Red Spotted Hanky charging me twice

[knight2004]

Hi all
i booked some tickets via Red spotted hankey, they have charged me twice even though i only had 1 reference number. I have heard they have done this to others. Can anyone please direct me to their customer service, or help me out here otherwise i'm reporting it to my bank as wrongful debit. I think fraud might be a wrong term, to use i suppose although i am sure some would classify it as this. I'm actually very angry as i had never used them before and i won't be using them in the future as we all have enough money worries throughout January.I am really quite annoyed as it was quite a big payment. can anyone help me here?
Thanks

 

[trentside]

Their contact details are here;

http://www.redspottedhanky.com/contact-us/contact-us-about-booking/

The telephone number is freephone.

Hope you get this matter resolved.

 

[DaveNewcastle]

Could you just clarify a few things?

How did you make payment (Debit Card, Credit Card etc?)
[Do you have any evidence of Fraud or of an Error?]
Are these tickets for travel in the far enough future for an error to be corrected without disrupting your plans?
How have you chosen to have the tickets delivered to you?

Thanks

 

[knight2004]

Thanks for that
it was debit card its been done twice on both occasions (for separate journeys when i travelled in December. I know its a bit late but i've had this trouble before where people charge twice its their bad not mine and has thererfore screwed me over. I think i'm going to stop buying from certain sites in the future. i think London Midland and x country a re the only ones i can trust. Mt bank statement showed me this today i was not impressed after having which wasn't too bad a Monday

 

[AlterEgo]

This is very common. The second charge will drop into your account within a few days once the software can see there is no booking to assign the money to.

It is not fraud, it is a simple mistake in an automated system.

Telephone RSH and discuss it with them politely. Don't mention fraud as this is churlish. I am sure they will give you the same response as I have done.

Incidentally, while this may be common, I'm not sure if the double charging error is a result of a mistake made by the retailer or the bank. Maybe someone like island can shed some more light?

 

[knight2004]

well no i wont mention it im hoping its just a small error but doesn't make them look good
i'll go back to using LM and xc to get back to Manchester when i book trains i enjoy the route and the change and i get loads of work done too and the change at staffords nice

 

[OwlMan]

This is very common. The second charge will drop into your account within a few days once the software can see there is no booking to assign the money to.

It is not fraud, it is a simple mistake in an automated system.

Telephone RSH and discuss it with them politely. Don't mention fraud as this is churlish. I am sure they will give you the same response as I have done.

Incidentally, while this may be common, I'm not sure if the double charging error is a result of a mistake made by the retailer or the bank. Maybe someone like island can shed some more light?

It is an error matching up actual transactions with authorised transactions in the software at the payment authorising centre. Any unmatched authorised transaction left will disappear after 3-4 working days and will not be debited to your account.


Peter

 

[AlterEgo]

It is an error matching up actual transactions with authorised transactions in the software at the payment authorising centre. Any unmatched authorised transaction left will disappear after 3-4 working days and will not be debited to your account.


Peter

Thanks for that, that's quite useful to know. So this isn't the fault of the retailer in requesting more than one authorisation?

 

[OwlMan]

Thanks for that, that's quite useful to know. So this isn't the fault of the retailer in requesting more than one authorisation?

No usually only one authorisation is obtained; for some reason the software does not match up the actual debit to the authorisation so that it appears that it is being debited twice, however the unmatched authorisation is automatically dropped when not matched after pprox 3 days.

Peter

 

[TukayAway]

Thanks for that, that's quite useful to know. So this isn't the fault of the retailer in requesting more than one authorisation?

Could also be your fault if you've double clicked the submit payment button or hit refresh during the payment process!

I work in a bank and see this often. In the unlikely event that it does show on your statement twice, it's a simple phone call to get a refund.

 

[yorkie]

I will change the title as it will surely be a mistake!

Thetrainline did this to me once (using Scotrail's booking engine), Thetrainline were most unhelpful so I phoned my bank and explained and the money was back in my account within hardly any time (24 hours maybe?) with no hassle whatsoever. Obviously I cannot guarantee the same results for you (you may be with a different bank and this was a while ago!).

 

[LexyBoy]

well no i wont mention it im hoping its just a small error but doesn't make them look good
i'll go back to using LM and xc to get back to Manchester when i book trains i enjoy the route and the change and i get loads of work done too and the change at staffords nice

You can buy tickets for any journey in the uk on either of there sites (or any other TOC website), not just for their own services. Excepting special offers, the prices will be the same on all sites (and the same as at stations).

 

[island]

I can't add anything to OwlMan's post except to ask the OP if this happened very recently? Some online banking systems will show a pending transaction as though it were completed and settled, but it should drop off within a week. If you need the funds more quickly, contact your bank.

 

[snail]

I know its a bit late but i've had this trouble before where people charge twice its their bad not mine and has thererfore screwed me over. I think i'm going to stop buying from certain sites in the future.

That last sentence makes me think it's the bank, not the retailer. If it was really common there would be loads of complaints on here, and that's not happening. You should ask your bank if they can tell you why it is happening.

I can't recall ever being billed twice for a rail ticket by anyone, and I have used a variety of cards with different TOCs.