It happens to all of us occasionally to buy something and then a few seconds later change our minds. We often purchase something and decide to return it shortly after. Sometimes you decide you no longer want to buy something even before your payment has been processed, but other times you decide a few days after you’ve already made the purchase. This might become a problem, especially if you use a credit card to pay for the item. In this article, we have discussed how you can cancel a pending transaction and how you can easily overcome this problem.
What is a delayed transaction?
A charge is made to your card each time you swipe your debit or credit card at a store. The process for this charge then involves your bank, various payment networks, and the merchant. Each of these steps takes time to process and clear. While your transaction is still pending as it moves through the system. Once your card issuer has sent the money to the merchant on your behalf, the transaction is completed and posted to your account. It’s a well-functioning system, so you typically won’t notice any unusual charges pending in your account.
Although pending transactions are not added to your unpaid balance, they can still have an impact on your credit limit because they will temporarily lower it while they wait for the transaction to be approved or canceled. In addition, a transaction status may be pending for other reasons besides canceling or returning an item but it can also happen when a merchant asks your card issuer for payment twice for the same item.
Can a Credit Card Transaction Be Canceled?
On your credit card account, you can cancel a delayed transaction, but it’s not always simple to do so. Even the card issuer finds it difficult to easily remove a charge once it has been added to your account by the merchant before it is posted. Therefore, you should first get in touch with the merchant. The methods to delete a pending transaction from your account are as follows:
Contacting the Card Issuer
You need to get in touch with your credit card issuer and ask them to reverse the transaction that is currently pending on your credit card account if your problem has not been resolved after contacting the merchant. It might be difficult to get the transaction reversed in this situation because the merchant is the only party who can remove the charge from your account, not your card issuer. The card issuer must be contacted right away if the merchant objects or if you believe the transaction was fraudulent. Because the majority of the largest credit card companies offer zero-liability protection against fraudulent transactions, you can protect yourself from any such fraud by immediately reporting it to your card issuer.
Speaking with the merchant
When you realize you don’t want the product or item you just bought after your merchant has started a credit card payment, you should let them know as soon as possible so they can cancel the transaction on their end. A charge is made to your card by the merchant as soon as you complete a transaction and swipe your credit card, but as was previously mentioned, the process takes some time. Simply inform the seller that you no longer require the product and ask them to stop charging your credit card. However, speaking with the merchant only makes more sense if the payment is still outstanding, has not yet been fully processed, or has not yet been posted.
Conclusion
If you decide to return an item shortly after buying it, you should get in touch with the seller right away because the situation will only get more complicated. And after the payment has been posted, you are unable to cancel the transaction; instead, you may only return the payment and request a refund. You must review both the merchant’s and your card issuer’s return and refund policies to do this. Therefore, it is always preferable to make decisions as soon as possible or decide things quickly to avoid further difficulties.
Read More: How To Manage A Credit Card