Express Clothing Fraudulent Credit Charges Internet

In the middle of Septemeber 2013 we placed an order to express.com totaling approximately $232. $100 was applied using an express gift card, the remainder paid on credit card. The clothing arrived in a reasonable amount of time, but upon recieving the clothes it was apparent that nothing was going to fit. We repackaged the items and sent them all back for exchanges for a smaller size. I specifically requested the amount for any clothing that couldn't be exchanged be refunded to my card.

At the beginning of October I was notified that most of the clothing was no longer available, the clothing that could be exchanged totaled approximately $90. The remainder of the balance should have been a net $142. There is some slight return charge on your order which was less than $10. So lets call the net balance owed to me $132. Here is where things get very fishy.

My account was refunded an incorrect $125, about $7 to $10 dollars short of the correct refund amount. But it only gets stranger from there. The next thing that occurred was a $90 charge on my credit card for the clothing they exhanged. 

Let me be clear. I paid $232 to express, the clothing that was kept by me in the end totaled $90 in value. The rest was returned. The difference owed to my account $142 minus $10 return charge.

As I said a credit of $125 was added to my account (almost correct, just ~$10 short) and THEN express.com charged my account $90 dollar. They did this so that I would have an exact $100 dollar value which they then tried to send to me as a gift card instead of my requested cash refund.

I am fully aware that if you pay with a gift card you will be refunded with that form of payment. But the clothing i kept ($90 worth) accounts for 90% of the gift card. The money should have been refunded into my bank account. WHICH IT WAS. They then removed funds fraudulently from my account, essentially ordering a $100 gift card without my permission.

KEEP IN MIND I SPENT MY GIFT CARD. I kept $90 in clothes. A ten dollar refund to my gift card would be one thing. It appeared that they were going to do that when I recieved the $125 dollar credit to my bank account. When express.com charged my account $90 (two days after i recieved the $125 credit) and then attempted to send me a gift card, it was underhanded, slimy, and borderline fraudulent.

When I asked why this happened I was told it was their policy to refund the first form of payment. I asked the express.com representative (a supervisor at this pont) if they were aware of any online store that didnt first require you apply the gift card and then pay the remaining balance, including express.com. There isn't of course, thats just not how these online payment forms work.

To make it simple, the express.com policy on an order where a gift card is applied, is to refund the gift card first instead of the money you paid out of pocket. A terrible business practice that was obviously created so they could keep your money obligated to their Express Stores.

In short, the paragraph before this one IS NOT what happened. They sent the exchange on friday (notified me of shipment) and issued a (slightly incorrect by $10) refund on the next day. On monday three days after I was notified of the exchange shipment, express.com charged my account $90 and attempted to send me a gift card that I didn't authorize.

They USED my account FREUDULENTLY to purchase a gift card to send me in place of a cash refund I requested and deserved. What if I had been short money on bills that automatically withdraw from my account? I wil NEVER shop here again.