Sharing this in the hope that it may prevent others from stumbling into the same scenario.
(TL : DR - if there's a chance you're going to pay for something in the middle of nowhere, take cash!)
I very rarely carry cash these days. I work from home, so my canteen or vending machine are the kitchen cupboards and occasionally the local co-op if I am feeling adventurous. So I found myself arriving at the Notts Classic show on Sunday carrying just my phone and wallet (cards only). To my delight and - admittedly - surprise, all of the shops and stalls were set up to take card payments. Nice. It never even crossed my mind to take some cash out before I went.
There was a stall selling canvas and A3 poster prints, and on an impulse I quite fancied getting the 3x A3 prints for £20 they were advertising to liven up the walls of my office.
I took them to the chap with the card payment machine, tapped the £20 transaction on my HSBC debit card, waited until said Approved and walked away with my purchase. I'm a few steps outside the stall when he comes running after me "I'm so sorry sir, the payment failed, could we try again" - err, well no, it said approved - "Yeah I know it did, but then it said there was a problem" he showed me the machine and sure enough it said something like "uh oh, something went wrong".
I'm not sure if it was just O2, but I had precisely naff-all mobile signal at Thoresby, so I couldn't check my online banking. I thought well it's only £20, so I gave them the benefit of the doubt and tried again. "Approved" 2 secs later "uh oh, something went wrong". They poked around for a while, checking their wifi was working and whatever else, before we tried for a third time I offered a Monzo card in case the issue was with the HSBC card. "Approved". "Uh oh something went wrong".
At this point I left the prints and walked away, it was not meant to be. I said I'd call back later if they got the machine working (In hindsight, I should have asked them what to do or how to contact them if I found all of those approved-but-supposedly-failed transactions went through. Live and learn...). A couple of hours later, I pop my head in and ask, and yep, they say the machine is working now. So I use the Monzo card again. "Approved". I leave with my prints. Happy days.
Happy days, that was, until I got home from the show, looked at my phone and have two transactions showing in the Monzo app. And when I check HSBC another two transactions there!!
. So I ended up paying 4 transactions and £80 in total.
I'm not for a minute suggesting the vendors were running a scam, if they were then they're bloody good actors, because I am 100% convinced they were just a bit useless at using or understanding their card machine. The problem is I have no idea who they were, the transactions on my statement are very non-descript and there is no receipt or labels on the prints. I have used the contact form on the Classic Shows website to ask who they were or how I contact them (no response), I tagged them on Facebook (no response) and I called their phone number (no answer).
I figure the only option left is to dispute the charges with my bank(s). I disputed one of the transactions with Monzo who refunded it almost immediately, although the vendor now has until mid-Feb to respond, and if they deny it I have no idea how I could prove my innocence, besides saying who in their right mind would want to buy 12x A3 motorsport prints in one go!? And I am currently enduring an excruciating online chat with 'Nazma' at HSBC who is clearly struggling to understand what happened.
Wish me luck getting (and keeping) the £60 refund I'm owed!
For anyone interested these are the troublesome prints:
(TL : DR - if there's a chance you're going to pay for something in the middle of nowhere, take cash!)
I very rarely carry cash these days. I work from home, so my canteen or vending machine are the kitchen cupboards and occasionally the local co-op if I am feeling adventurous. So I found myself arriving at the Notts Classic show on Sunday carrying just my phone and wallet (cards only). To my delight and - admittedly - surprise, all of the shops and stalls were set up to take card payments. Nice. It never even crossed my mind to take some cash out before I went.
There was a stall selling canvas and A3 poster prints, and on an impulse I quite fancied getting the 3x A3 prints for £20 they were advertising to liven up the walls of my office.
I took them to the chap with the card payment machine, tapped the £20 transaction on my HSBC debit card, waited until said Approved and walked away with my purchase. I'm a few steps outside the stall when he comes running after me "I'm so sorry sir, the payment failed, could we try again" - err, well no, it said approved - "Yeah I know it did, but then it said there was a problem" he showed me the machine and sure enough it said something like "uh oh, something went wrong".
I'm not sure if it was just O2, but I had precisely naff-all mobile signal at Thoresby, so I couldn't check my online banking. I thought well it's only £20, so I gave them the benefit of the doubt and tried again. "Approved" 2 secs later "uh oh, something went wrong". They poked around for a while, checking their wifi was working and whatever else, before we tried for a third time I offered a Monzo card in case the issue was with the HSBC card. "Approved". "Uh oh something went wrong".
At this point I left the prints and walked away, it was not meant to be. I said I'd call back later if they got the machine working (In hindsight, I should have asked them what to do or how to contact them if I found all of those approved-but-supposedly-failed transactions went through. Live and learn...). A couple of hours later, I pop my head in and ask, and yep, they say the machine is working now. So I use the Monzo card again. "Approved". I leave with my prints. Happy days.
Happy days, that was, until I got home from the show, looked at my phone and have two transactions showing in the Monzo app. And when I check HSBC another two transactions there!!
. So I ended up paying 4 transactions and £80 in total.I'm not for a minute suggesting the vendors were running a scam, if they were then they're bloody good actors, because I am 100% convinced they were just a bit useless at using or understanding their card machine. The problem is I have no idea who they were, the transactions on my statement are very non-descript and there is no receipt or labels on the prints. I have used the contact form on the Classic Shows website to ask who they were or how I contact them (no response), I tagged them on Facebook (no response) and I called their phone number (no answer).
I figure the only option left is to dispute the charges with my bank(s). I disputed one of the transactions with Monzo who refunded it almost immediately, although the vendor now has until mid-Feb to respond, and if they deny it I have no idea how I could prove my innocence, besides saying who in their right mind would want to buy 12x A3 motorsport prints in one go!? And I am currently enduring an excruciating online chat with 'Nazma' at HSBC who is clearly struggling to understand what happened.
Wish me luck getting (and keeping) the £60 refund I'm owed!
For anyone interested these are the troublesome prints:
