Last updated on March 5th, 2023 at 02:34 pm
Since the Corporate Affairs Commission (CAC) completely moved its services online, it hasn’t been palatable for some applicants. Some of them were debited by remita while they received a message from the commission that their payment was unsuccessful.
We’ve found close to 10 of such unsuccessful payment complaints on Facebook and Twitter while we received close to 20 of such complaints via our mail.
We’d share three of such cases with you:
“Good morning, I did business name registration in 2020. I paid ₦17,000 through remita and subsequently got receipt of payment from remita but the message I received from CAC says, payment was unsuccessful. Please I wanted to apply for a Refund to do another registration”
Another complaint read:
“I have over four cases of failed transactions, yet remita debited and my bank affirms funds remitted to CAC. Kindly let me know how I can apply for my refund”
And finally:
“Hello, I have been debited twice by remita while I received a message from CAC saying my payment was not successful. I’m tired, please is there a way I can get my money back?”
Now let’s get to the root of the matter. Some of the possible reasons you may get such error include:
1) Fluctuating network in the process of making payment
2) The inability of the remita software to communicate with CAC. When this happens, your bank account would be debited by the payment channel while CAC would send a failure message because of poor communication between the commission and the payment channel.
Whatever the case is, the commission is aware of such a problem and in it clearly states in its refund policy that:
“Where a customer is unable to use up any payment, it shall be refunded or the payment can be applied on another future transaction.” https://pre.cac.gov.ng/refund-policy
Explainer:
The above refund policy is only possible if the commission makes a provision for the customer’s wallet within the CAC dashboard. And at the time of this report, there was no provision for CAC wallet where customer’s error payment can be refunded.
However, a few months ago, the commission disclosed that it’s making plans to address the deficiency.
One of the major ways it planned to end the issue was to adopt a “customer electronic wallet on the Portal wherein any money to be refunded will be credited and from which payments can be made in subsequent transactions.”
To get a refund from the commission, you have two means of communication at your disposal, which are:
- Conventional complaint filing
- Electronic complaint filing
For the first method, you have to write an application for a refund and addressed it to:
Registrar General,
Plot 420, Tigris Crescent,
Off Aguiyi Ironsi Street,
Maitama, Abuja.
Nigeria.
To ensure that your complaint gets accelerated attention, ensure to attach the receipts of payment and state your account details, then submit same at the CAC office nearest to your location.
The above method may be archaic as the commission is also observing covid-19 protocols. This means you may not be able to submit a refund letter since all issues are now resolved online. The digital method comes in handy.
To use the electronic complaint filing, include the following in your email:
- Title: Request for a refund
In the body of your mail include the following:
- Your full name
- Your account details
- Remita Retrieval Reference (payment reference)
- The service you paid for
- Amount you paid
- Time
- Date of payment
Attach receipt of payment if you have it.
And send to: cservice@cac.gov.ng
If you called the support lines, you’d be directed to send it to the official email. And if your case is resolving a query on your application, kindly find our guide https://infomediang.com/cac-queried-registration to resolve it.
Final thought:
CAC can only honour your refund letter or email if it can confirm the authenticity of the documents you provided. The process may take several weeks to process.
To avoid cases of erroneous debit, ensure that your internet connection is good when making online transactions.
Do you know that you can effortlessly register your business on CAC portal and get your certificate within seven business working days?
Alternatively, we can handle the registration for you. Send a message to us on WhatsApp at 1) 08088147478; 2) 08027024054.
