Pls help : Bank charges levied on Amazon.de transaction

[srenjith]

Hi All,
I had ordered last month JBL 250 subwoofer from Amazon.de. Payment was made by using my ICICI credit card. After 4 days, the order got cancelled since UPS could not deliver to my address. I got a refund from Amazon excluding the Advance customs duty charges which was 60Euros.
When contacted customer care, they told this amount will be credited back with-in 2 months since this is their policy. They asked me to place a fresh order again.Payment got debited from my card and as previous case, the order was cancelled after 4 days. But this time they refunded the entire amount incl Customs duty collected. But my real problem is
1. In the second case when they refunded, ICICI bank credited me with Rs1976 less than what is being debited. They said its the transaction charges. I raised a complaint with them and though interim credit was given, they reversed it saying that these are international exchange rate difference.
2. In the first case also for whatever Euros, Amazon refunded, the amount is short by Rs1300. Again the same transaction charges.
3. I fear that when the customs duty refund happen, ICICI will be crediting me with a lesser amount.
So, in net effect, I almost lost close to 4k by ordering the subwoofer twice. So fellow forum members, pls let me know how can I get the amount back? Will Amazon give me credit(I havent raised this issue with them) or should I approach the Bank again?Pls advice.

 

[esanthosh]

Exchange rate fluctuates.

Usually, when placing the order, the bank will add 3.5% charge + Service Tax on it and hence you pay more. When receiving a payment too, the same conversion charges will be debited, hence you get lesser than the direct conversion. The charges would come to about Rs. 800-850 on each transaction, which could add up-to Rs. 3000+ easily. You'll need to work out based on the transaction date and the exchange rate on that date. If you ask the bank, they will give you the break-up of the transaction charges.

 

[nindo]

I doubt amazon will refund the amount charged by the bank on account of exchange rate difference etc etc. You should take it up with the Credit card company. in your case icici and ask them for a detailed statement/explanation as in on what basis was the deducted amount calculated.

Incase INR depreciated in the period between first order and cancellation, then you sould have received a higher rupee value on refund. if its the other way around i.e. rupee appreciated in the period between ordering and refund then logically you will get a lower rupee value on refund. Plus credit card or even debit card transactions attract mark up fees and other service charges on foreign currency transactions (this happened even when i withdrew cash from an ATM in Germany) and these charges are generally never reversed/refunded.

all the best

cheers

 

[doors666]

You should try to get a cancellation of the original transaction rather than getting a refund. Check if its possible.

 

[srenjith]

You should try to get a cancellation of the original transaction rather than getting a refund. Check if its possible.

i did not understand this part.can you pls elaborate?

 

[Deleted member 17547]

I ordered something from Dinodirect and was charged 9k total.. later i canceled the order and i got total amount refund irrespective of exchange rate.. I used my citibank credit card.. May be Citibank has some different policy than ICICI..

 

[doors666]

May be Citibank has some different policy than ICICI..

No, I think both of them are thieves:lol:

 

[Deleted member 17547]

No, I think both of them are thieves:lol:

Well citibank didnt steal from me anything.. lucky me..

 

[max123_ind]

Well citibank didnt steal from me anything.. lucky me..

Perhaps the exchange rate was different between the two times and your money got covered with the 3.5% + 3.5% charges were saved (if it was the other way round you'd be "shaved" clean).

 

[max123_ind]

May be Citibank has some different policy than ICICI..

Every CC company charges 3.5% foreign transaction fee. In countries like US, with special deals you might get AMEX CC which charges only 1.5% etc in the past. Not sure now.

 

[srenjith]

So, it means I have just lost 4K !!!!!!!Don't know what to do..

 

[gobble]

So the bank conned you into making another transactions in order to get a refund on the first, and ripped off another 3.5% in the bargain!!

This sounds like malpractice to me - you should file a case.

--G0bble

 

[vinshar]

Just check any website on forex rates...buying and selling rate always differs and only beneficiary is bank always....

 

[srenjith]

The bank asked me to fax all the details!!! Fax only and no e-mail!!!! Now have to fax all documents and e-mail correspondance between self and Amazon.de...Wonder, in this modern age, why they are avoiding soft copies???Is it to discourage us??

 

[manniraj]

The bank asked me to fax all the details!!! Fax only and no e-mail!!!! Now have to fax all documents and e-mail correspondance between self and Amazon.de...Wonder, in this modern age, why they are avoiding soft copies???Is it to discourage us??

As per many of the Bank's policy either a hard copy or a fax copy needs to be provided as proof. There are a very less number of banks in India which accept an email request as equivalent to a hard copy request. So you need to bear with them but I presume that once a transaction is done from your side if you cancel it then the banks charges are not reversed but I think if you ask for a refund then I think the merchant in your case amazon initiates the complete rollover of the transaction thru the visa or master card which inturn makes the bank to reverse all types of transactions. Once the charges are marked as transactions in various heads like forex/service/exchange etc., this charges need to be reversed in their systems with the help of the old transaction.

In the case of cancelling the order the bank would charge you again for the forex transaction treating this as a fresh transaction for incoming of the funds. Please make sure if the bank does this.
Hope this helps.

Thanks

 

[abbybaker]

A brand new report questions the transparency of banks. It says, in spite of claims of reform, lenders are still utilizing hidden charges to increase earnings.

 

[goyal.sanchit]

Payment was made by using my ICICI credit card. After 4 days, the order got cancelled since UPS could not deliver to my address. I got a refund from Amazon excluding the Advance customs duty charges which was 60Euros.
When contacted customer care, they told this amount will be credited back with-in 2 months since this is their policy. They asked me to place a fresh order again.

If ups couldnt deliver to your place why did they ask you to place the order again?