Duplicate and Incorrect Charges
Charged twice, charged the wrong amount, or charged in the wrong currency at a rate you never agreed.
Statement
Usually the only evidence needed
Fastest
Typical resolution among our claim types
Often DIY
We will say when you do not need us
What this service is, and what it is not
Processing errors are common and rarely deliberate, which is why they are usually resolved quickly once someone actually looks. The categories are straightforward: the same transaction taken twice, an amount different from the one you agreed, a currency conversion applied without your consent, a pre-authorisation that was never released, or a charge that appeared after you cancelled at the point of sale.
Dynamic currency conversion deserves a specific mention. When a foreign merchant offers to charge you in sterling, they set the exchange rate, usually poorly. Under the Payment Services Regulations you must be told the rate and the margin before you agree, and the choice must genuinely be yours. Where a terminal converted without offering the choice, the difference is recoverable.
Hotel and car hire pre-authorisations are the other frequent culprit. A held amount that is never released can sit against your available balance for weeks. That is not a payment and it should not persist; where it does, your card provider can clear it.
These claims are usually well within most people's ability to raise directly, and we say so. Where they are worth bringing to us is when several have accumulated, when the merchant disputes an obvious duplicate, or when the amounts are large enough that the fee is worth paying for someone else to deal with it.
Business challenges this addresses
The merchant insists both charges were genuine
Two identical amounts seconds apart are rarely two purchases. The merchant must evidence two separate transactions, and usually cannot.
Pre-authorisations that never release
Held funds should be released within days. Providers often treat this as the merchant's problem when the scheme rules put a limit on it.
Currency conversion you never chose
Where the terminal converted without offering a choice, or without disclosing the margin, the difference is recoverable.
Tips and service charges added afterwards
An amount altered after you authorised it is not what you agreed to. The authorised amount is the one that binds.
How we deliver it
Every stage has a named owner on our side and a defined output. You always know what is happening and what comes next.
Typical duration: Most cases resolve in 4–8 weeks
-
Free assessment
Send the statement entries. Most of these we can assess from the statement alone, and we will tell you straight away if you should just call your bank.
-
Reconcile
We match every disputed entry against your receipts and confirmations and identify precisely what went wrong.
-
Claim
Chargeback under the correct reason code, processing error, incorrect amount or unauthorised currency conversion each have their own.
-
Merchant response
If the merchant contests it, we reply with the reconciliation evidence within the representment window.
-
Outcome
Refund credited to your card, with escalation to the Ombudsman if the provider gets it wrong.
What you receive
- A reconciliation of every disputed entry against your receipts
- Submission under the correct reason code for each type of error
- A response to the merchant's defence where they contest it
- Release of stale pre-authorisations
- Ombudsman referral where a provider wrongly refuses
- An honest steer towards doing it yourself where that is cheaper for you
What changes afterwards
The evidence is already on your statement
These are the most provable claims we handle, which usually makes them the fastest.
Several errors claimed together
Accumulated errors across a period are worth handling in one submission rather than one call at a time.
Currency margins recovered
Undisclosed conversion margins on large transactions are worth more than most people expect.
Frequently asked
For a single obvious duplicate, yes, it is free and usually sorted in days. We are worth involving when it has been refused, when several have built up, or when the sum is large.
Usually a few days, and scheme rules limit how long a hold can stand. If it has been weeks, your provider can clear it without waiting for the merchant.
Possibly. The question is whether the rate and margin were disclosed and whether you were genuinely offered the choice. If the terminal decided for you, that is different from you choosing.
An amount altered after authorisation is claimable. The figure you signed for is the one that binds.
Services that pair with this one
Unauthorised Card Transactions
Payments you did not make and did not approve. The law puts the burden on your bank to prove otherwise, and most people do…
Subscription Traps and Recurring Payments
Free trials that quietly became paid plans, cancellations the company says it never received, and payments that keep coming after you cancelled.
Goods Not Received
You paid, the order never arrived, and the seller has stopped replying. Your card provider can reverse the payment.