Won a chargeback after I was refused a refund because Nordstrom does not follow Visa's requirements for refund window disclosure
Correction to post title to be more specific: Won a chargeback by making argument Nordstrom’s checkout screen doesn’t disclose the return window
Summary: Bought a dress from Nordstrom's site which turned out to be a "Marketplace" item. Return denied because of a 90-day refund window. However, I filed a dispute and I made argument to credit card company that Nordstrom did not effectively disclose the refund window in the checkout screen or on the receipt. I won the chargeback.
If you run into this, wanted to share here in case it helps someone else who has felt misled. I cannot guarantee it will work for you, but it worked for me.
EDIT because people keep asking “why did you wait so long to return?” I was very very ill for an extended time. Even if I wanted to act on it (and I knew to act on it), I personally would not have been able to act on it. It didn’t cross my mind that there was an exception because the refund policy wasn’t clearly documented on receipt or otherwise.
My argument that Nordstrom violates disclosure per Visa's policies:
- No return policy disclosed at checkout page. No deadline on the checkout, no acknowledgment checkbox, nothing in the order confirmation.
Visa Rules: from what I found and argued Visa requires merchants to disclose return policies during checkout with a "click to accept" button or on the checkout screen near submit, not just a link to a separate page. From what I saw, Nordstrom did none of this, and the link they sent me in the receipt did not even mention the 90-day policy. Full rules here.
What to do:
I cannot guarantee this will work, however, these are the steps I took.
- Screenshot everything early. Checkout flow, order confirmation, genera, returns page, Marketplace TOS.
- Email Nordstrom first. They'll most likely deny you or defer you to the seller.
- Contact the seller. They'll tell you they cannot help.
- File a dispute with your card issuer with documentation of all of the above.
TL;DR: I won the chargeback after I made the case Nordstrom seems to violate Visa's merchant rules. Unsure if this will work for other people who felt misled, but it worked for me.
One last thing: I tried working with a manager in-store and showed them the disclosure issue. He wouldn't budge, which I can understand, I can't fault him for not knowing anything beyond his role as a store manager. But the body language while denying me was wild.... So much pleasure, a smug smile, and then "can I bag the dress up for you?" If he hadn't done that, I probably would've eaten the cost. Really really strange interaction, like he felt like he had won.
Edited for clarity