ABSA Bank Disputes

I made a payment for accommodation through Booking.com on 27 January 2024. On 30 January I received notification from the Booking.com app that I should make the payment. I went onto my ABSA bank app to pull proof of the payment that I had made on 27 January, but there was no trace of the payment on my transactions list. It had appeared as uncleared on the day of the payment (27 Jan), but now it had disappeared from my transactions list. I could not prove that I had made the payment. So I made another payment, given that there was no trace of the first payment.

On the day of the second payment 30 January, the payment went off my back account. I called ABSA to confirm that I had not made a double-payment. I explained to the consultant on the phone that there was no trace on my bank account of the payment I had made on 27 January. The consultant stated that the first payment is still being cleared, that it would appear back onto my transactions list before the end of the day. He recommended that I email *** to ask them not release the second payment, because it had still not been cleared.

I emailed ***, explaining my issue regarding the double payment, that I had paid twice because there was no trace of the first payment, there was no proof of the first payment. A consultant emailed me back, effectively stating that the second payment would be cleared, that it would have no effect on my bank account. However, on 02 February, the second payment left my bank account. When I emailed ABSA to inform them and to request for a refund, as they had said that the second payment would have no effect on my account, I received a response stating that "There is no pending authorisation on the account for the amount". I phoned ABSA and the consultant over the phone confirmed that she can see the 2 payments and the dates of the payments in the detail of my account. She recommend that I email Absa Debit Card Disputes about the matter.

Yesterday afternoon I emailed Absa Debit Card Disputes. The response I have received is merely confirmation of that my email has been received, and a reference number for my query.

I am still waiting for the matter to be resolved!

My grievance is that had they not removed a transaction from my transactions list, all of this would not have been necessary. Also, they communicated one thing, that my account would not be affected, and did another, cleared a double-payment off my account.

Still awaiting a proper response from the Absa Debit Card Disputes team.