Vasco's response
The difference between straight credit card payment and WorldPay is the speed the money is debited.
With the usual credit card entry into a website, the merchant checks the stock, packs and labels and then processes the card payment just prior to despatch.
With WorldPay etc the punter gets relived of their cash within a couple of minutes of placing the order. The trader checks the stock levels and then sends out an "oh we've run out of those...what else would you like us to send as a substitute?". Then, because they are concentrating on the "cash inwards" from their WorldPay account rather than fulfilling an order the refund becomes oh so difficult.
So...Why should I have money deducted from my account by an on-line spiv and have to wait 4 weeks for recompense? Why should I pay to improve his cash flow? At what point does it become fraudulent trading (selling something you have not got)? The EU directive relates to delivery. There is also a 7-day returns period in the distance selling directives, but no-where does it clearly state how long you should have to wait for the money to be refunded in a case like this.
I had to pay my credit card off when the bill arrived 8 days later - but didn't have the benefit of the goods. Also this merchant wasn't a "little company" - it regularly advertises in the national press.
My cousin's have been operating a purely web based toy business for 4 years with direct sales through credit card and cheque. The only time they have been ripped off is by other spiv traders, not Joe public (twice using PayPal through ebay -and that became so farsical they wrote off the £400 that they had lost). They looked at the alternatives early on and saw the potential for customer dissatisfaction. Their system costs them 2.4% and gives their customer's peace of mind and a fast turn around.