large exo-terra $25??!!

[Reptile Bob]

I once returned something to Petco, it took two weeks for it to show back up in my account. Even though when I bought it, it came right out. And I had receipt showing it returned. I think thats just the way their crappy system works.

Unfortunately, this is the way almost all merchant services work. Petco tells the banks to issue refunds and the banks typically take 7-10 business days or long to do it. There are many reasons banks put delays on refunds, many of them having to do with preventing different types of fraud. It is even likely it is YOUR bank putting in the longest delay. Putting through a refund electronically is actually a very complicated process for reasons of security and due to how many companies handle these electronic transfers. To issue the refund, it must be approved by and go through the merchant, the credit card service company, the credit card company, the bank the credit card company uses (or the proper division if the credit card owns its own bank), and then your bank if you used a debit card. The entity in the middle of the refund chain doesn't want to refund the next company until it is sure that it got a refund from the company before it.

Its kinda like when you're at a ball game in the middle of a row and order peanuts. The vendor tosses you the bag and you pass the money to the person next to you and they pass the money to the person next to him and so on down the line. It would be faster if everyone just took out a $5 bill and handed it to the person next to them so no one would have to wait for the money to travel down the line and the transaction was done at once. But we don't do that because someone in the middle could simply not hand the person next to them any money. Its much safer for everyone in the line to pass the same $5 bill to the next person, even though it takes longer. Now imagine, instead of just passing along that $5, everyone in the line must record when the received it and by whom, verify its authenticity, comply with any government regulations regarding the transfer, and then record the time and transfer to the next person. It just takes time.

And the delay goes both ways. The merchant may not get your money for days after the sale was completed. Obviously, things are smoother in the payment process then the refund process because this is how 99% of the money is moved, but it is still complicated. People often take for granted how complex our "easy" one click shopping really is behind the scenes.