by john pennington on December 7th, 2008

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A debit card is not a credit card. a debit card instantly takes the money from your account to pay for an item. its plastic cash, right? when returning an item, the stores insist on crediting your debit account, rather than giving you a cash refund. why?

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by Anonymous on December 8th, 2008
Because a debit card is still processed by a credit card company, which costs the store money and creates the risk of fraud.
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by shrinkess on December 8th, 2008
It costs more money to give you a refund.
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by Im Alec has abandoned this account on December 7th, 2008
Simplicity of rule making. They don't trust the staff to distinguish between credit and debit cards. Cash gets a cash refund, plastic gets a plastic refund. Don't worry their heads about different kinds of plastic.
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- I had a discussion with a manager at Walmart with this type situation. returned an item, wanted a cash refund. at first they put up a pretty good defense, but then gave in to my request.
  
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  by john pennington on December 7th, 2008
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by BigDaddyBS on December 9th, 2008
If you think about it, any credit to your account (or debit, for that matter) thought the debit card takes at least a day. Cash comes out of their coffers(?) right away. With a debit card credit, it will take at least a day for it to be pulled from their account and added to yours, possibly giving them that one more day of interest, or one more day to be able to report the positive cash flow.
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- DRer - Explain? I've used my debit card NUMEROUS times, and at some places, the money DOES NOT come "directly" out... It may check your account to see if you have the cash in it, but I KNOW that sometimes the money doesn't come out until the next day to up to a WEEK. Now, maybe YOUR bank works differently, but ... (Or, are you a retailer who KNOWS that what I stated was correct - You keep the money in the account for a day or so to get the interest?)
  
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  by BigDaddyBS on December 9th, 2008
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by G_tech on December 9th, 2008
But most all debt cards are both debt and credit cards.
the limit is different on both fees for both are different and can use on line just like a credit card as long as the debit card has a visa or master card symbol on it
many bank had rules that say that when a card is used and a refund is done the money must be debited back to account, mine does.
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- Hmmmmm either someone is having a bad day or I stepped on someones toes,or they just plain don't like my opinion, or could have been a drive by DR, either way "Have a nice day!"
  
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  by G_tech on December 9th, 2008
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by Candygirl on December 9th, 2008
Because you didn't put any cash into the register and you aren't getting any back simple as that. If you want cash, go to a ATM.
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by Dave2222 on December 9th, 2008
I have had some stores give me cash
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by Needs some coffee on December 9th, 2008
The store still has to pay a fee when you use the debit card. If they return it as cash to you, the purchase is charged a fee, but the return in cash can't get that fee back.
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- So, its about the fee, then? isn't this something the store should be prepared to absorb?
  
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  by john pennington on December 9th, 2008
- But if they always did returns that way, they would just end up raising prices to account for the added fee and all of us would end up paying for it. The stores don't have to take debit/credit cards. They do so as a service to the customers. I don't think it's unreasonable to process returns with the same form of payment as originally received. Plus, if you want cash back, you could always pay with cash. Either way, you should always check the stores policy before making a purchase. There are a lot of stores that are now charging a restocking fee for returned items.
  
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  by Needs some coffee on December 9th, 2008
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by john pennington on December 9th, 2008
Is it really because of earning one days interest?

I thought debit cards were strictly computerized from one computer to another and your bank account.

Are you saying that when a human becomes involved, in this return transaction, it upsets the financial applecart?
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Question

A debit card is not a credit card. a debit card instantly takes the money from your account to pay for an item. its plastic cash, right? when returning an item, the stores insist on crediting your debit account, rather than giving you a cash refund. why?

Answers. 9 helpful answers below.

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Question

A debit card is not a credit card. a debit card instantly takes the money from your account to pay for an item. its plastic cash, right? when returning an item, the stores insist on crediting your debit account, rather than giving you a cash refund. why?

Answers. 9 helpful answers below.

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