Duplicate Transaction, what do I do?
Dealing with a customer being double charged for a single transaction can be tricky as 9 times out of 10, a double transaction often results in a chargeback which results in consequences for the company.
What is a duplicate transaction?
A duplicate transaction is when a customer is charged twice for a single purchase. For example, if a customer gets their hair cut for £75 and they later receive two transactions of £75 from the same merchants taken from their bank account. This is often a simple mistake but can be frustrating for customers as it looks like they have been defrauded or taken advantage of.
How to deal with a duplicate transaction?
When dealing with a duplicate transaction its always important to try and resolve the issue with the cardholder first. Try and figure out how this problem has occurred and provide evidence of any bank statements showing that this duplicate transaction was not intentional and is simply a mistake on either banks side. The merchant should always request proof from the cardholder to ensure they are being legit rather than trying to scam money out of the company. Advise the customer on further actions to take or else they may go straight to their issuing bank and raise a chargeback. Chargebacks result in consequences on the merchant as they are charged the transaction value and a £25 fee.
Although it’s a possibility that the customer may issue a chargeback regardless of the merchants efforts made to resolve this problem, because of the actions taken the merchant may have enough evidence of trying to resolve the matter, and the chargeback fee may be waived.