If you own a credit card you may have experiencede being charged twice for the same transaction at some point. This is often known as a double charge. Mostly this is an accident, and it is far less common than it used to be but when it does happen a card holder is within their rights to get it reversed.
It is very important to check credit card statements every month. This is not just for double charges, but also for other things such as unauthorised transactions. Checking regularly will mean that a double charge is far more likely to be spotted quickly.
It can often be the case that the credit card will have a double transaction on different months. It is always a good idea to check if a transaction has been made before if there is any suspicion that it could be a double charge. This can either be done with the retailer or the credit card provider. The credit card provider will have a contact number on both the statement and the back of the card.
It is important to ask for a refund from the shop or service provider if there is a double charge. Most shops or service providers will do this quickly and without any dispute if there is a genuine case of a double charge. This is partly to ensure that their customers are satisfied, but it is also to ensure that they do not get a reputation with the credit card processor, either VISA or MasterCard, as a merchant that needs to be watched for items such as double charges.
Refunds for double charges are usually made on the credit card. This will mean that the credit card will find that its balance is reduced and it may even be the case that the credit card account owes money to the card holder. It can often be the case that these refunds are done automatically when the shop realises their mistake.
If the shop will not refund the double charge, or does not agree that a double charge has been made then this is probably going to be classified as an unauthorised payment. This will mean that it will be covered by a zero liability guarantee which is designed to ensure that no one is charged for an unauthorised transaction.
Double charges should not be confused with regular payments, which are payments that are made on a regular basis by a credit card but are only authorised once.
