Sometimes suppliers are unable to deliver services of fulfil bookings, if you find yourself in this position, you should request a refund from your supplier(s) by following the steps below.
Step 1: Contact your supplier
Before you contact your supplier, make sure to:
- Check for the supplier's Terms and Conditions (T&Cs) with your booking confirmation or on the supplier's website; this will help you to make an informed enquiry when requesting a refund.
- Contact your supplier directly to ask about their refund policy, bearing in mind each supplier will have a different policy; be sure to have your booking or payment reference to hand.
Step 2: Arrange the correct documentation
If your supplier has agreed to complete a refund, you will need to ask the supplier to:
- Issue a Credit Note to you (via email) (essential - this must be done before the supplier issues you a refund and sends payment)
- Include your CSP Account Code on the payment reference from the supplier (essential)
- Include the payment reference number (e.g. PO number, Credit Card Request number etc.) you used to make the original payment on the payment reference from the supplier (ideal but non-essential)
- Include your CSP name on the payment reference (ideal but non-essential)
For example:
The payment reference number your supplier uses when issuing your refund should look like this:
Refund-149-PO5027790-BellyD
149 = CSP Account Code PO5027790 = Purchase Order (PO) number
BellyD = Belly Dancing Society
Note: suppliers are often limited in the number of characters they can use in the reference provided so make sure to ask them to include this information in priority order from your CSP account code (essential) to your original payment reference number and finally your CSP name.
Finally, you'll want to confirm how the payment will be made to you, will it:
- Be returned to the Union credit card used to make the original payment?
- Be returned to a committee members' personal credit/debit used to make the original payment?
- Be made by bank transfer (BACS) to the Union bank account it you paid originlly by Purchase Order (PO)?
- Be paid by cheque, made out to the Union?
Step 3: Contact the Union Finance team
Once you have all of the correct documentation (above) and the supplier has confirmed your refund has been issued, you will need to contact the Union Finance team to notify them to expect this money.
To do this, please email icu.finance@imperial.ac.uk with the subject title: Supplier Refund [CSP name] [payment reference number].
For example:
Be sure to include in your email:
- Credit note from the supplier (attached)
- Mode of original payment e.g. Purchase Order (PO), Credit Card Request, Claim etc.
- Mode of refund payment e.g. bank transfer (BACS), cheque, returned directly to Union credit card or committee members' personal credit/debit card
- Supporting documentation for original payment
- Where you wish the money to be posted to within your CSP account; aka under which accountcode e.g. 'Goods & Services (450)'.
You must contact the Union Finance team within 3-5 days of a refund being issued by the supplier for us to match the refund to your CSP
Step 4: Refund you members
Check your CSP account; once you can see the refunded funds you can go ahead a refund your members for any cancelled trips, tours, events and activities.
