Charges twice for one item

[jackburton]

Hi all,

 

I went into Argos on Friday and made a purchase for £69.99.

 

As it takes 3 working days for the transaction to appear on my online statement I noticed this morning that Argos has 2 transaction for £69.99.

 

On phoning the Halifax they confirmed that the 2 transactions were made using the same authorisation code and have informed me I need to go into Argos to get them to refund one of them.

 

Surely this is the banks fault as my receipt said I only authorise £69.99.

 

How should I proceed, do as Halifax has asked or call the bank up again and demand they sort it out?

 

Thanks...

Edited October 28, 2008 by jackburton
Corrected spelling error in title

[Michael Browne]

The fault lies with Argos. Take your reciept and print out of your statement and demand they refund the erroneous transaction, plus any charges you may have incurred because of their mistake. Take a letter at the same time addressed to the manager so that if the refund is refused you have something in writing.

[jackburton]

Went into Argos to check it out, apparently a common problem with purchases made on the 24th October.

 

Similar thread here http://www.digitalspy.co.uk/forums/showthread.php?t=921846

Refunds should be through in the next few days..

[Mammyblu]

I purchased a £300 TV on Friday 24th and so have been charged £600!! It has made me really overdrawn and has still not been refunded into my account.

I called the Halifax on Wednesday when I realised as did JackBurton above and they gave me the authorisation code too. I rang Argos and they don't know who told me that but they were dealing with them on a one by one basis and could not rush any through. They said we're sorry but it should be back in your bank within five working days from Monday - so Friday (tomorrow).

If it is not there tomorrow, I will be taking my receipt and statement to the store based on Michael Brownes advice above.

[davethorp]

If you incur any charges and/or interest as a result of being overdrawn, personally I would hold Argos liable for that also

[Mammyblu]

Just to update, the money was back in my bank this morning as promised. Will have to wait and see if I've incurred any charges as a result of being overdrawn.

[cyclist]

This is exactly what happened to me as well. £45 on 24/10/08. Money refunded to my account 2 days later, Lloyds TSB have charged me penalty charges in between however.

Will be going to LTSB first thing on Monday morning.

 

How can this sort of error occur?

 

Was Argos hacked, or is it a bank error?

 

I'm suspicious.

[pompeyfaith]

Also makes you wonder how much in interest has argos gained though this error.

 

Regards

 

Leon

[Esio Trot]

This is exactly what happened to me as well. £45 on 24/10/08. Money refunded to my account 2 days later, Lloyds TSB have charged me penalty charges in between however.

Will be going to LTSB first thing on Monday morning.

 

How can this sort of error occur?

 

Was Argos hacked, or is it a bank error?

 

I'm suspicious.

 

There is a big principle that nobody has mentioned yet. It was the first thing I said to my wife when it happened to her (after she had phoned the help line and was told it was a "computer glitch" and the money would be refunded within a day or so).

 

My wife's purchased was made using chip and pin, and the receipt has an authorisation code in response to the pin being entered successfully, and the bank having agreed to the deduction (it will be declined if there are no funds - it happened to me when my company paid me a day late).

 

The system is supposed to be secure. If so, how on earth did the company manage to circumvent the security of the transaction by creating a duplicate transaction that repeated both the successful input of a pin and the negotiation with the paying bank that there were sufficient funds?

 

To me this has shown a gaping hole in the so-called security of chip and pin. There needs to be an explanation of how this has occurred and the steps taken to resolve this vulnerability.

 

Am I the only one that thinks this?

[cyclist]

Excellent point Esio Trot - going down Lloyds to grill them this morning. Will post back later.

[cyclist]

Well the lady at Lloyds TSB was very helpful.

 

LTSB are aware of this problem.

 

It is Argos who have cocked up and duplicated an unknown number of card transactions from this one day.

 

I asked for a new debit card to be issued, but was told this was not necessary as there had been no fraud.

 

I suggested that this sort of error was impossible to make as each "chip and pin" transaction required my pin number, and authorisation from the bank, and she said that,

"chip and pin transactions do not require authorisation if they are below the floor limit of the shop you are in"

Well whats the point then!!

 

I did not receieve any apology for my inconvenience.

 

The whole thing seems pretty unsatisfactory to me, I've knocked up an angry letter to Argos, details below, but I'm not optimistic about any meaningful response.

 

I guess I should be grateful that LTSB have been voted "the most trusted bank for the eighth year in a row"!!!

 

Dear Sir / Madam,

 

On the 24 October 2008 I purchased a xxxxxx and a xxxxx using my Lloyds TSB Visa Debit card, from your xxxxx store which I had earlier reserved online. The purchase was authenticated by the “chip and pin” method. Reservation number xxxxx.

 

The total amount for these items was £45

 

On the 30 October 2008 I received a letter from LTSB stating that my account was overdrawn and I would be charged an unplanned overdraft fee, and a daily penalty fee for as long as my account stayed overdrawn.

 

I was very surprised at this letter. I always know exactly how much money is available in any of my bank accounts. Upon investigation I discovered that your company had charged me twice for the same purchase, which resulted in the aforementioned penalty charges being levied by my bank. This excess purchase fee was refunded to my account on the 30 October 2008.

 

This would seem to be a serious flaw in your stores security procedures, and with the “chip and pin” system in general.

 

How can you obtain authorisation for the same purchase twice, without my pin being entered a second time?

 

Can you tell me what you intend to do about the penalty charges I have incurred from my bank as a result of your fraudulent behaviour?

 

Can you explain why I should trust your company to keep my personal financial details secure in the future?

 

Can you explain what measure you intend to put in place to prevent this happening in the future?

 

I look forward to your written at the earliest opportunity.

 

Please be aware however that I reserve the right to take any legal action under English law that I deem appropriate to recover any losses incurred by myself as a result of your fraudulent actions.

 

Yours Sincerely

Edited November 3, 2008 by cyclist
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