-Dec-2025 17:37

Perhaps? There is certainly a credit shown and not just a missing charge that once existed. But months, even a year or so down the line? Shouldn't be able to happen this way. Nothing logical about it, since it's classified in writing as a refund.

People often mistake me for an adult because of my age.

Keep calm, and carry on posting.

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Batman

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#3440514 5-Dec-2025 17:38

jamesrt:

Maybe the refund was by reversing the original transaction; and not a second, separate, payment?

exccept that one of them was a partial refund, say around 30% of the original payment

couldn't find it, until i scrolled to the past and found it there.

KiwiSurfer

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#3440533 5-Dec-2025 20:36

I believe it is standard practice to backdate refunds -- this ensures interest etc is calculated correctly and you aren't paying interest on a transaction related to e.g. you didnt authorise, the merchant didn't deliver, etc. Not much use if you're like me that pays off in full but for those who pay interest that is quite a good thing to do IMHO.

I also like refunds appearing same date as it means I can actually work out what the refund relates to.

In the old days of paper statements refunds would show on the statement the month it was processed but be backdated. E.g. December statement would have "xx-June-2025 $merchantName -$x.xx". Often this will be the first few transactions making it stand out quite obviously.

I guess now we have online banking the refund now shows up all the way back in June if you search transactions by calendar month or between x and y dates which isn't great.

Thankfully Amex allows you to view transactions by statement month rather than calendar month which works better IMHO.

Batman

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#3440568 6-Dec-2025 05:58

KiwiSurfer:

I believe it is standard practice to backdate refunds -- this ensures interest etc is calculated correctly and you aren't paying interest on a transaction related to e.g. you didnt authorise, the merchant didn't deliver, etc. Not much use if you're like me that pays off in full but for those who pay interest that is quite a good thing to do IMHO.

interest for June transaction? But it’s now December!

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Stu

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#3440575 6-Dec-2025 08:40

Exactly. The refund being applied months ago should upset any rewards, interest, everything. Does it? Who knows? There's no communication from the bank. In fact, when I asked them these questions, they couldn't give me an answer.

People often mistake me for an adult because of my age.

Keep calm, and carry on posting.

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