唔好再混淆 charge、fee、deposit、refund、receipt 同 balance
付款字詞幫你喺商店、餐廳、辦公室、應用程式、租賃、課堂同服務預約入面清楚講錢。好多問題嘅成因，就係一個細小嘅金錢字眼唔清楚。charge 可能係主要嘅費用；fee 可能係額外嘅費用；deposit 可能係先畀、之後再退返嘅錢；refund 可能喺你取消、退貨或者報告問題之後先返到嚟。
與其講 「The money is wrong」，你可以講 「I paid a deposit, but the final balance still includes a cleaning fee」。呢句畀到對方一條清晰嘅途徑去解決問題。好嘅付款英文，會講明金額、原因、時間，同記錄。
重點區別
charge（收費）係一筆人哋要求你畀、又或者出現喺信用卡或者帳戶上嘅金錢。佢可以係主要嘅價錢，又或者帳單上某一項特定項目。
fee（費用）通常係因為某項服務、規則或者特殊情況而收嘅額外金額。常見例子有 delivery fee、late fee、service fee、application fee、cancellation fee 同 processing fee。
deposit（按金／訂金）係喺全數付款之前先畀嘅錢。佢可能用嚟保留一個預訂、開始一張訂單，又或者保障物主免受損失。有啲 deposit 可以退返，有啲就唔可以。
refund（退款）係退返畀你嘅錢。你可能會收到 full refund、partial refund、store credit，又或者退返去原本嘅付款方式。
receipt（收據）係你已經付過款嘅憑證。佢可能係印出嚟、用電郵寄、用短訊發，又或者喺應用程式入面睇到。
balance（結餘／餘額）係仍然欠落嘅金額，又或者帳戶入面可用嘅金額。喺帳單上面，「balance due」 意思係你仲要畀嘅金額。
核心字詞同講法
- price：一件物品或者服務嘅基本費用
- total：計埋所有收費之後嘅全數金額
- subtotal：未計稅、費用、貼士或者折扣之前嘅金額
- tax：加喺某啲購物上、政府規定收嘅費用
- tip：為服務畀嘅額外金錢
- charge：被收取或者已付嘅金額
- fee：因服務或者規則而收嘅額外費用
- deposit：預先畀落嘅錢
- refund：退返嘅錢
- receipt：付款憑證
- balance：欠落或者剩低嘅金額
- balance due：仍然未付嘅金額
- payment method：信用卡、現金、銀行轉帳、應用程式或者支票
- card on file：用嚟付款而已儲存咗嘅信用卡
- installment：一系列分期付款入面嘅其中一期
- due date：應該完成付款嘅日期
自然搭配
可以用 make a payment、process a payment、accept payment、decline a payment、payment went through、payment did not go through 同 payment method。
可以用 charge my card、extra charge、monthly charge、one-time charge、charge for delivery 同 charge on my account。
可以用 service fee、late fee、processing fee、delivery fee、cancellation fee、membership fee 同 fee waiver。
可以用 pay a deposit、refundable deposit、nonrefundable deposit、security deposit、deposit receipt 同 apply the deposit to the balance。
可以用 issue a refund、request a refund、full refund、partial refund、refund to my card 同 refund status。
可以用 keep the receipt、email the receipt、receipt number、proof of purchase 同 remaining balance。
例句
「Is there an extra charge for delivery?」
「The subtotal is lower, but the total includes tax and a service fee.」
「Do I need to pay a deposit to hold the appointment?」
「Is the deposit refundable if I cancel early?」
「Could you email me the receipt?」
「The receipt shows the wrong amount.」
「I paid half today, so what is the remaining balance?」
「Will the deposit be applied to the final balance?」
「I returned the item, but I have not received the refund yet.」
「Can the refund go back to the original card?」
詢問 charge 同 fee
當你問起一筆付款，要避免聽落好似喺度指控對方。可以由一條清晰嘅問題開始：
「Could you explain this charge?」
「What is this fee for?」
「Is this a one-time charge or a monthly charge?」
「Does the price include taxes and fees?」
「Are there any additional fees I should know about?」
如果金額出乎意料，可以用 I was expecting 或者 I thought：
「I was expecting the total to be forty dollars.」
「I thought the delivery fee was included.」
「I thought the deposit would be applied to the final bill.」
呢啲講法聽落冷靜，亦畀對方有空間去查清楚細節。
講 deposit
deposit 嘅措辭，喺租賃、預約、訂造產品、活動同服務入面好重要。要問兩條問題：deposit 可唔可以退返，以及佢會點樣運用。
「Is the deposit refundable?」
「What is the cancellation deadline for getting the deposit back?」
「Will the deposit go toward the final balance?」
「How long does it take to return the security deposit?」
「Could I get a receipt for the deposit?」
當 deposit 係用嚟保留某樣嘢，就用 hold：「The deposit holds the room until Friday」。當 deposit 係用嚟扣減你之後要畀嘅金額，就用 apply：「We will apply the deposit to your final balance」。
講 receipt 同憑證
receipt 對買賣雙方都有保障。佢顯示你買咗咩、幾時付款、付咗幾多，有時仲會顯示你係點付款。如果你之後需要協助，receipt number、order number 或者 transaction number 會令對話快好多。
「I have the receipt with me.」
「The receipt number is at the bottom.」
「Could you resend the receipt?」
「I need a receipt for my records.」
「The charge appears on my card, but I never received a receipt.」
唔好將每樣付款記錄都叫做 bill。bill 係要求你付款；receipt 係顯示你已經付過款。
學習者常犯嘅錯誤
當你想講公司退返錢，唔好講 「I paid the fee back」。要講 「They refunded the fee」 或者 「I received a refund」。
唔好混淆 price 同 fee。price 係主要嘅費用；fee 通常係額外嘅費用。
唔好講 「the receipt is a paper of money」。要講 「The receipt is proof of payment」。
唔好講 「my card was payed」。要講 「My card was charged」 或者 「The payment went through」。
唔好講 「How much is the rest money?」。要講 「What is the remaining balance?」。
唔好以為 deposit 一定等於有錢免費退返。有啲 deposit 可以退返，但有啲就唔退得。
實用範文段落
我預訂呢項服務嘅時候畀咗五十蚊 deposit，而 receipt 寫住個 deposit 喺星期一之前都可以退返。今日我收到最終嘅帳單，但有一項 charge 我唔明白。subtotal 係二百蚊，仲有一項二十蚊嘅 service fee，但個 deposit 似乎冇被扣去 remaining balance。可唔可以幫我查清楚個 deposit 有冇計算在內？如果 balance 係啱嘅，請用電郵寄一張更新後嘅 receipt 畀我留底。
有力嘅付款描述都好具體。要講明 charge 或者 fee、提到金額，並解釋你本來預期係點。「This is wrong」 通常只會引嚟更多問題；「The receipt shows a deposit, but the final balance does not include it」 就畀到對方所需嘅細節。