I placed an online order with Coles on Wednesday Sept 22nd. Using paypal. My account showed the amount ($92) as pending, basically unavailable to me. later that night they sent me email saying my order is packed but some items missing (order now $69) I noticed same original amount pending on my account and assumed they would refund the difference. NOPE, THEY TOOK THE $69 OUT AGAIN! According to my account the $69 has gone and original $92 still pending. This is now friday, 24th. I am on a pension and need access to MY money. Why can’t they take the money AFTER packing the groceries? woolworths do.!
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Hi @OldGal, What you are probably seeing is
a) when you ordered they put a pre-authorisation hold on your account for $92.
b) when they packed the order they processed its charge for $69; the hold remained
c) after some days the hold will automatically be removed from your account
Some businesses seem able, willing to, and cancel the pre-authorisation hold and others do not seem to bother (or be able to?)
This was a side discussion within another topic. Incidentally, also about Coles.
Understanding does not help you get that hold released or access to your money, but hopefully it helps understand what is going on.
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Thank you, yes It does help me understand, but very annoying because I have bills due out next week and coles have tied up MY money. I am going to put a complaint in…for all the good it will do…and will wear the $11 delivery fee Woolworths charge…rather than have Coles do this again.
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When using Paypal there is an additional delay because Paypal is a payment middleman that ‘owns’ the process.
Adjustments are more straight forward and probably quicker when you use your card direct. The business that puts a hold on an account has to release it, or the customer has to wait for it to expire. In your case there is some ‘handshaking’ between Coles and Paypal, and Paypal and your bank, rather than just Coles and your bank.
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I just rang coles who said not their problem they cant cancel it. i will just have to wait it out. They shouldnt take money until groceries packed, but that would be too logical for them and too easy for the customer.
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Annoying isn’t it.
This is why I use a credit card for online shopping. If there is a pre-authorization charge it is against the credit card limit, not my money.
If it is still there after the actual charge has gone through, then I inform the business that I will be disputing the charge on my credit card when the bill is due, as it constitutes double charging.
That usually wakes them up.
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That is usually the case UNLESS a payment service is in the middle, and then the dispute becomes between the consumer and the payment service. That is why while I often use Paypal, I often chose not to use Paypal when I think there is any chance for a ‘correction’ (partial refund) to be required.
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Well I would not use Pay Pal for anything. It used to be an escrow facility where you had to authorize release of funds to a merchant, but now just another middleman payment method.
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I pay online with PayPal, using my debit card. I don’t have any money stored in PayPal, so its always an intermediary, rather than a payment source. I’ve never had any problems with Coles double-dipping, I think their payment systems must glitch from time to time. I prefer to use PayPal online (or Apple Pay, but PayPal for preference) and Apple Pay offline. All refunds have arrived in my bank accounts within hours rather than days :-/
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You have my sympathy. I don’t know what the solution is, though.
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The charge dated 22.09.2021 is listed as pending whilst the charge dated 24.09.2021 shows it as being finalised.
Did the charge dated 21.09.2021 end upr did it simply disappear?
This sort of thing happens with credit cards where the merchant either wants to verify a card is genuine with a small charge which disappears after a few days, or with booking businesses who want a deposit but don’t process it when the total bill is later paid.
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@OldGal, if you order from Coles again use your card directly on their web site, not pay by Paypal. If some items are not available and the final amount is adjusted watch for the initial hold to be released when they process the final amount charge.
If the direct card hold is not removed when the final charge is processed that will show the underlying problem is with Coles.
If the direct card hold was removed when the final charge was processed the problem was at Paypal or the way Coles ‘handshakes’ with Paypal. If this is the case using your card to pay should remedy the problem of having a hold, followed with the actual charge and the hold not being timely released.
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The $92.75 is pending and unavailable for me to access. The $69.40 is completly cleard, gone from my account.
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I always use PayPal whenever it is available including twice this morning.
I paid for a pack of Nexgard Spectra for our little dog and some wine at Dan Murphy.
Not only do I not need to provide my credit cards details to sellers, I don’t even need to get off my office chair to go and get my wallet.
Best thing since sliced bread.
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Sounds like Coles are just slack in settling things.
No real surprise there.
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I spoke to paypal and the only amount showing on my account it the $69 transaction so the fault IS Coles, who have denied they put two seperate tranactions through and instead blame my bank. I will see the bank tomorrow but not hopeful. To me it looks like it IS Coles’ mistake but the customer service people won’t look further or escalate it for me.
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The pending charge is similar to a credit card hold. They freeze the amount shown as pending based on an estimate of the cost. When the actual amount is actioned it can take some time for the pending amount to drop off or be returned to your account. I would ask PayPal to see if they can speed up the process of reversing the held amount.
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UPDATE
bank told me same happened to another customer and Coles emailed the bank to say the pending could be lifted. I rang Coles AGAIN, and asked to speak to a superviser and was denied! Told because they are working from home there was not that option. Today, $92.75 still pending on my account and a complaint put with Fair trading. Spoke to lovely lady at Fair Trading who guided me through which form to submit.
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Sound like another cop out.
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