Costco Visa Chargeback Timeline

[monkeydawn]

I am possibly going to need to contest a charge made with my Costco Visa. Can anyone point me to where the timeline I have to do this is? When I search on my Citibank site they give instructions on how but do not mention the timeline, not that I have seen anyway. I tried an internet search and the best I came up with is 60 days. I am past that but still able to contest the charge. I am concerned it is 90 days, which would be up at the end of this week.

It is for a cruise (non DCL) that was scheduled to leave on May 20th if that makes a difference. As in maybe the clock doesnt start until the date of travel? Anyway, the reason I am considering contesting is that the cruise line keeps moving the target date of when they will start paying people back, some have been waiting well over 60 days. There has been only one story of someone actually receiving a refund and that was a couple of days ago for a mid March cruise. My concern is that eventually the cruise line will try to force people to take a credit rather than a refund and that I will have run out the clock on when I can contest the charge with the credit card company.

I know a good amount of people on here use their Costco Visas so I'm hoping someone knows the answer to this. Thanks.

 

[FigmentSpark]

It depends on what the charge is for. Different reasons have different timelines. You should call your provider and see what they have to say. You could also fill out the form and send it in, to give your issue a date-stamp, but I would just phone to find out. Not all chargebacks are the same.

EDIT: Sorry, just read a little closer. I believe you would have a certain amount of time from when the cruise was cancelled. I still think you should call about it, because they might tell you to wait until after May 20. Of course, you've called the cruiseline and put in a request for refund, right? They'll ask you that, first. I would still call your issuer to see what your options are.

 

[monkeydawn]

Thanks. That explains why I cant find a blanket timeline. Ive never had a company push something so far that I thought a chargeback was necessary so Ive never really explored this.

 

[Frwinkley]

I was booked on HAL for an Alaskan cruise in June. I charged the entire cruise on my Costco Visa. When the cruise was cancelled in March, I was told 7-10 days for a refund. The timetable is now 60-90 days. Needless to say, I have not received any refund from HAL as of today. I filed a chargeback a few weeks ago. The monies paid were credited back to my credit card within a few days (on a conditional basis). Costco has since asked me for additional paperwork, but has said they consider the matter "resolved" in my favor no later than July.

 

[FigmentSpark]

I was booked on HAL for an Alaskan cruise in June. I charged the entire cruise on my Costco Visa. When the cruise was cancelled in March, I was told 7-10 days for a refund. The timetable is now 60-90 days. Needless to say, I have not received any refund from HAL as of today. I filed a chargeback a few weeks ago. The monies paid were credited back to my credit card within a few days (on a conditional basis). Costco has since asked me for additional paperwork, but has said they consider the matter "resolved" in my favor no later than July.

Was that Costco that's asking for the paperwork or the bank that issues the Costco Visa?

 

[EskiLvr]

Has the cruise company promised you a refund at all?

MasterCard and Visa both have strict requirements that their issuing bank and credit union partners have to meet in order to dispute a charge on your behalf. Guess what is part of my responsibility in my “real life”?

First thing: you need to reach out to the company running your cruise. Ask for your refund since the cruise is cancelled, and document *everything* (doing this by email or chats that you can screenshot is ideal). Once you have that, if they tell you a refund is going to be issued, you have to wait until the timeframe they promised for that issuance before you can contest it. If they tell you that a refund isn’t possible, you should be able to take this to Citi (the issuer of your card) right away.

As far as time to file: you have until your trip should have departed if the cruise company refuses to issue you any kind of refund. Again, if a refund is offered, your ability to dispute the charge is dependent on when the refund is supposed to be given.

Clear as mud? It’s ridiculously complicated when you start layering the “but if governmental regulation says” rules on top of it all. . When in doubt, you can always ask Citi for guidance - but be ready for them to tell you they need proof that you tried to resolve this with merchant before they can do anything. It’s not Citi being a pain - it’s a requirement both MasterCard and Visa have to protect merchants from people who want to abuse the dispute system and get things for free.

 

[Frwinkley]

Citibank asked for the cancellation paperwork from Costco which cited that the cruise was cancelled.

 

[anomamatt]

There are many reports of people, me included, getting refunds from DCL when using Costco.

Something clearly went haywire with your refund due to how long it’s taken. But I’d keep trying before doing the chargeback.

 

[monkeydawn]

Has the cruise company promised you a refund at all?

MasterCard and Visa both have strict requirements that their issuing bank and credit union partners have to meet in order to dispute a charge on your behalf. Guess what is part of my responsibility in my “real life”?

First thing: you need to reach out to the company running your cruise. Ask for your refund since the cruise is cancelled, and document *everything* (doing this by email or chats that you can screenshot is ideal). Once you have that, if they tell you a refund is going to be issued, you have to wait until the timeframe they promised for that issuance before you can contest it. If they tell you that a refund isn’t possible, you should be able to take this to Citi (the issuer of your card) right away.

As far as time to file: you have until your trip should have departed if the cruise company refuses to issue you any kind of refund. Again, if a refund is offered, your ability to dispute the charge is dependent on when the refund is supposed to be given.

Clear as mud? It’s ridiculously complicated when you start layering the “but if governmental regulation says” rules on top of it all. . When in doubt, you can always ask Citi for guidance - but be ready for them to tell you they need proof that you tried to resolve this with merchant before they can do anything. It’s not Citi being a pain - it’s a requirement both MasterCard and Visa have to protect merchants from people who want to abuse the dispute system and get things for free.

Yes, the cruise line has stated refunds. I initially called on 3/17 to cancel the cruise and forfeit my deposit and was told 14 days to receive my deposit. I have a case # but no written acknowledgement of the cancelled cruise. Then on 3/30 the cruise was cancelled. I was emailed a form to select if I wanted a refund or credit. Others had gotten the form but didnt really qualify and when they tried to complete the form they were told they didnt qualify. I tried completing my form and it went through successfully. I received a new case number and an email that stated max 60 days for the refund. It seems that at some point after this the cruise line emailed TAs but not customers that refunds would now be issued not less than 60 days after the cruise was to have departed. TAs were told this extended to everyone. This means that they could choose to issue a refund on July 21, 2020 or basically keep my money indefinitely. I am not OK with either of those options, especially in light of the fact that only one person is reporting getting a refund (at day 58, others have waited longer and not gotten a refund).

So they keep moving the target date of refunds AND they didnt even bother to let customers know they amended the policy (I found out through CC). The current target date for refunds is whenever the heck they feel like it. I dont feel that should be acceptable but do want to give as long as possible for them to just do the right thing and refund.

 

[anomamatt]

Oh, I totally missed this was not DCL. Well, ignore my earlier post... which cruise line is this? I’d like to avoid them, assuming they still exist when things get back to normal?

(Costco with DCL was quite quick to refund, all things considered).

 

[seven2go]

I am going through a similiar situation. It is with another cruiseline as well. Overall I have not been happy with Citibank and the way they do business. This is the first time I have needed them for something, and I have had them make errors on my dispute(s), and just annoying manager responses when I catch them making mistakes. After all, we didn't choose Citibank, Costco did- they switched us from Amex- ok so our choice to stay with them- and based on how they handle my dispute I may be gone if they do not take care of me as a credit card should. I have officially two disputes because I had a deposit - and then the full payment amt. Like you, I have made a refund request on Mar 15 when my cruise was canceled on Mar 13th! I have seen nothing yet! And not much news from Citibank since I filed on April 22nd. I spent hrs compiling pages and pages of phone records and emails and so forth proving that I am out monies for a cruise I wasn t given. And way past refund deadline promises- it s been over 60 days now! I feel as if I am batttling with Citibank as much as I was with the cruiseline. We as consumers should be protected by our credit issuers - I am missing thousands of dollars!!

Positive news is that I also had DCL cancel my May cruise, and I had nothing but good customer service, and my cruise is entirely taken care of the way I wnated it done. I guess I am being reminded of why DCL is the best cruiseline out there for my family! The customer service cannot be beat, and I also went thru Costco for that booking and had zero issues!

Good luck on your dispute, I hope we both get some refund back soon!!

 

[hrhdhd]

Oh, I totally missed this was not DCL. Well, ignore my earlier post... which cruise line is this? I’d like to avoid them, assuming they still exist when things get back to normal?

(Costco with DCL was quite quick to refund, all things considered).

A quick glance at Cruise Critic will show you that people are mad at pretty much every cruise line regarding refunds and credits.

I am waiting for a refund from Azamara, which is under the RCCL umbrella, so I get the frustration, but there are a lot of refunds to process.

 

[monkeydawn]

Oh, I totally missed this was not DCL. Well, ignore my earlier post... which cruise line is this? I’d like to avoid them, assuming they still exist when things get back to normal?

MSC. We choose them because they were sailing out of Rome and we liked the idea of a whirlpool on our balcony, especially for that route.

I am going through a similiar situation. It is with another cruiseline as well. Overall I have not been happy with Citibank and the way they do business. This is the first time I have needed them for something, and I have had them make errors on my dispute(s), and just annoying manager responses when I catch them making mistakes. After all, we didn't choose Citibank, Costco did- they switched us from Amex- ok so our choice to stay with them- and based on how they handle my dispute I may be gone if they do not take care of me as a credit card should. I have officially two disputes because I had a deposit - and then the full payment amt. Like you, I have made a refund request on Mar 15 when my cruise was canceled on Mar 13th! I have seen nothing yet! And not much news from Citibank since I filed on April 22nd. I spent hrs compiling pages and pages of phone records and emails and so forth proving that I am out monies for a cruise I wasn t given. And way past refund deadline promises- it s been over 60 days now! I feel as if I am batttling with Citibank as much as I was with the cruiseline. We as consumers should be protected by our credit issuers - I am missing thousands of dollars!!

Positive news is that I also had DCL cancel my May cruise, and I had nothing but good customer service, and my cruise is entirely taken care of the way I wnated it done. I guess I am being reminded of why DCL is the best cruiseline out there for my family! The customer service cannot be beat, and I also went thru Costco for that booking and had zero issues!

Good luck on your dispute, I hope we both get some refund back soon!!

Well, that isnt heartening. Which cruise line if you dont mind my asking?

I was actually OK with letting the refund go, if they would have refunded by now (more than triple the timeframe I was given then). But you are correct, there are actually two charges that need to be contested. I didnt even go back to see if the deposit was still contest able. UGH.

Good luck to you too. <3

A quick glance at Cruise Critic will show you that people are mad at pretty much every cruise line regarding refunds and credits.

I am waiting for a refund from Azamara, which is under the RCCL umbrella, so I get the frustration, but there are a lot of refunds to process.

Even here people are mad at DCL, so I get that everywhere there is frustration. The problem is that until a few days ago no one could find any record of MSC refunding anyone since COVID. Now we have one instance. The other lines all at least have some positive anecdotal evidence that people may get paid the refunds. I havent done my searches for today. With any luck there will be more stories of refunds and I can relax a little.

ETA: No oter refunds posted anywhere that I see. A couple more people at 60 days with nothing.

 

[Grammy4Lizzy]

I am going through a similiar situation. It is with another cruiseline as well. Overall I have not been happy with Citibank and the way they do business. This is the first time I have needed them for something, and I have had them make errors on my dispute(s), and just annoying manager responses when I catch them making mistakes. After all, we didn't choose Citibank, Costco did- they switched us from Amex- ok so our choice to stay with them- and based on how they handle my dispute I may be gone if they do not take care of me as a credit card should. I have officially two disputes because I had a deposit - and then the full payment amt. Like you, I have made a refund request on Mar 15 when my cruise was canceled on Mar 13th! I have seen nothing yet! And not much news from Citibank since I filed on April 22nd. I spent hrs compiling pages and pages of phone records and emails and so forth proving that I am out monies for a cruise I wasn t given. And way past refund deadline promises- it s been over 60 days now! I feel as if I am batttling with Citibank as much as I was with the cruiseline. We as consumers should be protected by our credit issuers - I am missing thousands of dollars!!

Positive news is that I also had DCL cancel my May cruise, and I had nothing but good customer service, and my cruise is entirely taken care of the way I wnated it done. I guess I am being reminded of why DCL is the best cruiseline out there for my family! The customer service cannot be beat, and I also went thru Costco for that booking and had zero issues!

Good luck on your dispute, I hope we both get some refund back soon!!

What will get them moving is for you to file a complaint with CFPB. They are a government consumer help asset. They also have very strong rules. Bank and credit card companies do not like getting complaints from them.

 

[monkeydawn]

An update...since MSC didnt seem to be refunding anyone else, even if their 60 days was past, and since it had been 60 days since my initial cancellation request we just went ahead and disputed both the deposit and bulk payment for the cruise two Sundays ago. We noticed that our balance was such that they must have applied a temporary credit last week. Today my husband said we have a refund of the disputes, I guess that means its settled. Seems fast but yay if its done.

Today we should have been in Genoa enjoying pesto, foccacia and gelato on a food tour. Been trying to coordinate our dinners with what we would have been doing in that alternate universe. Made a Limincello cake for the day we were to be on the Amalfi coast. That turned out particularly good and will make again whenever pot lucks are a thing again.