Failed online transaction Mastercard

Scotbot

I tried to book a holiday on line but when I hit confirm payment I got an error message.So I checked my credit card online and saw that the transaction had gone through and was listed as pending. I received no confirmation from the travel company so rang them and they said the transaction failed because the trip was full. But they took my money!!! They said the payment would not clear. But meanwhile my balance is reduced by £2000 so I can't book another holiday
So I rang my credit card company to cancel the transaction and they said they can't cancel it and I have to contact the travel company.... Emailed them and got a standard reply saying they would reply within 3 days
Anyone know how long it will take for me to get the money back? Is there anything else I can do?

[Deleted User]

The pending transaction will get released but it could take 10 days

POPPYOSCAR

I have had this before and I think it is so wrong.

Mine was only a small amount and it did not affect me but for someone on a tight budget it could be a real problem.

Scotbot

Indeed I am now stuck as I have low credit limit due to limited credit history. (I lived overseas for a while) It drives me nuts as I have the cash in a savings account but I can't spend it unless I use my debit card which I don't want to do in case the transaction goes wrong again.

I can't even "pay off " the transaction as it is pending so my balance is zero

[Deleted User]

The credit card isn't "your money" so it can be withheld for as long as needed.

Unless you need S.75 protection (which doesn't usually apply for a holiday booking - you need Travel Insurance) then just use your debit card

Scotbot

!!! wrote: »

The credit card isn't "your money" so it can be withheld for as long as needed.

Unless you need S.75 protection (which doesn't usually apply for a holiday booking - you need Travel Insurance) then just use your debit card

Yeah I know it's not my money what bugs me is I can't get credit when I have a high level of savings, a point covered in other threads
But back to credit card vs debit card surely I am better off using the CC as in this instance I should get the money back, I just have to wait. If I had paid by debit card the money would have gone straight through and I would have to rely on a refund from the travel company and would not be able to dispute it if they didn't pay up. I thought CC payments were safer, am I missing something?

[Deleted User]

Scotbot wrote: »

Yeah I know it's not my money what bugs me is I can't get credit when I have a high level of savings, a point covered in other threads
But back to credit card vs debit card surely I am better off using the CC as in this instance I should get the money back, I just have to wait. If I had paid by debit card the money would have gone straight through and I would have to rely on a refund from the travel company and would not be able to dispute it if they didn't pay up. I thought CC payments were safer, am I missing something?

They're no different or "safer" than a DC purchase.

And savings aren't taken into account for credit loaning since they play no part in it.
It's all down to credit history and management of credit accounts.

boo_star

Scotbot wrote: »

If I had paid by debit card the money would have gone straight through and I would have to rely on a refund from the travel company and would not be able to dispute it if they didn't pay up.

No, if you'd have used a debit card the exact same thing would have happened.

It's the travel company that need to release their funds but in my experience companies usually deny they can cancel the authorisation and people invariably just have to wait for it to drop off.

Terry_Towelling

In theory there is no reason whatsoever why the travel company cannot process an Authorisation Reversal immediately to restore your available credit. In practice, however, their staff may not know how to do this and their systems may not have been designed with this functionality in mind.

On the basis that you are 100% certain that no transaction will actually be processed by the company (are you?) you could ask your card company for a temporary credit limit increase to allow you to spend elsewhere. They may refuse, but no harm in asking.

I hope that no transaction is processed because things might get messy.

On the subject of credit cards vs debit cards, there is nothing to choose between the two from a Chargeback protection perspective. However, paying with a credit card can (in some instances) proffer extra protection in the form of S75 cover should a supplier breach their contract with you or misrepresent something. This is not a straightforward issue to cover (especially in the travel environment) and I won't even attempt to do so here.

An added advantage of using a credit card is that you may also be covered for consequential losses incurred as a result of a breach of contract and any charges processed are set against a line of credit rather than being debited from your actual bank account.

None of these things should ever be considered as a replacement for travel insurance.

Scotbot

This morning the transaction is still pending but my balance is back up to where it was before so I guess it is in process. Thanks for the explanation of CC vs DC.

garth549

It sounds like a bug in their website software failed to cancel the authorization when the booking failed and you received the error. It will cancel automatically after a few days but there should be no reason they can't do this manually sooner.