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Debit Card Charged Twice


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My debit card was charged daily by RCC with a pending charge against it.  On my last day the 13th day RCC finalised my account by charging me the total amount of all the previous days. 

My problem is 5 days after the cruise ended RCC still have not removed the pending charges, therefore, I have no access to my money.  Effectively they have charged me twice!

Who do I contact at RCC to expedite the cancellation of those charges?  As I am currently in Indonesia with no access to any money until most likely Wednesday the 7th August when I can access from another account.

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Not an expert, but I think it´s a bank issue and not something RCI can resolve. Debit Cards are not the best choice for travel. 

 

No they have not charged you twice. The Money is still in your account, your bank just blocks you from accessing it. 

 

 

Edited by 123funcruiser
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NEC,

I’ve been using this card for well over 5 years & have had many pending charges applied to my card especially at hotels.  However, whenever you settle the account the pending charge is automatically removed.  Why didn’t RCC remove the pending charges?

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This is why it's recommended not to use a debit card on cruises. The pending/holds are a bank issue for when they drop off. Royal can't do anything.

 

https://www.royalcaribbean.com/faq/questions/seapass-onboard-spending-account

 

The reason why it doesn't resolve as nicely is because your bank is wanting to match each hold to a corresponding amount, but royal just charges the total amount. So some banks don't match the sum of the individual charges to the once large charge.

 

Sent from my SM-G960U using Tapatalk

 

 

 

 

 

 

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The removal of the "Pending" charges is the responsibility of your financial institution.

 

Whatever has happened in the past has nothing to do with today.  Had you come on here to research prior, I can't think of one person who would recommend that you use a debit card.

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23 minutes ago, RKHOOKER said:

NEC,

I’ve been using this card for well over 5 years & have had many pending charges applied to my card especially at hotels.  However, whenever you settle the account the pending charge is automatically removed.  Why didn’t RCC remove the pending charges?

 

Royal does not remove the charges, your bank does.  Sometimes the banks don't properly equate the daily charges to the single final charge, and it takes some (sometimes weeks) for the daily charges to drop off.  Try contacting your bank.

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Just spent 40 minutes on the phone with the bank, even spoke to the senior manager.

Facts:- my bank Citibank cannot release the funds until either :-

1. RCC cancel the pending charges (which they should have done when they settled my account) 

2. RCC advise in writing to my bank that they can release the pending charges 

3. RCC do not claim the pending charges within 30 days from date of charge

 

NB:- pending charges are 100% controlled by the merchant.  Banks have no control whatsoever over the pending charge.  Absolutely, no such thing as banks trying to match pending charges.

 

So can someone finally answer my original question, who do I contact at RCC to expedite the cancellation of the pending charges?  

 

 

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There isn’t a way to expedite it. You’re going to have to wait it out. 🤷‍♂️

 

I will never understand why people use debit cards for things like this. Next time use a credit card for better protection, points, and to avoid this. 

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From the link I posted above:

Most holds are released by the time your cruise ends; however, some may take up to 30 days. Royal Caribbean International[emoji2400] doesn’t control how long the holds remain, your bank or financial institution determines the duration of these holds.

Sent from my SM-G960U using Tapatalk

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15 minutes ago, kruzerci said:

There isn’t a way to expedite it. You’re going to have to wait it out. 🤷‍♂️

 

I will never understand why people use debit cards for things like this. Next time use a credit card for better protection, points, and to avoid this. 

I’ve had pending charges on this card all over the world.  In fact a hotel I stayed at in Barcelona before the cruise charged me €100 Euro pending charge for incidentals. When I checked out they charged me €62 Euro & immediately removed the pending charge.

RCC are simply playing games.  The onus is on them to remove the pending charges.

 

Finally, please stop criticising me for using a debit card & just answer the question!

Who do I contact at RCC to get the pending charges that have been applied to my account removed?

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2 minutes ago, RKHOOKER said:

 

Who do I contact at RCC to get the pending charges that have been applied to my account removed?

Stop asking the same question over and over. You’ve been given the correct answer politely by most.

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3 minutes ago, RKHOOKER said:

Finally, please stop criticising me for using a debit card & just answer the question!

Next time, if there’s one, use a cash account and use the debit card on the last day to settle the bill (no pending charges). 

 

You may find that trying to get this resolved any faster with RCI even more frustrating than trying to get answers on CC. 

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7 minutes ago, smplybcause said:

From the link I posted above:

Most holds are released by the time your cruise ends; however, some may take up to 30 days. Royal Caribbean Internationalemoji2400.png doesn’t control how long the holds remain, your bank or financial institution determines the duration of these holds.

Sent from my SM-G960U using Tapatalk
 

RCC are the only people who can cancel the pending charges before they expire at the 30 day mark.  My bank told me all pending charges are either applied by the merchant or cancelled.  Why didn’t RCC cancel them when they charged me my final account.  The answer:- to manipulate sales figures to trigger bonuses etc.  (this is what my bank suspects!)

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17 minutes ago, klfrodo said:

Stop asking the same question over and over. You’ve been given the correct answer politely by most.

Yeah thanks!

I’ll try the phone number & email address you’ve provided.

Cheers & have a lovely day.

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"Pending" charges are not actual charges...yet.   They are called "holds", to make sure the funds remain available.  They will "drop off" after the actual total charge is processed...and that varies by bank.  It has nothing to do with the cruise line!

 

"Holds" can mess up your checking account, until they "drop off".  That's why you should use CASH instead of a debit card.  Credit cards don't do "holds" like a debit card .

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Hi

 

I had the same thing happen on Anthem of the Seas June 2019 and I used a credit card.  A Royal Caribbean Visa.  I guess it’s not just debit cards that have this issue.

 

There were daily “holds” and then the final charge at the end of the cruise.  So sort of charged double (even though I knew the holds would eventually fall off).

 

It took over a week for the pending charges to fall off the credit card.  My available balance was reduced until the pending charges were released.

 

Noreen

 

Edited by Noreen411
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When this thread started, I knew it was Citibank related. Same thing happens to my credit card each time I use it for a cruise. Last time it took over 2 weeks for a $850 pending charge to fall off. I called Citi and they blamed Royal. Called Royal and they blamed Citi (they told me They continually get calls about this issue from Citi card holders). 

Nothing I could do at all. Just stinks for you because it’s a debt card. Good luck. 

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12 minutes ago, Noreen411 said:

Hi

 

I had the same thing happen and I used a credit card.  A Royal Caribbean Visa.

 

There were daily “holds” and then the final charge at the end of the cruise.  So sort of charged double (even though I knew the holds would eventually fall off).

 

It took over a week for the pending charges to fall off the credit card.  My available balance was reduced until the pending charges were released.

 

Noreen

 

I understand.

My bank told me only RCC can remove the pending charges before the 30 day drop off point, & RCC can do that by cancelling the pending charges.  Those charges should have been cancelled when they charged my final account..

RCC is rorting the system.

What would’ve happened if I only had say $10 left on my debit card after all the pending charges, then, when it came to pay my final account, RCC would not have been able to use further funds on my card. So they would have applied the pending charges to settle my account leaving me with $10 in my account.  What they’ve done instead is charged my account double because I’ve had enough funds in there, but then failed to cancel the pending charges.  This is a rort! They’ve taken advantage of the fact that I had plenty of funds in my account by double charging me.

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3 minutes ago, RKHOOKER said:

I understand.

My bank told me only RCC can remove the pending charges before the 30 day drop off point, & RCC can do that by cancelling the pending charges.  Those charges should have been cancelled when they charged my final account..

RCC is rorting the system.

What would’ve happened if I only had say $10 left on my debit card after all the pending charges, then, when it came to pay my final account, RCC would not have been able to use further funds on my card. So they would have applied the pending charges to settle my account leaving me with $10 in my account.  What they’ve done instead is charged my account double because I’ve had enough funds in there, but then failed to cancel the pending charges.  This is a rort! They’ve taken advantage of the fact that I had plenty of funds in my account by double charging me.

On the bright side, I've learned a new word today: rort.

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13 minutes ago, 1992cruiser said:

When this thread started, I knew it was Citibank related. Same thing happens to my credit card each time I use it for a cruise. Last time it took over 2 weeks for a $850 pending charge to fall off. I called Citi and they blamed Royal. Called Royal and they blamed Citi (they told me They continually get calls about this issue from Citi card holders). 

Nothing I could do at all. Just stinks for you because it’s a debt card. Good luck. 

So the secret is to only have just enough cash in your debit card so they have to apply the pending charges.

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