credit

[Hanka]

Hello,

could you please explain the meaning of the word "credited" in the following sentence:

Please be sure to include your name, address and purpose of the payment to ensure that you are properly credited for this reservation.

It is an order (reservation) and the above-mentioned instruction is intended for the person making the payment. Is it not a mistake? Wouldn´t "debited" be the right expression?

Thank you very much.

Hanka

[BobK]

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Is it not a mistake? Wouldn´t "debited" be the right expression?
Thank you very much.
Hanka

I'd say so. But a possible argument for the defence would be that they are using 'credit' in the sense of belief [that you have made the reservation].

b

[Ouisch]

"Credit" indicates a payment has been made. When you credit someone's account, you are showing a particular amount has been paid. The bank is the place that will debit the person's account, or who will actually remove the funds from it.

For example, you have booked a hotel room for two consecutive nights and given them your credit card information. However, something comes up and you have to leave after one night. The hotel manager says to you, "No problem, I will credit your account for the second night." That means he will remove the charge from your bill.

In the example you gave, a payment has been made with the reservation (either via credit card, or a check mailed in), so credit is the correct word.

[BobK]

"Credit" indicates a payment has been made. When you credit someone's account, you are showing a particular amount has been paid. The bank is the place that will debit the person's account, or who will actually remove the funds from it.
For example, you have booked a hotel room for two consecutive nights and given them your credit card information. However, something comes up and you have to leave after one night. The hotel manager says to you, "No problem, I will credit your account for the second night." That means he will remove the charge from your bill.
In the example you gave, a payment has been made with the reservation (either via credit card, or a check mailed in), so credit is the correct word.

I agree with your hotel example. A credit is when a positive amount is added to an account.

But numbers on an account can be either credits or debits. If you make a payment, your account is debited (at least, in BE).

b

ps Aha - I get it. There are two accounts involved in Hanka's example; the buyer's account [at the buyer's bank] is debited, but the hotel's account [the ledger they keep internally] shows a credit for that client.