Refund policy
The short version: if we took the money and the balance did not land on your Hafilat card, that is on us and we will refund. If the balance did land and was later used, that is a matter for the transport operator.
When a refund applies
You are eligible for a refund from AbuDhabiDesk in the following cases:
- Payment succeeded but balance did not load. Your card was charged and you received a bank confirmation, but the Hafilat balance was not updated within a reasonable window.
- Duplicate charge. One recharge order but two identical debits on the same card, for the same amount, within a short window.
- Technical error on our side. Anything on the billing page or in the order pipeline that we can trace to our own mistake — a stuck order, a wrong amount confirmed by our processor, a missed callback.
When a refund does not apply
These are honest limits, not a way to say no:
- Balance already used. Once the balance is on the card and it has been tapped at a gate or on board a bus, the AED spent is gone the same way any transport fare is.
- Refund of unused balance still on the card. If you want the remaining AED off the Hafilat card, that is done through the transport operator's own channels — it is not something we can move from our side.
- Wrong Hafilat card number. If a valid 16-digit number was entered but it was the wrong one and the top-up loaded onto that other card, we cannot pull the balance back. Please double-check the number before you continue.
- Chargebacks filed without contacting us first. We will still cooperate with the bank, but resolving directly with support is faster and simpler for you.
How to request a refund
- Write to support@abudhabidesk.org from the same email address that received the order receipt.
- Put your order number in the subject line, for example Refund — Order 240815-ABCD.
- In the message, describe what happened in one or two sentences, and include the time and timezone (for example 14:20 GST) when you tried the recharge.
- If the payment was actually taken, add the last four digits of the payment card. Do not send the full card number or the CVV — we do not need them.
A reply from a human usually goes out within one business day. If we ask for a screenshot, keep it small — just the receipt and the order line.
Timeline and currency
Once we confirm the refund on our side, the money is sent back to the original card. Bank posting usually takes 3–7 working days, sometimes faster and occasionally slower, depending on your issuer and — for non-AED cards — on cross-border settlement. Refunds are made in AED; if your card is in another currency, your bank re-converts at its own rate, which may differ from the rate on the day of the original charge.