Duplicate Merchant Transactions

This morning I woke up to find three merchant transactions duplicated on my account — Platō Coffee, Mr Price, and Checkers — totalling approximately R1,100. These were not authorised. They are errors on FNB’s side.

I called ***** immediately. The agent confirmed FNB is aware of the issue. She could not, however, confirm whether I would be refunded. That is not an acceptable answer. FNB has processed transactions it had no mandate to process, and a frontline agent cannot tell me whether I will see that money returned. That is a serious institutional failure.

I will also note: transaction systems are expected to be idempotent by design. Duplicate charges of this nature should be architecturally impossible. That this has happened — and based on other complaints I have seen, has been happening for months without resolution — raises real questions about the integrity of FNB’s systems.

I am giving FNB the opportunity to resolve this. If it is not resolved promptly and in full, I will be closing my account and moving to a bank whose systems and customer service reflect the standard I expect from a financial institution trusted with my money.