Charged Twice on Your Card? Here's What to Do

If you see the same charge twice, first check whether one is a pending authorization that will be released — if both charges settled, contact the merchant immediately to request a reversal of the duplicate.

Plain-English explanation

Double charges happen more often than you'd think. Common causes: a payment terminal timed out and the customer tapped or inserted twice, an online checkout submitted twice due to a slow loading page, or a processing error. One of the two charges is typically easy to reverse with a quick call or email to the merchant.

Most common reasons this appears

• Payment terminal timed out and transaction was submitted twice
• Double-click at online checkout submitted the order twice
• Bank processing error duplicating the transaction
• Merchant's billing system glitch

How to verify this charge

• Check if one of the two charges is still 'pending' — wait 24–48 hours for it to drop off.
• If both settled, contact the merchant with your transaction dates and amounts.
• Request a refund for the duplicate — merchants can usually reverse one charge quickly.
• If the merchant is unresponsive, file a chargeback with your bank.

When to be concerned

• Merchant insists you authorized both charges when you only made one purchase.
• Charges from a service you only have one account with.
• Double charges appearing over multiple months.

Part of: Bank fees & transaction issues →