I learned a long and complicated
lesson about dealing with credit issues overseas (and here, too, as it turned out!). I hope I don’t have to go
through all this again, ever!
Last fall, I was visiting family in Ireland. I had spent hours at the outlets in Kildare Village and I realized that I would need a larger case to bring home the stuff I had bought. I browsed in the Clarks of England Factory Shop, and bought a large ase with a matching carry-on.
Everything went fine on the trip home, and after that, I used the twice more. Unfortunately, the piping on the larger suitcase began to unravel. I wrote to the company enclosing a copy of the purchase receipt and a photograph of the damaged suitcase and asked what I had to do to have it replaced or repaired. I included a copy of their warranty that said it was good for 24 months, but the luggage needed to be returned “to the store where it was purchased.” Yeah, well, that obviously wasn’t going to happen unless they wanted to pay for my plane ticket!
A couple of weeks later, they wrote back, saying they agreed the luggage did not meet their normal standards, and that they would refund the purchase price paid for the damaged piece ($86). I had paid for the luggage on my Capital One Debit Card, so I sent Clarks the information to credit the money back to the account. A couple more weeks went by without any contact from Clarks. I e-mailed them again.
They finally responded that they needed further bank details. They were not able to credit the money back to the debit card and now wanted my checking account number along with the bank routing numbers. Capital One warned me that, for security purposes, if I decided to forward the information, I should make plans to close the checking account—leaving only $1 in it until the transfer of money was received—and to open a new checking account. I took their advice.
Success! Sort of. Several weeks later, I got the refund, but it was $15 less than it should have been. I e-mailed Clarks again and they said they had refunded me the full amount. When I called the bank for a copy of the statement, they said the charge was for the transfer of money—at their end. Since the people at my branch had personally helped me—through phone calls and in-person visits, they made arrangements for me to have this amount debited back to my account.
Whew—what an ordeal it was! The whole refund process took about 3 months! It all worked out in the end, but I wonder whether it was worth it. And with the refund, I went online and bought a set of American Tourister Luggage from Kohls. At least I can go back to that store should I need to!
