CircusCity charged my CC, but no item in stock

[space-time]

So I placed an order online on T-day, they charged my CC, now when I check online it says "order cancelled". I call and they admit they did not have the product in stock and that I will get a refund in "3-5 business days". So they keep my money for 10 days now, is that legal?

so no buffalo router or tomato firmware for me

[Mike Johnson]

Yeah.

[GGD]

Is it actually your money or is it the credit card companies money? Did you get the credit card bill with the charge, and pay the bill before the credit was issued?

[space-time]

yes, I just paid my bill. It is my money.

EDIT: I pay my bills before the statement closes, this way I carry a low "balance" and I have a high credit score (825). I pay my bills weekly. So yes, it pisses me off that they charge the CC when they don't have the product in stock. I know at the end I will get a refund though.

EDIT 2: to make it clear: I pay my bills in full; the credit report agencies check about once a month the amount of debt you owe, and this is one factor they use to calculate the FICO score. Having a few hundred dollar debt as opposed to 1.5k can boost your score 50+ points

[MacArtist]

I think it should be a rule that they don't charge your account until the item ships.

[GGD]

[quote MacArtist]I think it should be a rule that they don't charge your account until the item ships.
I've seen some companies that are really slow to charge, TracFone is one, I placed an order last Wed, it was delivered on Monday, and my card hasn't been charged yet.

[Mike Johnson]

Let's say you want to buy tickets to the Winter Olympics. Of course, if you want tickets to something like ski jumping finals, it's only available in a package with six other events, so it could easily be $1000 dollars per person.

So you request that, and you have to pay for it up front. You also want tickets to the opening ceremony, which is maybe $500 per person. And figure skating finals, at $1200 per person. Five months later, they hold the lottery, and you don't win. No tickets for you. They refund your money. Of course, best case scenario is, you paid off that bill, and simply lent them $5400 for five or six months. At no interest. But I'd bet a lot of people won't pay off those bills immediately, so they pay interest and maybe even finance charges.

And that's why there's only one way to pay for your tickets to the ultimate expression of sport. Visa -- it's everywhere you want to be.