Are we not speaking the same language?

A customer service representative, speaking to a well educated person, recently had this conversation. (readers digest condensed version provided below)
 
Customer: Can I return this and get my money back?
Representative: No

(6 months later)

Customer: I just got my new statement that says I owe for this thing but I didn't pay for it, can you help me?
Representative: Sure. (after some investigation) Okay so I see you asked for a credit and were denied but then you still didn't pay for the item; therefore the amount is still owing.


Customer: Okay. Can you have it cleared from my statement then? We didn't pay because we wanted a credit.
Representative: No, I can't clear it from your statement because the credit was not approved. You should have paid for the item.


Customer: Okay. So, do I just ignore it then?
Representative: No, you pay for it.


(silence)