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As it says in the title.

Will the company be able to electronically take back the refund even without speaking to me?

I'm peed off about the prospect of having to give THEM money for an item that went missing for SEVENTEEN days with NO tracking update, NO useful knowledge from SEVERAL customer service reps with weird names written without capital letters, after TEN days of NO update which smells like a missing item especially during a virus shutdown (maybe the foreign package didn't pass customs, maybe it never even left the airport, what the freak) and no response from the USPS for a week after submitting a report, and NO communication at ALL from the company issuing ANY kind of reassurance nor apology before AND after taking it upon myself to contact THEM. So to basically have to repay them makes me SICK. On top of THAT, folks, they USED MY contact information...to sign me up....for spam websites....I know it was them because it happened right after a live chat, which went badly by the way.

So what BOTHERS and kind of SCARES me is the idea that they can auto-charge me, or take back the refund, because it just sounds like hacking, fraud, theft to dip into my account essentially to do that. Is it even possible for a clothing company or any company to electronically reclaim a refund/recharge me!? Also, including that question, is there ANY responsibility (NOT moral obligation, but legal responsibility) that I could possibly have to actually return a refund for a 17 day late package and horrible customer service? This is their screw up, the package happened to come as a surprise to me and I'm sure to them as well as they said three different and all incorrect delivery dates.

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  • I also just want to say that the issue is not that I had to wait 17 days. Even though that's unusual, especially for clothes (I shop online many times every month lol). It's that there was no TRACKING for 17 days. Everything normally comes within a week, and tracks everyday while in transit. That's what tracking is. I gave up after 10 days and asked for a refund. – Amanda S. Mar 31 '20 at 14:11
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    Hi Amanda, welcome to Personal Finance. Thanks for contributing. The subject of the main question is a good one, but you are covering rather lot of ground (auto-charges, apologies, spam email). Could you perhaps rewrite this to focus on the main question, which I presume is whether you have an obligation to return the refund? – DJClayworth Mar 31 '20 at 15:20
  • Also if you want advice about the legal situation you are going to have to tell us what country/state you are in. – DJClayworth Mar 31 '20 at 15:30
  • Well your last sentence understands what I want, and everything else is additive detail, so just answering the question would be helpful rather than critiquing my writing style.... – Amanda S. Mar 31 '20 at 16:10
  • Was this recently? Deliveries are being delayed everywhere, so 2.5 weeks (are you counting work days or all days?) is not too bad really. Was the package coming from outside or within your country? – mkennedy Mar 31 '20 at 22:13
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It is very simple: if you keep the package and the refund, it is legally theft.

After getting a refund, the package is no longer yours, and you are required to notify them that their package arrived, put reasonable effort into keeping it save (like not leave it on the street), and allow them to get it back (on their cost).

Your annoyance about their behavior is understandable, but it doesn't entitle you to keep the package in addition to the refund.

Realistically, if it's not very valuable, and you inform them that it appeared now, they will probably tell you to just keep it (and then it's legal to keep both). They can only request the refund back, if you insist on keeping the package.
In other words: you can't have your cake and eat it.

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  • I don't think its that simple as calling it "theft". For example the package may count as "unsolicited goods". However in general yes, telling the company the package has arrived is probably the way to go. – DJClayworth Mar 31 '20 at 15:16
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    If you intentionally keep something that is not yours, it is theft. You got your money back, so the package is not yours. 'Unsolicited good' won't work here because there is a history that you cannot ignore - at a time it was 'solicited'. – Aganju Mar 31 '20 at 15:19
  • Actually that's my point. There are circumstances where it is perfectly legal to keep something that is not yours, and "unsolicited goods" is often one of those cases. In some jurisdictions if someone sends you something you didn't ask for you are under to obligation to pay for it or return it (depending somewhat on the circumstances). I'm not so sure that wouldn't apply here. It may be that under these circumstances there is an obligation to return, but it certainly isn't as simple as "it's not yours so it must be theft". – DJClayworth Mar 31 '20 at 15:22
  • @DJClayworth I think you meant to put a "no" or "not" in you last comment. Anyway, the OP's case is not unsolicited goods- she solicited (online ordered) them. – Damila Mar 31 '20 at 15:44
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    @AmandaS. , and the answer says "THEY CAN ONLY REQUEST THE REFUND BACK, IF YOU INSIST ON KEEPING THE PACKAGE". Did you read that far? Is there a word you don't understand? And it would be nice if you stop shouting at volunteers trying to help you for free. – Aganju Mar 31 '20 at 16:16

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