S.Past-P.Perfect

Question

Which of these two sentences is correct??

Dear Colleagues,

Please confirm that the O.F. fee for this shipment was charged correctly?

Please confirm that the O.F. fee for this shipment has been charged correctly?

Thanks for your help.

Clive · Accepted Answer

Hi,

Both are correct, and in this context there is not much difference at all.

However, neither is a question, so don't use the question marks.

Clive

Terryxpress · Answer

Both are grammatically correct, but there is a slight difference in their meaning. "Was charged" places the charging of the fee as something in the past that is over, whilst "has been charged" implies something is ongoing.
Say I have been billed, and have settled the account, and at some later date, say I get another invoice for some similar item and the shipping charge is lower, which raises a doubt in my mind as to whether the charge for the previous item was correct. I would then ask, "Was I charged the correct amount?"
But say I have received an invoice, and I think the charge for shipping is incorrect. Before paying the bill, i would ask, "have I been charged correctly" because the process of ordering, being sent the goods and invoice, and my sending of the payment is still an ongoing process.
Hope this helps.

CalifJim · Answer

I prefer the second, though both are correct.

CJ

Karpatos84 · Answer

Thank you very very much for your answers!

S.Past-P.Perfect

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