I returned an item to a store which I had purchased with one credit card. In the mean time I had canceled this card. When the clerk went to credit me she said she could only credit back that card, not the one I had to replace it. Was this just this stores policy, or is that just the way things are?
Unfortunately, that is the way things are. It is common practice for companies to credit a patron in the same manner that the company was paid. There is a couple reasons for this. First, in order to process a refund, the company has to credit the money back to the same card that was used. The reason for this is so the company can get back the service charges that the credit card companies charge for their service.
The second reason, which is actually not considered by the average person is that this would be an effective method of money laundering. Someone steals someone’s credit card, makes a bunch of purchases, then later returns the item to place the money on their own credit card. By crediting the same card only, this form of money laundering is prevented.