The crazy case of Asda charging twice for one online order
Yes, you heard that right. As Watchdog uncovered, some online shoppers are getting a nasty shock after their Asda order arrives and funds in their account mysteriously plummet. Will it stop you shopping online?
I thought I’d heard about every problem you can encounter with online shopping. You’ve told us about crazy substitutions, deliveries thrown over hedges and special offers that turn up at full price.
However, it turns out there are still some problems that are news to me.
How would you feel if you had to have double the amount of money of your online shopping order in your bank account, for example? Believe it or not, this peculiar shopping quirk is something you may uncover if you shop at Asda online.
Does online mean double trouble?
Watchdog interviewed an Asda customer who had to deal with just this. She ordered and they took the money when the shopping was delivered. So far so normal. However, her card was then declined nine days later despite the fact she’d had sufficient money to pay for the order.
So what happened? Well Asda asks your bank to hold the amount for the estimated bill, before charging you for the actual cost when the shopping arrives. If the cost is different than the estimate (due to substitutions) Asda takes the money but some banks still keep the exact amount ring-fenced.
So you effectively need to be able to pay twice, even though the money only leaves your account once. Your bank can hold this amount for up to 10 days. In the meantime, you may have direct debits coming out that could bounce and rack up bank charges. Great.
Asda responds…
So what has Asda got to say about this sorry state of affairs? Here’s its response:
‘This issue is an unfortunate result of how debit card payments are processed for our online deliveries. If people pay on their debit card, their bank is often asked to ‘ring-fence’ the estimated funds in their account until their purchases are delivered and the actual money owed can be drawn down from their account. […] Unfortunately, there isn’t a standard process for banks when it comes to releasing ring-fenced funds. We are keen to work with the banks see how this process could be improved and are working to find ways to minimise this issue for our online customers.’
Well, it’s good to hear its ‘working’ on this issue, but what about people unexpectedly being double-charged in the meantime?
What’s the most unexpected thing that’s happened to you when shopping online? Are you a devotee or do you think it’s more hassle that it’s worth, and do stories like this put you off?
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Angela
The same thing happened to me several months ago and I too was left with no money. I took it up with both Asda and my building society but neither were willing to help. Its a disgrace considering the amount of money this company makes. It took ten long days to clear back into my account. An apology would have been nice.
tara quinn
this happens me every time i shop with asda unless I use mysupermarket and then today I needed to send money to my son only to find asda had done it again my bank account is now 70 pounds overdrawn
Jacky
This happened to me three times. I have been shopping online for three years and it only started happening in October this year one time i had my card refuesed becouse there wasent any money in my account i know there should be money in i rang asda they told me it was my bank fault i rang my bank and so it went on for three lots off shoping then i got my phone bill and all the calls to my bank cost me over £10 i have stoped shoping on line.
pubs
Wonderful issues altogether, you simply received a emblem new reader. What could you suggest about your submit that you simply made some days in the past? Any positive?
mrs smyth
The same thing happened to me last week and my bank nationwide will not help as i didnt have enough money to pay a direct debit. Emailed asda 4 times and now they have stopped emailing me back. A lady from asda phoned today and said we dont have money to pay charges for your back, my reply was you were quite willing to hold on to my money when it wasnt yours in the first place!!!
time to go back to tesco i think lol
Mich
This happened tome yesterday….. A week before Xmas and was not for online order but in the store!
Rae Dodkins Rudge
This happened to me. Asda told me they had known about it for over a year. Clearly nothing being done. I have stopped using them. No other online supermarket has problems ….why Asda?
Mia
This happened to me last Wedneday when I’d shopped in store not on-line. My card had initially been declined, despite there being enough cash in my account. They put a hold on £94.17 twice. This left me with 0.3 pence available funds, not a comfortable place to be. One amount left my account the next day, the other Asda acknowledged was a mistake. There followed 6 days of being given the run around and basically told it wasn’t Asda’s problem. It was apparently between my bank and Streamline. I’d never heard the name before, it’s apparently the company that handles Asda’s card transactions. Through my persistance I believe I was eventually given a refund, but hell will freeze over before I go into that store again.
Patrick Steen
We’ve actually just posted a new Conversation about this continuing saga: http://conversation.which.co.uk/energy-home/asda-charged-twice-online-shopping-order-bank-account/
BARBARA WALKER
I placed an online shop with Asda on the 15th feb.I decided to ammend the order to add some extra items later in the day .I was charged for the post ammended shopping which was paid with my debit card.FINE.NO Asda decided to keep on hold the original pre ammended order amount.When I tried to withdraw money from my bank account on the 18th feb there was money in my account but it was on hold .I had to borrow money from a friend as I am on limited income.Even my bank were unaware why this was on hold until I mentioned Asda.It has caused me a lot of stress and upset.
Rae Dodkins Rudge
So Asda are clearly doing nothing to rectify the situation.
AMc
Another tale of woe invloving ASDA. Same thing has happen with us, in paying for shopping twice. One amount of £110 is sitting in the banks “pending” transactions as ASDA’s system ring-fences funds before the shopping is actually put through the till. What is quite amazing is the attitude of the call centre operators – they obviously know about the system problem – however, there is no acknowledgement or apology for leaving customers without funds. The bank is telling me that if ASDA send a fax to the bank they will release the pending amount back to the account, however ASDA say they cannot do this (or can’t be bothered).If not, we have to wait 15 days to get the money back. Certainly won’t be shopping at ASDA again.
Pablo Cisco
Fed up with Asda this as happened three times to my wife and my self,not on line but instore at Stafford branch.The last time I ever shop at Asda fist Time £200.56 second £236.90 and today £112.54 bank says not their fault Asda say not theirs TELL ME WHOS fault is it Ide like to know.
Lucy
I made an order with Asda over a week ago. It totalled £179. I checked my account, they had debited the actual cost of my shoppinh (152.something) on the day I made the order (as they have done when i have ordered in the past) the day of the order. However around 2pm the following day an additional £149 came out of my account so I called my bank and over a 24 hour period asda took £152.38 £4.28 £12.69 £0.01 and £149.36. These amount are not in holding as my bank does not show up amounts in holding on bank statements (I know this because a hotel I stayed at runs a policy where they take a certain amount into holding then take a payment for the actual amount and the money in holding is released 3-10 days later, the amounts in holding never showed up on my statement) So I called Asda the first woman said i was lying and that it had to be in holding and i would need to obtain some kind of fax and reference number to prove what i was saying so I called back the bank who said because the money was not in holding I was therefore unable to get the things Asda asked for because the payment had gone out to asda, and they were therefore unable to recall it. So I called back Asda who said they would get someone to call me back… no one has. Because of this I missed a direct debit payment and got charged for it and now my annual subscription is cancelled so is there anything i could do?