Can I Get a Refund on Prepaid Visa Only 1 and Vanilla Visa Prepaid Card from Gas Company?

FujiFruit on 02/11/2021 - 16:46
Last edited 02/11/2021 - 17:12

I used visa only 1 prepaid card to pay for electricity extra repayment and vanilla visa prepaid to pay for gas extra repayment a couple of weeks ago. Electricity and gas is with energy australia. My electricity bill came and there was $89 credit which i requested today to move it over to gas bill which they did. I haven't received the gas bill yet. I should be getting the bill this week or next week. So if the bill arrives and if there is credit they told me they will refund it back to the card that i paid with. I told her that i paid with gift card and she said it will go back in there when i request for a refund . I did ask if i can get it sent by cheque or put it in my bank and she said no. She did say if there is a credit then you can say that you don't have the card anymore but u need proof.
The reason the credit has to be refunded as i am in the process of waiting for gas and electricity to be changed over to another electricity and gas company and this would be the last bill.

So my question is what happens now that i have paid with prepaid visa Only 1 card and vanilla visa prepaid card?
Can a refund be processed ? What options is there? is it possible to get refund ? or what can i do to get the credit back?

Financial

Comments

  • MrHyde on 02/11/2021 - 16:52
    +4

    Do you still have the card used to pay. Refund can go back to a prepaid card and most places will only refund to the card using for transaction as a fraud prevention method.

  • FujiFruit on 02/11/2021 - 16:54

    Yep i have the card with me

  • USER DC on 02/11/2021 - 17:35
    +2

    Yes I had gotten refund from ebay AU, snip for my purchases with Only1visa Card. It take longer (upto 30 days) than normal bank cards (upto 3 days).

    Ultimately it will show up as Merchant Credit on the Only1Visa Site. you need to have actual card details at least or physical card itself to be able to use the card.

    what happens now that i have paid with prepaid visa Only 1 card and vanilla visa prepaid card?
    You get money back on the card you paid with UNLESS your card has EXPIRED, (in that case refund FAILS)

    Can a refund be processed ?
    Yes, given card is valid

    What options is there?
    You as a consumer dont have a option. Its standard Merchant credit back on the card.

    is it possible to get refund ?
    Yes

    or what can i do to get the credit back?
    If your refund fails, you can explain reason why failed, just say your card has expired and give them new card/Bank account details- (they will most likely refund to bank account)

  • FujiFruit on 02/11/2021 - 18:06

    IF i transferred $1 into the gas account today with my normal visa debit card, would they then do a whole refund into my debit card since that would be my last payment hence it would ignore the prepaid visa card payments that i made?

    • USER DC on 02/11/2021 - 19:14

      that would be very stupid move to do. You will have to talk to them to get 2x refunds on 2 separate cards

  • jakka on 02/11/2021 - 20:40

    What is the issue with it going back onto the prepaid card. That is going to be the easiest for everyone and you can just use that to pay your next account or another bill.
    If you try and get it transferred to another account or card, you are just asking for further delays and issues.

  • WookieMonster on 02/11/2021 - 21:25
    +2

    Hello again! I see you have another question regarding prepaid gift cards…

    Refunds can be processed back onto a lot of prepaid Visa or Mastercard gift cards.

    • The Only1 VISA gift cards website says you can have funds refunded processed back onto the card, but it may take up to 90 days!!
    • The Vanilla Visa gift card terms and conditions (clause 10) states that you can have refunds processed back onto the gift card.
    • I placed an order with a Coles Gift Mastercard a few weeks ago and had money deducted from it, but the merchant cancelled the order within minutes, and the funds were returned to my card within a couple of business days.

    However, The Perfect EFTPOS gift card explicitly state (in FAQ #21) that you cannot have refunds processed back onto the gift card, so it would up to the merchant whether a refund is processed back onto a different card or a gift card from the merchant. Considering that EFTPOS gift cards are in-store only, that's a moot point for your scenario.

    I did ask if i can get it sent by cheque or put it in my bank and she said no. She did say if there is a credit then you can say that you don't have the card anymore but u need proof.

    The EnergyAustralia rep's response quite reasonable. If EnergyAustralia allowed refunds to be processed onto different card to the one used to overpay the account, it could enable one of the following scenarios:

    1) Someone could break into your EnergyAustralia account, impersonate you and ask for the account credit to be refund to be processed onto a card in their possession.

    2) It could enable money laundering or fraud, as you would have a way to convert the gift card balance into cash that can be freely spent or sent to other people. For example, someone could steal someone's credit card details, purchase prepaid Visa or MC gift cards using the stolen credit card details, overpay an EnergyAustralia accounts using those prepaid Visa or MC gift cards, then request the overpaid amount to be withdrawn to another account.

    Personally, I would have the credit refunded back to the gift card. Sure, it may take a while for the funds to turn up on the card, but you won't have to waste time filling out forms and chasing up EnergyAustralia staff, plus EnergyAustralia staff won't be as suspicious of your intentions.

    • FujiFruit on 02/11/2021 - 21:35
      +1

      Wookiemonster: Thanks for your wisdom and knowledge ! Amazing ! Love how you educate wisely. I always love your responses.

    • samehada on 06/11/2021 - 17:51
      +1

      And this is why I have emphasized last time to keep the card. The water company refunded back to the original card despite I told them to NOT refund and that was $600 in those cards that I threw away. That is the reason I told them keep the credit for next bill but they still stuffed up.

  • FujiFruit on 02/11/2021 - 21:34

    Wow thanks all.

  • bobbified on 02/11/2021 - 21:35

    $89 covers your gas bill?
    If your bill is less than that, any leftover money will just get credited to your next bill.

    • FujiFruit on 02/11/2021 - 21:38

      $89 was credit from electricity bill. I have $250 credit in my gas bill. So total of $339 in there. So depends on what my gas bill will be, it will be deducted and any credit be refunded back to card.

  • Mikey85 on 03/11/2021 - 07:54

    Our of interest, who are you switching to and why?

  • FujiFruit on 03/11/2021 - 10:20

    switching from energy australia to alinta . Cheaper rates.

  • FujiFruit on 21/11/2021 - 20:06

    So a update: Energy australia refunded $112 to my vanilla gift card. I rang vanilla gift card today they said they see the balance is $112. However i can't use it because he has to send a request for me to use it and its up to the team for approval and will take 3-5 business days? Like why would they need approval? ITs been refunded back to gift card and i should be able to use it straight away right? So he got my details, card number at front and back and card number with the 16 digit number at the back of the card.
    The guy told me its normal thing they do. Is this normal for approval?Can they decide they won't refund me? Why is there a process?

    • Rodo on 19/07/2023 - 10:01

      Did you ever get this resolved and get your money back?

      I made a purchase with a Vanilla VISA card and then returned it for a refund. They refunded the money to the Vanilla VISA Card. The card was then blocked and I cannot use it now. I rang customer service on 11/07/23 and was told it would take 2 to 5 business days to unblock. I am still waiting. Have rang them again today, they have escalated it and said to wait another 2 to 5 business days. Hopefully I will be able to use the card again soon.

Login or Join to leave a comment
Login Join