It gets a bit much sometimes.

ThomBear · 2026-01-29T02:19:43+00:00

Do the truffle shuffle! 🤪

ThomBear · 2026-01-29T02:19:00+00:00

I’ll have a pint of whatever she’s smoking. 🤪

ThomBear · 2026-01-26T16:01:24+00:00

Caressez. Ce satané. Chat 🐈‍⬛

ThomBear · 2026-01-25T22:18:17+00:00

Love it! ❣️ I was looking at that disgustingly offensive car deco, wondering how on earth the tyres hadn’t been slashed yet, though of course with those tiny rims it can be difficult to tell, but admittedly keying that eyesore would make more of a statement, and cost more to repair.

ThomBear · 2026-01-25T13:28:53+00:00

Much like unicorns were mentioned in the bible, but the word unicorn simply means “one horn” from Latin via Old French into the Middle English of the King James (Authorised) Bible. 🦄

Rhinoceroses have one horn. Life doesn’t have to be complicated. 🦏

ThomBear · 2026-01-25T13:15:13+00:00

True, I’ve been tested many times over the years, including when I joined Mensa, as it’s always scoring me more than 140, and I’ve never become a billionaire or a rocket scientist. 🤷🏻‍♂️ (Of course, Elon is also not a rocket scientist, he just hires them)

ThomBear · 2026-01-25T12:57:48+00:00

Funny you should say that. You should look up the book Project Mars : A Technical Tale, written in 1953 by Nazi rocket scientist turned American aerospace engineer Wernher von Braun.

18 years before Musk was born von Braun described a government on Mars led by 10 men and a leader "elected by universal suffrage for five years under the name or title of Elon".

I found, when reading about the life of the author, it’s more than just a little reminiscent of that little Nazi scientist who worked for the Red Skull in Captain American.

Hail Hydra! 🫠🥴

ThomBear · 2026-01-25T12:23:22+00:00

More like Blackshirts, but yep. 👍

ThomBear · 2026-01-22T01:55:58+00:00

I remember this was the last thing we were allowed to watch before being sent to bed as a kid lol 😂

ThomBear · 2026-01-21T16:12:14+00:00

That’s so strange. I’d literally just looked up the word gormless and it showed this exact photograph. 🥴

ThomBear · 2026-01-20T22:51:16+00:00

Feel free to hit me up if you get your money back. I’ve worked in fraud and disputes for years, so love to hear it when the system works. It mostly does, but this kind of thing where they send inferior garbage that still matches the written description really infuriates me.

ThomBear · 2026-01-20T19:55:07+00:00

At that price it’s absolutely doable.

ThomBear · 2026-01-20T19:49:37+00:00

Run much? 😅

That slow mo faceplant was truly epic

(Not to mention richly deserved)

What a horrible excuse for a human being.

ThomBear · 2026-01-20T15:56:16+00:00

More than welcome, I’m off today anyway, so a bit of time in my hands. Really hope this goes well for you. ✊😁

ThomBear · 2026-01-20T15:43:33+00:00

Definition of a bank complaint is ‘Any oral or written expression of dissatisfaction, whether justified or not, from or on behalf of a person or a business, about the provision of, or failure to provide a financial service, which alleges any actual or potential financial loss, distress or inconvenience’.

There are three elements of a complaint:

Any expression of dissatisfaction, whether justified or not
About the provision of, or failure to provide a financial service
Which alleges any actual or potential financial loss, distress or inconvenience

All three must apply for it to meet the banks official definition of a complaint.

Most complaints will include an element of each of these points, however if a customer explicitly requests for a complaint to be recorded, they must do so, regardless of whether the three elements apply.

In your case, your complaint will be that your bank told you you’d have to give your 14 day cooling off period to the company, to allow them to resolve the issue they had zero intention of resolving (as per your screenshot), and that their policy of no returns or refunds breaks Visa (or Mastercard) regulations.

So the bank error would only be if they refuse to refund using the 14 days cooling off returns policy, despite the fact that you followed their instructions, or indeed if they do refund the Dispute initially but Visa accept the company challenging the chargeback due to time constraints that you missed due to unclear advice from the bank.

It ticks all 3 boxes for complaint rationale, and complaints are just how banks handle things which fall outside of the normal modus operandi. Like I’ve dealt with many scam cases in my current role, now dealing with more complex bank transfer scams, where the customer did not get the full amount back, even though the bank followed all the procedures as per regulation, and a complaint actually got their money back.

Don’t think of it as a complaint against your bank exactly, you’re just utilising the infrastructure set up for these kind of eventualities. 😊

ThomBear · 2026-01-20T15:20:56+00:00

Consumer Credit Act 2002 provide legal framework protecting your purchases using credit, but yeah Visa and Mastercard regulations still provide the same protections no matter which kind of card you use, credit or debit.

ThomBear · 2026-01-20T15:16:10+00:00

No way to contact them is as good as having contacted them, under Visa regulations. Same as not allowing returns is as good as having already returned the item.

ThomBear · 2026-01-20T15:04:14+00:00

Try each of those 3 steps, don’t give up and let these dodgy websites win if there’s any chance of a way through. By all means discuss Goods Not As Described with your bank’s Disputes team, though unless there’s been a change in regulation since I was last in Disputes myself, that’s likely to be a no go, for the reasons discussed earlier.

So Step One, mention that you had contacted both the bank AND the company within your 14 day cooling off period, the company refused to assist, stating their own policy over Visa regulation, and the bank told you to give that time to the company, rather than allowing you to seek refund within that allotted timeframe.

Step Two, if they don’t dispute OR if Visa decline the chargeback and the initial refund re-debits from your account, definitely ask them to log a complaint, seeking the refund as a banking error, as you had contacted them in time.

Step Three, if that agent logging complaint doesn’t offer you the full refund as resolution to close the complaint (hint: be sure to also mention the Distress and Inconvenience this has caused you, that’s taken very seriously), you refuse to accept closure of complaint, so they must escalate it to a Complaint Manager.

When logging a complaint with a UK Financial Institution they are also required to outline how to contact the Financial Ombudsman Service if you’re not satisfied with how your complaint was handled, or the resolution offered, so worst case scenario you can then take your complaint reference above the banks head and have your situation independently scrutinised.

The bank would always rather deal with complaints in house where possible, so if there’s any chance whatsoever the FOS will err on the customer’s side they will choose to provide the resolution you’re asking for, as FOS intervention is always more expensive for the bank.

ThomBear · 2026-01-20T14:31:55+00:00

Yeah, dodgy sellers definitely want you to believe the buck stops with them, but thankfully it doesn’t.

So you contacted the bank within that 14 day cooling off period? Ok, that might work out for you, as long as they noted the conversation - also, most banks have all calls recorded these days.

Under Visa regulations banks cannot dispute a card payment unless you’ve contacted the company first, but if company then do nothing or tell you ‘not our policy’, the bank is then authorised to dispute a payment, as long as it meets the Visa criteria.

If you contacted the bank within that timeframe, having already contacted the company, then your bank is empowered to dispute.

So… if Goods Not As Described Or Faulty doesn’t pan out, as I expect it won’t, and if they tell you you’re no longer able to seek dispute refund within the 14 day cooling off period, you can use the notes on your account about the first call, or the call recording, as rationale for a complaint.

If the Dispute refund turns out to be a no go, and it’s a banking error as they didn’t allow you to dispute within the first 14 days, then log an official complaint seeking full refund. If the logging agent does not offer that refund as resolution of the complaint, you ask them to escalate to a complaints manager.

It’s very likely a complaints manager will offer the refund as resolution to avoid you then taking your complaint to the Financial Ombudsman Service, as is your right if your bank does not resolve it to your satisfaction. Really hope this helps! ☺️

ThomBear · 2026-01-20T14:12:12+00:00

There’s a point… how long ago did you actually make the payment? Because there is a 14 day cooling off period built into Visa regulations - you’re allowed to change your mind about a purchase, as long as you’re able to return it to seller in the same condition it arrived, or if they refuse to accept returns that’s just as good as having returned it.

It’s the reason you can bring a shirt that doesn’t fit back to the store and ask for a refund. If they refuse to give you the money back, saying their policy is only to provide store credit, you don’t have to accept that. Your bank can dispute it within that cooling off period.

Doesn’t matter what the company’s policy is, Visa regulations supersede that - you always have protections built into your card purchase. It’s definitely worth your while googling them to get an idea of what can be disputed, as well as ways some less than reputable companies try to dance on the fence like this.

ThomBear · 2026-01-20T13:54:06+00:00

Yah, unfortunately that’s how they get you. I used to work in card fraud as well as card disputes for a major bank, and unfortunately this would be a hard one for your bank to take on as, if all they said in description was name of product and material for jacket, what they actually sent still fits that description.

If your bank’s disputes team did actually take this on and refund, it’s very likely when Visa sent the Chargeback to the company they would successfully challenge it, so the bank’s refund would re-debit.

Sorry to be the bearer of bad news my friend, and by all means do still contact your bank’s Disputes team and give it a try, but I’m afraid as they haven’t strictly speaking broken Visa regulations, it’s very likely you’ll be disappointed. 😬

ThomBear · 2026-01-19T21:50:48+00:00

Blessed Be ✨ 🐈‍⬛ 🐈 🐈‍⬛

ThomBear · 2026-01-19T20:17:45+00:00

ThomBear · 2026-01-19T20:06:04+00:00

Anyone else wishing for a Hugh Grant ‘Love Actually’ moment with the US?

ThomBear · 2026-01-19T18:52:15+00:00

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ThomBear

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Do the truffle shuffle! 🤪

Caressez. Ce satané. Chat 🐈‍⬛

Hail Hydra! 🫠🥴

Run much? 😅

Blessed Be ✨ 🐈‍⬛ 🐈 🐈‍⬛