Dear Claudienne:On June 28, 2019 I paid my daughter’s tuition of $24,310 to the University of Technology (UTech) using my credit card on their portal. The payment was successful.

On July 25, 2019 the student portal showed that she had a credit on her account for $1,591 and so she applied for the refund.

On October 3, 2019, she received a letter from UTech stating that the refund was denied due to a credit card reversal of $23,310. I then asked for a copy of the reversal document to make sure that reversal was for my account and the posting was done properly, because that was not the amount I paid.

I was told that I could not get it. I was told to instead make contact with my bank, which I did. The bank statement showed that there was no reversal on my account from June 28 to October 3, 2019.

I then wrote a formal letter to UTech and also opened an investigation with Scotiabank (BNS).

I was told by BNS that reversals are done within 48 hours and that they would not have done a reversal three months later and that furthermore, their records did not show that a reversal had been done on my account.

BNS told me that because three months had passed they could not do an investigation. They advised me to get the document of proof from UTech.

I was not able to get the document of proof from UTech and they kept telling me, “It takes time to investigate.”

Because of UTech’s error I had to pay the university an additional $22,719 for my daughter to graduate in November, 2019.

After that I was unable to make telephone contact with UTech and they have not been responding to my emails .

I am kindly asking for your assistance in resolving this matter.

DCH

Dear DCH

In response to your complaint, Tell Claudienne received the following e-mail from Scotiabank: “We write in regards to the matter reported to your column involving our customer and a credit card dispute. Thank you for bringing this matter to our attention. The dispute in this case is actually with the merchant and not with Scotiabank, as the customer’s payment was successfully made. However, the customer has not received a refund which the merchant advised was made to her account. We can fully appreciate the customer’s frustration and we have assisted by conducting a thorough review of her credit card statements. We also provided her with documentation to prove that no refund was credited to her account to assist in resolving her dispute with the merchant. We are happy to provide any further support or verification required by the merchant in order to resolve this issue.”

Since the column received your complaint in May, 2020, Tell Claudienne has also been in communication with UTech on the matter and sent them the Scotiabank email that stated that the university had not credited a refund to your account.

The protracted UTech investigation to establish why you did not get a refund has now been completed and we note that on Tuesday September 15, 2020 you received an email that stated that the $24,310 transaction had been reinstated. The e-mail from the UTech’s senior director, business and asset administration, stated the following:

“RE: Query re credit card reversal concerning student CH

Dear Mrs C H

Thank you very much for your patience while we resolved the subject matter.

Further to our telephone conversation, I ask that you inform your daughter, S H to apply for a refund via her student portal. Her account has a credit balance due the reversal of the debit entry that we erroneously made to her account.

Please ask SH to:

– Sign into her student portal

– Go to the home screen

– See in-tray at the bottom of the page

– See ‘Refund Application Form’ that is to be completed. Kindly let me know if you have any questions or need further clarification.”

When Tell Claudienne contacted you on Thursday morning, September 17, 2020, you said that your daughter had made several attempts to get the application form via her student portal, but had not been successful.

However, at 3.48 pm on Thursday you said UTech contacted your daughter and gave her instructions that enabled her to get the application form. We will continue to follow up this matter and please let us know when you receive the refund.

Have a problem with a store, utility, a company? Telephone 876-936-9436 or cell # 876-484-1349 or write to: Tell Claudienne c/o Sunday Finance, Jamaica Observer, 40-42 1/2 Beechwood Avenue, Kingston 5; or e-mail:edwardsc@jamaicaobserver.com. Please include a contact phone number.