CapOne Glitch Leads To Multiple Debit Account Charges

No one likes being charged more than once for a transaction — one of the vagaries of living in a technology-fueled world — especially when it comes to commerce and banking.

The Washington Post reported that a number of Capital One customers, as of Wednesday (January 3), found multiple charges (the same one, that is) levied on their accounts.

The newspaper reported that it was not yet known how those errors occurred or just how many customers were impacted. Capital One, however, said that customers should check their accounts for updates and that they would not be responsible for any erroneous transactions.

Said the bank through a spokeswoman, Amanda Landers, “we’re currently experiencing technical difficulties where some bank branch customers today are seeing duplicate postings for debit card transactions … We’re working to resolve as quickly as possible and apologize for this inconvenience.” In addition, said the spokeswoman, “customers will be credited for the inaccurate postings related to this issue. Customers can continue to access their accounts and services via our online banking, mobile app, branches and ATMs.”

In a series of anecdotes, the Washington Post noted that users of Twitter posted they’d seen multiple charges tied to their checking accounts. In one account, credited to Dean Robinson, of Washington D.C., “I had a negative $50 in my account” when there should have been about $1,000 in a positive balance. Robinson said that in working with Capital One employees over the phone, the promise had been that the issue would be straightened out by Thursday, with the pending charges to be eliminated.

Separately, CNBC reported on Thursday the issue had been resolved. Capital One said balances should be accurate. Landers was quoted as saying that “customers are being notified when they sign in to their accounts or contact us that their balances should now be accurate,” adding that “accounts have been credited for any inaccurate postings related to this issue.”