Golf store backcharging me

[thejames]

What is the name of your state (only U.S. law)? IL

I'm not sure where to post this, but I'll try here. I'm a brand new member.

I had a credit on my account with an online golf retailer that also has many physical stores because of an item that I returned in the past. I purchased various items over the course of last month using that credit on my account.

They wouldn't give me a gift card, but instead told me to just give the store my customer number and the credit would show up when they looked up my customer information.

I did not keep track of the running balance, but before I made any purchase, the store would have to call corporate to find the balance on my account and then they would complete the transaction. There was always enough of a balance in my account to cover the amount of the purchase made in the store.

They are now coming back to me and saying that I owe them around $250 because I made purchases on my account in excess of the amount of credit I had.

I never made a purchase of over $80 and the store always called the corporate office to verify the amount that was on my account.

Can they come back to me weeks later after I made the purchase to bill me for this?

Thanks for any help

 

[xylene]

OK

Did you actually make purchases TOTALING in excess of the credit?

Not what each item cost individually, but the sum total of the items you purchased using the credit...

If they screwed up and your purchases made using the credit are less than or equal to the credit that was issued, then you owe nothing.

If you made purchases EXCEEDING the credit that was issued, you owe the outstanding balance. Their error in allowing you to outspend the credit does not invalidate the debt you owe them.

The fact that they did not issue a gift card does not change your liability. It would have been very easy to reconcile your receipts to know when you had exhausted the credit, and that was your obligation. Their mistake does not equal free merchandise for you.

 

[thejames]

I'm actually not sure if the total purchases were more than the credit. I made several purchases over the course of a month and didn't bother to add up the receipts because every time before I made a purchase, the store would have to check with corporate regardless to verify the amount on my account.

I figured that corporate would have the exact amount on my account and would keep better tabs on it than me.

They would never let someone get something in the store and then bill them for it weeks later. How can they tell me I have x amount in credit, give me the merchandise, and then say I owe them for said merchandise afterwards?

Thanks for your quick reply. Nothing like this has ever happened to me before.

 

[xylene]

I'm actually not sure if the total purchases were more than the credit. I made several purchases over the course of a month and didn't bother to add up the receipts because every time before I made a purchase, the store would have to check with corporate regardless to verify the amount on my account.

I figured that corporate would have the exact amount on my account and would keep better tabs on it than me.

They would never let someone get something in the store and then bill them for it weeks later. How can they tell me I have x amount in credit, give me the merchandise, and then say I owe them for said merchandise afterwards?

Thanks for your quick reply. Nothing like this has ever happened to me before.

You need to reconcile how much you spent against the credit.

You need clarity on two amounts.

1. The amount of credit issued you
2. The amount of purchases made using the credit.

Never count on people to keep track of your money better than you.

I guess you didn't save the receipts...

 

[Zigner]

Ask (nicely) for a statement.

 

[thejames]

I actually managed to find most of my receipts for the items that I purchased, but I don't know exactly how much the total of the credit originally was, I was going by what they were telling me each time before I made a purchase.

Does it help at all that all the receipts show that I had paid for the items with a credit and that $0 was due?