CARS Refunds

When do they occur?

CARS will issue “refunds” to students when the account has an eligible overpayment from a payment or financial aid award.

CARS processes refunds three times each week.

If the source of the refund is from an overpayment made by check, the credit balance will be eligible for refund 30 days after the payment was originally received.

Depending on the source of funds generating the refund, it is possible for a refund to be issued even if the CARS account has an outstanding balance. Please see BearFacts (http://bearfacts.berkeley.edu) for a current account balance and a listing of CARS refunds.

How are refunds disbursed?

For secure and timely delivery of refunds, we recommend direct deposit of the refund to a bank account via Electronic Funds Transfer (EFT). Students are strongly encouraged to sign up for EFT to expedite receipt of their refunds and to avoid problems with returned mail due to an outdated address. Students who are on EFT will receive their refunds by the quickest, most convenient and secure method available. Use of EFT means fewer paper checks, conserving valuable resources.

See our website at http://eftstudent.berkeley.edu to sign-up online. Once EFT is activated, you may use this website to modify your EFT status or update your banking information

If EFT is not activated, refunds will be issued via check and held for pick up at Billing and Payment Services, 140 University Hall, Monday-Friday, 8:30 a.m. – 4:00 p.m.

Checks that are not picked up within 21 days will be mailed to the local address on file in BearFacts. Make sure your local address is current in BearFacts to avoid delays in payment and problems with returned mail due to an outdated address. If your CARS account is past due or if there are problems with your registration for the term of the refund, EFT will be superseded and a check will be printed.

No matter what method is used to process the refund, if the student has an email address in BearFacts, a notice will be sent advising that the refund was issued.

This page last updated on July 18, 2008