Thats what lady at Fair Trading said. She said there would have been a way for me to be put through to a superviser.
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Have you raised a dispute with PayPal over the charge or for them to look into removing the pending charge? I understand you queried them about the charge but I donāt know if you have raised a dispute with them. You could also seek a chargeback from your bank on the pending amount, this will not be about Coles but rather between the Bank and PayPal.
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Coles CAN remove the pending but customer service refuses to let me speak to a superviser. Its now in the hands of Fair Trading.
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I understand this, that they can remove the pending amount, my points were about possible alternatives as they, Coles, seem recalcitrant to do so.
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I did contact paypal who said Coles took the second amount and there is nothing pending on my account (which i can see , the only transaction showing is the $69 amount gone) and basically, not there problem. The bank said they cannot free up the amount as only coles can and said same happened to another customer and in that case Coles emaied the bank to remove pending. Coles wont let me talk to anyone above customer service staff, who cannot actually ādoā anything. so after a big circle I have submitted complaint and while I realise the pending will likely drop off before the case reaches top of the pileā¦I am digging in for a formal apology . And also they need to explain to myself, and Fair Trading (who was amazed I was refused access to superviser) why I was denied the right to escalate.
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Pending transactions usually expire and automatically are removed as a line item on a statement after a few days to about 5 business days depending on the nature of the transaction and who one banks with (or credit card issuer).
They are in effect a hold on funds in an account and depending on the bank, the funds can be locked or temporarily removed from the account pending transaction finalisation - they are sometimes also called pre-authorisations and appears as pending on a bank statement (online account statement). They are often used by businesses as a form of security or deposit to ensure that sufficient funds are available when the transaction is finalised. Common examples include car hire (where the car accident excess is handled the same way to ensure that a car hire company can recoup excess if needed) or accommodation (where an amount is taken as a security deposit pending until the accommodation bill is finalised at check-out). The Commonwealth Bank also explains the process well.
Some business do a prepayment where funds are deducted and these are different (they arenāt a pending transaction). In Tasmania, unmanned service stations one has to place a prepayment amount before a bowser will allow fuel to flow. This pre-payment is deduced from the bank account. When the fuel is dispensed, either the difference between the pre-payment and the dispensed fuel amount is reimbursed to the accountā¦orā¦the prepayment is refunded and a separate transaction for the dispensed fuel is deducted from the account at the same time.
They shouldnāt be seen as a transaction that accrues interest on a credit card (check with you card issuer that this is the case). The only downside is if you are close to your credit card limit, the pending amounts count towards the total amassed on the credit card (thus reducing the amount available for transactions by the pending amount). For example, if you has a credit card with a limit of $5000, and there were $4500 for actual purchases and a $300 pending amount, the card will only have $200 of purchases until the credit card is at it limit. When the pending amount is automatically removed, the amount will return to $500 worth or purchases.
The process for pre-authorisations/pre-payments is becoming common practice with many businesses. I wouldnāt be holding your breath for a formal apology. However, possibly if they currently donāt, Coles should make it clear at checkout that they do a pre-authorisation when order is made and the final shopping amount is deducted when the order is finalisedā¦and the pre-authorisation is allowed to expire.
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UPDATE. It has taken a week for the pending to drop, without any action. Coles could have and should have removed it on 24th. One week without $92 for someone who lives on the pension as sole income is too long. Being refused access to anyone higher than customer 'services call operator is unacceptable. Thanks all for the tips and advice.
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I shop with Coles and have been click and collecting with them since Covid began (almost). In all that time this has happened only once.When I rang it was pointed out that it could take up to 10 working days to free up the funds. The chap also directed me to where this is written so I had no argument after that. The money did come back but like OldGal Iām a pensioner and it was inconvenient. I now have money put aside in case it should happen again.
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Thinking out loud. The other option is if you have a credit card, to pay for such purchases by credit card if one is disciplined and pays off the balance when accrued (usually monthly on receipt of the statement). The pre-authorisation will only impact on the credit limit of the card until it is removed and not funds available for use in an everyday bank account. I indicated paying off when accrued so that there are no costs of using the credit card over a direct debit card.
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That would be fine but I no longer have a credit card. Got rid of them when I retired.
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Slightly OT, but when one retires (although it may be too late for @Goldie28) it is often a smart thing to keep credit card accounts open, used or not, especially if they are no fee types. The difficulty of any retired person to get one, regardless of wealth or balances in accounts has been discussed and it is not pretty.
In essence card issuers will only look at documented regular income, that often omits account based super pensions, only defined benefit pensions at best, and sometimes only accepts actual working for wages income for approval.
At the end of the day they can be a convenience, not a necessity, something to consider.
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Well, all to their own. I havenāt had a credit card for about 12 years. Debit card plays the part for some transactionsso I havenāt missed having one.
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From the USA, some really expensive oranges put on a debit card and how it went.
If the customer needed cash he would have been in serious hurt. If it was a credit card only bills would have bounced. Looks like Kroger tried to take care of their customer, and then a bit as an apology unlike our own who consider deuce sufficient when they err like that, save for scanning issues that are also limited these days.
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