Should I get a chargeback?

[danielnrg]

What is the name of your state (only U.S. law)?
I live in XXXX, CA. I recently wanted to attend prom as an adult guest with my friend who attends the high school. I purchased an after-prom party ticket for $15 and a prom buss pass for $30, but when I tried to buy the prom pass, they were sold out. My friend called them and they said they'd call her if they had any left. I figured I'd hold on to the buss pass in case they had any left. Well the prom came and went and we never got a call, so even though I did go to the after-prom party I paid $30 for something I wasn't able to use. So I tried getting a refund and this is our communication:
I was going to go to prom as an adult (18-21) guest with my friend, so I bought an after prom party pass and bus pass. When I tried to buy an actual prom pass, they were sold out. They said they'd let me know if they had any more left, so I kept the bus pass in case they ended up having prom passes left I wouldn't have to worry about buying one. Well the prom is over now and I never got a call. I did go to the after prom party, but I was not able to attend the prom and as such was not able to utilize my $30 bus pass. It is for this reason that I would like to return my unused bus pass for a full refund. Please get back to me at your earliest convenience. Thank you.
Hello XXXX,
Sorry for the delay in responding. We took your request to heart and discussed it at the committee level. As a committee we unanimously concluded that we held a seat for you on the prom bus while turning away others, it was advertised that there would be no refunds, and had you followed up on purchasing a prom ticket you would have been successful. For these reasons a refund will not be issued.

It is our hope you enjoyed the After Prom Party

Take care,
XXXX After Prom Party Committee

So, as far as her reply goes, there's some glaring problems. For one, this was never advertised that there would be no refunds, and if it was, it was not clear to me upon viewing the purchase store website. Second, I continued to check the website for tickets and none showed up. We were told they would follow up with us, not the other way around. I took action to delay my return based on a loose verbal contract that I would be contacted regarding availability. It is because they said they would contact me that I did not return my pass until it was too late. Because there was no clear indication that there would be no refunds when I purchased the pass, I had no reason to believe there weren't refunds.
My question is, do you think I would be successful if I issued a chargeback with my bank? Or should I just say someone charged my card without permission and hope for the best?

 

[quincy]

What is the name of your state (only U.S. law)?
I live in XXXX, CA. I recently wanted to attend prom as an adult guest with my friend who attends the high school. I purchased an after-prom party ticket for $15 and a prom buss pass for $30, but when I tried to buy the prom pass, they were sold out. My friend called them and they said they'd call her if they had any left. I figured I'd hold on to the buss pass in case they had any left. Well the prom came and went and we never got a call, so even though I did go to the after-prom party I paid $30 for something I wasn't able to use. So I tried getting a refund and this is our communication:
... I was going to go to prom as an adult (18-21) guest with my friend, so I bought an after prom party pass and bus pass. When I tried to buy an actual prom pass, they were sold out. They said they'd let me know if they had any more left, so I kept the bus pass in case they ended up having prom passes left I wouldn't have to worry about buying one. Well the prom is over now and I never got a call. I did go to the after prom party, but I was not able to attend the prom and as such was not able to utilize my $30 bus pass. It is for this reason that I would like to return my unused bus pass for a full refund. Please get back to me at your earliest convenience. Thank you.
Hello XXXX,
Sorry for the delay in responding. We took your request to heart and discussed it at the committee level. As a committee we unanimously concluded that we held a seat for you on the prom bus while turning away others, it was advertised that there would be no refunds, and had you followed up on purchasing a prom ticket you would have been successful. For these reasons a refund will not be issued.

It is our hope you enjoyed the After Prom Party

Take care,
XXXX Prom Party Committee

So, as far as her reply goes, there's some glaring problems. For one, this was never advertised that there would be no refunds, and if it was, it was not clear to me upon viewing the purchase store website. Second, I continued to check the website for tickets and none showed up. We were told they would follow up with us, not the other way around. I took action to delay my return based on a loose verbal contract that I would be contacted regarding availability. It is because they said they would contact me that I did not return my pass until it was too late. Because there was no clear indication that there would be no refunds when I purchased the pass, I had no reason to believe there weren't refunds.
My question is, do you think I would be successful if I issued a chargeback with my bank? Or should I just say someone charged my card without permission and hope for the best?

Your post has been reported to have all personal identifying information removed.

You should NOT lie and say someone charged your card without your permission.

 

[danielnrg]

Your post has been reported to have all personal identifying information removed.

You should NOT lie and say someone charged your card without your permission.

My apologies about the personal info, this is my first post on the forum. Do you think a chargeback claim would be successful?

 

[CdwJava]

You can always ASK, but I suspect that the bank will decline the chargeback unless they are feeling overly generous. Which, they might.

In short, you appear to have no good cause for the chargeback. Unless you obfuscate the truth (i.e. lie), a quick check of the facts by the bank would likely result in them discovering that you had, indeed, purchased the bus pass even when it was apparent you would not be able to obtain a prom ticket. It's possible that the bank will consider $30 to be a small price for good P.R., but, they may also decide that there is no reason to do it.

You bought the bus pass and kept it knowing you did not yet have a prom ticket. That's a gamble you took and lost.

But, as mentioned, you can always ask. They might actually agree.