Visa debit card "declined" but money taken from account!??

anxiousspender · 16 April 2018 at 11:48AM

Good morning i have an issue and need some advice hopefully there some bank account/visa debit card experts here?

On friday 13th i went as usual to buy my weekly bus ticket on the First Bus M-tickets app ( i have never had this problem before) but when i clicked checkout i selected my card and instantly the screen came back with "transaction declined", i thought this is strange because i had the money in account ready. I left it half an hour confused to try again but before i did i went to check my banking app to check my balance and low and behold the £20 for the bus ticket had been deducted form my balance. I went to check if my bus ticket had turned up in the app but it hadnt and the history said "transaction declined".
I phoned the bus company and was told they have no record of recieving my money and refused to issue my ticket on the grounds it says on their screens "transaction declined"

Ok sorry for that i just wanted to make the story clear for guidance. I have checked today (still no bus ticket or money back in my account). I am worried my money has disappeared into thin air, i have debt management plans to pay and i am on benefits so £20 going "missing" is quite a big deal at the moment....

What do i do will the money be returned to me? Is their financial laws that state money must be returned in ??days.
Thank you i hope someone can advise this has really stressed me out

eskbanker · 16 April 2018 at 11:55AM

If the money has been deducted from your actual balance (i.e. a statement entry showing a transaction) then you'll need to file a chargeback with your bank.

However, if it's just been deducted from your available balance (i.e. available funds reduced by £20 but not shown on statement of transactions) then that signifies an authorisation hold that'll drop off by itself within a few days.

anxiousspender · 16 April 2018 at 12:04PM

Oh! Ok that sounds right (i think lol) At the monent my banking says it is just off the available balance. Although im unsure whether or not the bank has updated my transactions yet. I think what i will do is leave it one more day if by tomorrow nothing has changed or it appears on my statement as a transaction do i phone the bank and as for the money back? is this a difficult process? Ive never had to do this before. Im with HSBC btw.

eskbanker · 16 April 2018 at 12:25PM

If it appears as an actual transaction then phone HSBC to dispute it.

If it doesn't appear as an actual transaction then it will resolve itself within a few days with no further action needed - theoretically you could pursue this with the bank and/or the bus company but chances are that they'll both shrug their shoulders and refer you to the other, claiming not to be able to override systems and do anything, so the path of least resistance is just to let it take its course....

anxiousspender · 16 April 2018 at 12:29PM

Ok brilliant thank you for giving me some straight advice. You are right ive already been passed back bus company > bank > bus company, Ok ill heed your advice and wait to see tomorrow when my transactions for friday / weekend update. Ill let you know how it went if i do need to phone the bank, cheers mate.

jonesMUFCforever · 16 April 2018 at 1:45PM

Not sure if Arriva buses are part of the same group or use the same payment method but there was a Facebook message this morning to say they were having problems with online/app ticketing.

anxiousspender · 18 April 2018 at 1:03PM

Well its now wednesday and the payment i got "declined" on friday 13th hasnt shown on my recent transactions at all, but the £20 is still missing from my available balance, do i leave it longer? its been 5 days...

The company is now refusing to answer my calls and emails.

System · 18 April 2018 at 3:15PM

anxiousspender wrote: »

Well its now wednesday and the payment i got "declined" on friday 13th hasnt shown on my recent transactions at all, but the £20 is still missing from my available balance, do i leave it longer? its been 5 days...

The company is now refusing to answer my calls and emails.

A full working week, at least.
I'd say Friday or Saturday at the earliest.

Shakin_Steve · 18 April 2018 at 4:42PM

In the past, I've been told to wait seven working days. If the first day is on a Friday, this can work out at 11 days. But, I would imagine, if the money was going to be deducted from your balance, it would have gone by now.

anxiousspender · 18 April 2018 at 5:13PM

OK this thread can be closed now HSBC text me to say they recovered the money. I phoned to check my balance and the £20 is back in now. I even got an apology from first buses and a 50% coupon off my next weekly ticket. So all worked out thank fk that's over. Thanks for your help guys !!!9786;

eskbanker · 18 April 2018 at 6:01PM

anxiousspender wrote: »

OK this thread can be closed now HSBC text me to say they recovered the money. I phoned to check my balance and the £20 is back in now. I even got an apology from first buses and a 50% coupon off my next weekly ticket. So all worked out thank fk that's over. Thanks for your help guys !!!9786;

Just in case the mechanism still isn't clear, the money never actually went anywhere as such - First would have effectively reserved it but without actually taking it, which is why your actual balance was unaffected, even though your available balance reflected the fact that it wasn't available to you because of the reservation, which has now been cancelled.

Visa debit card "declined" but money taken from account!??

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