Refunds to the University of Washington

Description
Refunds to the UW
Refunds from the UW

Description

Refunds are funds returned to the University from a vendor, or funds the University needs to return to a vendor or other payee.

Refunds to the UW

Refunds are made to the University for a variety of reasons:

Overpayment: When a vendor is paid at a price that is higher than the contracted price, overpayment occurs. This situation represents the majority of misbillings and overpayments.

Procedure:

Contact the vendor and request a credit memo or refund. A credit memo will be used against future payments to that vendor and should be routed to Accounts Payable at Box 351130.
Advise the vendor to reference the Purchase Order number on all correspondence, checks or credit memos.

Duplicate Payment: Duplicate payments occur when an invoice is paid twice. This happens most frequently when a vendor submits two different reference numbers.

Procedure:

If you find a duplicate payment on your Budget Activity Report (BAR), or
if you receive two RIP Notices (Rapid Invoice Processing) notices for the same invoice,
notify Accounts Payable at rip@u.washington.edu.

Tips to Avoid Overpayment or Duplicate Payment

A RIP (Rapid Invoice Processing) Notice is sent to the ordering department for purchases that are $10,000 and under.
Review the RIP notices in your department.
- If a discrepancy is found, notify Accounts Payable at rip@u.washington.edu

Payment made to the wrong vendor: Payments sometimes can be issued to the wrong vendor. This can happen when there is a discrepancy between the vendor name on the order and/or the vendor name on the invoice. These situations are usually identified when the correct vendor notifies the University regarding non-payment, yet the system indicates payment was made.

Procedure:

If you receive a call or notice of non-payment from the vendor, contact Accounts Payable customer service at aphelp@u.washington.edu.

Damaged Goods/Returned Merchandise: A vendor has been paid on an invoice for goods that arrived damaged or that you want to return.

Procedure:

Contact the vendor to request a Returned Goods Memo or authorization from the vendor for the return.
Return the actual items to the vendor along with a copy of the Returned Goods Memo or authorization.
Request the vendor send a check or credit memo to Accounts Payable at Box 351120.
Advise the vendor to reference the invoice number or purchase order number, where applicable.

Accounts Payable will credit the original invoice upon receipt of a credit from the vendor.

Tip to Avoid Payment for Damaged Goods

When you receive a RIP notice for an invoice, this indicates that invoice has not yet been paid. If you receive a RIP for an invoice for which the goods were received damaged, and you have requested a Returned Goods Memorandum:

Contact Accounts Payable at 543-4500 and ask for a hold to be placed on that invoice until the credit memo or refund check is received.

Reverse Expenditure: A Reverse expenditure is a true expenditure reduction such as a refund from a vendor of a previous payment which results in the cancellation of an expense (i.e. duplicate payments, returned goods, cancellation of an unused airline ticket), or proceeds from the disposition of equipment or scrap material that results in full or partial recovery of expenses. See Reverse Expenditures if the refund will be processed as a Reverse Expenditure.