Double charged by Tesco

lyndseyb_3

Hi there,

I haven't posted very often but use this site regularly so apologies if this query is in the wrong place. I'm looking for some advice on how bes to deal with a problem I have with Tesco's.

Last week I did my usual shop and paid by debit card (Electron) as normal. The cashier said the card had been declined and asked if I had another card to pay on. I didn't (I'm on a DMP so no credit) but I knew the money was available as I'd just checked my balance. I offered to go and get the cash but instead he put it through again and asked me to re-enter my PIN, which I did. Two days later I discovered that my bank had authorised both payments, leaving me £90 short. My bank are blaming Tesco's, saying that it was Tesco's system who declined it but that it would be refunded by Tesco into my account within a few days. As yet, the transactions are not showing on my online banking (it's a Co-op basic bank account so very slow) but they are on telephone bankingand at the cashpoint. Losing this money spoiled my weekend as I couldn't go out for my wedding anniversary and this was to be our last night out as I'm 7 months pregnant. I want to complain to Tesco's but I'm waiting for the statement to come through/online banking to update as I can't prove what has happened.

Any ideas if I should complain to the store/head office/customer services? Thanks for reading.

ampersand

lyndseyb, - you're online still I'm glad to see.

Don't wait, but phone this no. at once - H.O. Freephone 0800-505555.

State that you have a serious complaint and need to speak with a customer service manager.

Have your post ready so that you can put your case clearly and courteously without becoming flustered.

Regardless of how this call goes, back it up with an email to Mr T's CEO, Sir Terry Leahy:

[EMAIL="terry.leahy@uk.tesco.com"]terry.leahy@uk.tesco.com[/EMAIL]

Emphasis this point especially:
Losing this money spoiled my weekend as I couldn't go out for my wedding anniversary and this was to be our last night out as I'm 7 months pregnant.

Let us know how you get on and come back if you need further help.

Happi

This has happened to me numerous times in asda on self serve tills, i phone my bank and they credit me back instantly.

lyndseyb_3

Thanks ampersand, I tried customer services and they are calling it a ghost transaction where the money is sitting in a holding account and hasn't been credited to Tesco. I have emailed Terry Leahy and customer services are calling me back to check on the transaction tomorrow so hopefully it will have been refunded.

Depending upon what customer services have to say, I might follow it up with a letter to the store manager as well.

savemeplease_2

Let us know what happens Lyndseyb. I think sometimes companies think that it's just an amount of money, but actually the absence of that money at a certain time can have consequences well beyond the value of a few pounds

chalkysoil

savemeplease wrote: »

Let us know what happens Lyndseyb. I think sometimes companies think that it's just an amount of money, but actually the absence of that money at a certain time can have consequences well beyond the value of a few pounds

Exactly so, well said. Not to mention the waste of time and upset caused.

sunnyD-89

lyndseyb wrote: »

Thanks ampersand, I tried customer services and they are calling it a ghost transaction where the money is sitting in a holding account and hasn't been credited to Tesco. I have emailed Terry Leahy and customer services are calling me back to check on the transaction tomorrow so hopefully it will have been refunded.

Depending upon what customer services have to say, I might follow it up with a letter to the store manager as well.

this is true and can happen for a few reasons. but it normally goes back on within 2 days, as tesco don't claim the money.

most often, this happens if you enter your pin on the pin pad, press enter, and then remove the card before the transaction goes through.

hope this helps

sgolfguy

This happened to me today! Spend £100 on Amazon, had £100 left in my account, went to withdraw some cash ' Transaction declined' exsqueeze me?!. Phoned up Natwest, 'oh it's the bank you tried, try another', tried 4 and same every time. Spoke to Natwest Fraud, they said they can't see any reason why it's happened. Spoke to customer service at Natwest again, they said that the cause was 'ghost transactions' and Amazon had charged me twice and it would take 24 hours to sort out.

The exact same thing happened to me earlier in the year. Maybe they do this regularly to float the extra revenue and make themselves some profit, wouldn't put it past them. If I incur any charges at the bank, then Amazon shall be footing the bill

sgolfguy

sunnyD-89 wrote: »

this is true and can happen for a few reasons. but it normally goes back on within 2 days, as tesco don't claim the money.

most often, this happens if you enter your pin on the pin pad, press enter, and then remove the card before the transaction goes through.

hope this helps

Interesting, could this also happen online?, ie put a transaction through and close the window instead of pressing continue or something like that

lisa701

Had nothing but problems with Tesco and my Electron card. Some days they accept it, other days the refuse. When I opened the account Co-operative told me it was a proper Visa debit and not an electron card, they had apparently moved away from them. Sadly this is not true which I found out when I tried to pay for a tank of petrol in the Tesco in Stirling!

Fortunately, I did still have my old visa debit card for my old bank account and I was able to use that. Called the bank and who said they received numerous complaints about problems paying in Tesco. I now try to withdraw cash and use that instead. Not my prefered way of working but at least I don't get the embarrasing refusal at the cash desk or have transactions go through more than once.

stebiz

lisa701 wrote: »

Had nothing but problems with Tesco and my Electron card. Some days they accept it, other days the refuse. When I opened the account Co-operative told me it was a proper Visa debit and not an electron card, they had apparently moved away from them. Sadly this is not true which I found out when I tried to pay for a tank of petrol in the Tesco in Stirling!

Fortunately, I did still have my old visa debit card for my old bank account and I was able to use that. Called the bank and who said they received numerous complaints about problems paying in Tesco. I now try to withdraw cash and use that instead. Not my prefered way of working but at least I don't get the embarrasing refusal at the cash desk or have transactions go through more than once.

Hi,

This just isn't with Electron. I was in Tesco the day before yesterday, and yet again (not the first time) my Visa card was refused. She tried it twice. I had to use another card. Five minutes later in Smyths toy store, no problem at all.

I'm now left in the bizarre situation that I ask to borrow my wifes card, just in case the other card doesn't work.

I rang the bank, and they said that some of Tesco's terminals are way out of date, and that they only work if overridden by the staff, and no pin put in.

Steve