I made an online purchase using a credit card. The company that I have purchased from did not refund my money. Furthermore, the credit card company was not able to provide a refund either due from the fact that the item ordered was not a tangible item.
What happened?
My kids play online games and wanted to purchase in-game virtual cash. Using my credit card, I took their money and made the purchase of in-game virtual cash. One transaction went through fine, but the other disappeared.
I had the email saying that the transaction went through and the transaction number and such, but the company did not have a record of the transaction. Therefore, they could not provide a refund.
Upon calling the credit card company, I submitted a dispute for a transaction. I sent in the documentation that I had confirming that I have paid the amount. Unfortunately, the credit card company could do nothing.
The credit card companies answer, “We cannot provide a refund for an intangible item. If you purchased a camera, we will provide a refund or have another camera sent. With the in-game virtual points, we are unable to verify if the item will be received.”
Therefore, I lost my money. The company in question is not a scam website. It is a large scale gaming website. My only guess is that there was a problem, and the transaction did not propagate fully through the whole process.
A lesson learned. If the credit card company is going to send a replacement, they want it traceable. Virtual goodies are not traceable.