Refund On A Closed Credit Card

A reader asks:

Hello,

My husband and I recently opened a dispute with a company over the BBB website.  The BBB dealt with the company and got them to agree to refund us the money.  We have waited and waited and have not seen a refund.

I again contacted the BBB and told them what was going on.  They contacted the company that said the refund was issued to one of our credit cards on July 12th.  We have not seen the refund.  Nor do we know what card they are refunding this amount to.

My concern is that since that time frame, we have paid off and closed several credit cards.  What will happen if they refunded the amount to a closed credit card.  I have no account numbers because the cards were closed, I also do not know what card they may have used to put the refund on.

The company is refusing to deal with us on this matter, so I cannot speak to them to find out what card or account number we used and I am afraid that they may have refunded the amount to a closed credit card that I do not have the account number for anymore.  What will happen?

What Will Happen

Recently, I answered a similar question from another reader along those same lines. When a merchant attempts to credit a purchase to a closed account, one of two things can happen.   If the account has been closed for some time, the credit may fail.    If the account was closed relatively recently, say in the last three months, the credit may post.  From there, the credit card company should issue you a check, or at the very least provide you with a statement indicating that you have a credit on your account and that you may request a check.

In this situation, you should still contact the merchant and tell them that you have not received the promised refund.  They should be willing to process the credit to an active credit card, or issue you a check.     If they are unwilling to speak with you, you may wish to follow up with the BBB as the matter cannot be considered closed until you have received the promised settlement.