Odd. Most credit/debit cards won't allow a second charge for the exact same amount go through within a certain period of time, to avoid issues just like this.

see? If you had an iPhone you could have shown him right there on the spot that the charge went through.

This message brought to you by the fake Steve Jobs.

I once got double charges from a fare machine on the DC Metro Subway because it said the first one didn't go through. I sent an E-mail from my online banking (Bank of America no less!) and they immediately fixed the charge.

Again, the fact that she used a debit card makes this harder. If it was a credit card, it would be very straightforward - a 2 minute call to her credit card company would resolve it. As it is, CVS has her money, and she now needs to go about getting it back.

You should not use your debit card to make purchases. That's what you should do.

This actually happened to me for about the same amount. I went to a store and their credit card receipt printer wasn't working, so the cashier rang me up 4 times for the item! I called my bank and had them remove the charges, it's pretty obvious when you have 2 or more charges for the same amount just a few seconds apart.

Lesson learned: If a cashier swipes your card assume you will be charged whether a receipt is printed or not.

Stand outside the CVS with a sign and hand out flyers to everyone explaining what happened and why you feel the need to waste your day over $11. CVS will probably refund you on the spot.

Or you could just go to your bank and explain the situation and they could reverse charges or something.

I know some people won't go the full 9 yards and go for a credit card, settling in an abyss called debit cards, but this is clearly one of those times when it would be easier for the consumer if it was a credit card transaction rather than a debit card transaction.

I'm fairly certain that the bank will refund the duplicate charge (unless the bank is really sh*tty). But in cases of debit card usage, aside from courtesy, they don't have much onus to get incorrect charges fixed.

@ianmac47: Then what should you use it for? Brush clearing?

so i guess when the printer's out of paper that means no charge goes through...

what a stupid manager.

If it were me, I would just reach across the counter and grab the $11.78 and walk out - sounds fair to me.

Seriously though, this is a fine example of people in CUSTOMER service not thinking about the CUSTOMER. It really amazes me that some people can't get such a simple concept.

Now because of the ineptness of a manager Julie, and everyone she knows, will never shop at that CVS again thus resulting in the loss of thousands of dollars in revenue.

That manager should be fired or at least forced to recoup the company for the lost revenue his short-sightedness has cost the company.

@ediebeale:

Use it as an ATM card. If you're buying something, use a credit card, get full chargeback rights, better fraud protection, and better rewards benefits, plus a free month's loan.

Send a letter to the local police department and cc to the CVS store and corporate. Tell the PD that you want to file a criminal complaint of "larceny by credit card". That'll get their attention.

An easier scenario would be to avoid the 800 line entirely and call corporate in RI. I'm sure that someone there will make the manager's day a real hoot.

"There's nothing we/I can do."

Translation: I'm too lazy or ignorant of the workings of the business I'm managing.

I worked at a Subway years ago, and our store manager had every authority to refund a card transaction. This story smells of BS, laziness, and ignorance. Chargeback that crap. The nice fee CVS has to deal with is an added bonus.

@JustThatGuy3: My now-ex-bf had this exact problem (though I don't know if there was a reboot). Double charge from a CVS. On a debit card. He notified the bank and they reversed one of the charges.

OK, everybody, give the manager a call and let him know what you think of his customer service.

CVS Pharmacy
5900 West Pleasant Ridge
Arlington, TX 76016
(817) 478-6041‎

@azntg: Sort of. While you aren't out the money while they "investigate", the federal law protecting you against fraudulent charges on credit cards does not kick in until the total amount is greater than $50. Under federal law, even if she had used a credit card, she could still be held liable for the amount, so you're still at the whim of bank policy -- fortunately, the policy of most is $0 liability.

But yes, I always use a credit card for nearly everything for the fraud protection angle and the "not out the money while waiting" angle.

Sigh. Someone wake me up when Consumerist has some real issues again.

This happens all the time. I had restaurant charge me three times. Did I bitch on the web about it? No, I called my bank (the much-vilified BOA) and explained the situation, and I got an immediate provisional credit and the issues was resolved in a few weeks.

Consumerist is rapidly turning into the WAAmbulance for stupid people.

@Murph1908:
Thats a function of the processors, and there may have been enough time passed if the register rebooted.

If it was a debit transaction, most stores should just refund the transaction in cash.

If the store manager was as unhelpful as you say mention that $12 is a lot cheaper than the legal costs for small claims court, which you would be able to reclaim as well.

Or just stalk the manager to find out which car is his, and slash his tires.

Wow, that's the CVS I usually go to. I actually know Adam, the manager, in person. I'm going to have to inform him that I will no longer be shopping at that location due to this unresolved issue.

This would not have happened at Walgreens.

At Walgreens the manager could have walked into the back, checked the main computer to see if it went through, and printed a new receipt.

Also if you were double charged walgreens would have given you your money back without question.

@AustinTXProgrammer: I work in Loss Prevention for a local chain and this comes up once in a while. Stores cannot refund cash if it was charged to a credit or debit card because the customer can still call the bank and ask for a chargeback since there is no proof their money was returned.

I have had staff swipe my card as if they are intentionally trying to break it in half - swiping it with a force more appropriate for spiking a football rather than simply running the magnetic stripe across a reader. The last time a clerk ruined my card in this fashion, I experienced quite a hassle in getting a new card and vowed to not let it happen again. Most days I use cash for small purchases. No mistaking if the charge went through with that transaction.

One time a guy was manhandling my card quite forcefully on his company card reader and I asked to have the card back. He handed it to me and I replaced it in my wallet and walked away. His manager was not amused at the loss of the sale.

@blackmage439: I agree, I can't believe that even after she went back to the store, the manager wouldn't put through the credit. It's ridiculous!

I think the only real issue here is the store not fixing it. I had a similar situation happen at a local grocery store. They were having computer issues and it would say the card didn't go through, but it really did. When I saw this on my card, and yes it was my debit card, I called the store, they already knew about it and were in the process of refunding everyone's cards who had experienced this issue.

I think it's important issues like this are brought to everyone's attention. When we all act together, we can make changes, even with problems as small as $11!

Everybody, send a complaint to CVS customer care via their "Contact Us" link on their homepage!

Let's all start making a difference, $11 at a time!

I call bullshit on the manager. He damn well could have looked up the transaction BEFORE it was run through a second time. Even the lowliest retail managers have the ability to see the transaction log for all of the registers. Most of the retail store registers act like client PCs on a corporate server-based network. Just a quick query would have shown the transaction did/did not work.

Additionally, he could have issued a refund just as easily.

Call the bank and MAKE SURE the bank knows just how UNhelpful CVS was. If you're a high-dollar account with them (subby's probably not if they're using a debit card), the bank will get ugly with CVS>

I have Bank of America, and as horrible as they are- a 3min phone call was all it took to correct a charge for me!

I actually work in store support for one of the biggest clothing chains, and I deal with these issues at least once a day. Most of the time the first charge is just a pending charge that will drop off in a few days, but I'm sure you guys knew that here at consumerist.Worst case situation is you call the customer relations number to resolve your issue (unless you can't get anyone on the line), or as stated above a chargeback through your bank.

But it is the same where I work, no receipt, no charge. Maybe a pending charge but thats it. Although, I will say the management could have been more helpful and they must have a way of looking it up through an electronic journal to confirm either by looking up the previous transaction number or checking with their own support line.

I used to work for CVS, and stuff like this would happen all the time due to the craptacular IBM retail system they use. All transactions at CVS are stored in a back office server as soon as they take place for auditing purposes. Just ask the manager to check the computer and they would have seen that the transaction went through. They could have even printed out a new receipt for you.

As far as running out of paper goes, our registers wouldn't let a sale complete if there wasn't enough paper in the printer.

@homerjay: happened to me at wal-mart. Didnt need an iphone...just my T-Mo Dash and BoA website

Any company with a respectable POS system should have been able to immediately perform a bank balance and notice a discrepancy.

Ugh. This is simple. Don't waste your sanity arguing with the store manager. The MOMENT a charge goes through, your bank/CC company can see it. When in doubt, call your bank. If they see two charges, you got double-charged. If not, you didn't. Case closed. The only exception is that sometimes merchants will resolve some duplicate transactions at night when they close out their registers and post all the transactions, but this is rare. ANd to those who think banks automatically decline duplicate charges: nope, not so much. This is more common at gas stations to prevent stolen cards from being used to gas up a bunch of vehicles at multiple pumps, but otherwise isn't so common anymore.

As far as filing a chargeback is concerned, no, it doesn't matter if you use debit or credit, unless your bank is from the stone ages. Just call your bank and file a chargeback. It's the same process for credit as it is for debit. Yes, sometimes the fine print protections you have are better or worse, but in my experience this is more dependent on the card issuer than the type of card. If you're worried about that and have both, swipe it as a credit card. If you don't have one though, it really doesn't matter. Don't spend time or energy getting upset. Just call them up and file a chargeback for a duplicate charge. Don't moan or scream, and don't throw around terms like "fraud". This isn't fraud; it's a simple duplicate charge. ("Fraud" is someone using your card without your knowledge or consent, who likely gained access to your card or card number by nefarious ways.) Your bank will know how to handle it and will most likely issue you a temporary credit that night so you don't have to wait for the claim process to complete before you see your money.

Some caveats: First, you will usually need to wait for the transaction to "post" before you can file a chargeback. For debit transactions, this can mean 24 hours, but is sometimes immediate. For credit, this usually means 1-3 business days, though can vary. Once it posts (and you can check this using online banking or by calling your bank/card issuer), file the chargeback. They'll ask you a few basic questions and then mail you out a form. FILL OUT THAT FORM. If you don't, your bank takes back the temporary credit you gave. Second, many banks will say you ave to wait 30 days to file the claim. THIS IS NOT TRUE. Just tell them that, while you have no problem giving the merchant the required 30 days to refund your money, you wish to file the claim now, so that you don't have to think about it any more. If they refund your money, great! If not, your paperwork is already filed.

That's it. I don't bother arguing with store personnel. While there are always exceptions, usually they aren't paid enough to care. I just call my bank and 5-10 minutes later, I'm done. In 10 years, I've NEVER had this process fail.

With statement printout in hand showing the double charge, go back to the store, take the same items off the shelf, walk up to the register, and ask for a refund! Show them your statement and one receipt that did print. Your claim for refund should be just as legitimate as their claim that the charge didn't go through...

@TPK: Yeah, and get yourself arrested for being stupid.

Is it me, or is this just something that could be resolved by using a little common sense? If I see a double post on my account my first instinct is to call my bank first and get it reversed. (Yes, it did happen to me a couple of years ago, and it took a 2 minute call to my bank to clear it out)

Um...this is why the cute little machines/pos systems have a REPRINT function. And yeah....the paper has a pink or green line on it when it gets low. Someone just did not care to refill it.