r/Banking • u/rose_sovereign • 14h ago
Advice Is it normal when there is no proof of transaction but there is floating amount for a failed transaction and the amount got claimed by the merchant after 14 days?
Hi, looking for a bit of advice here while the merchant hasn't responded. Somewhere around last month (25th June) I tried to make an online payment with my debit card to a merchant (private counselling firm), but the payment said failed at the checkout. However the amount I needed to pay was already deducted from my bank account. I checked my account history and there was no proof of transaction that happened while the amount was already deducted. I called the bank and they told me the reason it happened was that the money got put in 'floating' status and went nowhere, and that I have to check it regularly for 14 business days.
2 weeks ago I asked the bank again if the amount was transferred already, and they told me it's still in 'floating' status, and that it's just 8 business days. They told me to call the merchant if I wanted it faster, but chose to wait it out instead.
Yesterday I called the bank and they claimed the floating amount was claimed by said merchant after 14 business days, but like I said it was a failed transaction and there was no appointment booked. I also checked my account history and there was no proof of the transaction to show that the payment went through. I asked the merchant to see if I could claim the money back, but it's been 21 hours and they haven't reached me. In case they're asking for proof, how can I prove that my money got claimed and that it's from a failed transaction, even though there's no transaction history? There was at least a record of floating amounts claimed by the bank, but that's from the bank side when I called.
Sorry for the long typing. Previously, my money got stuck as 'floating' status a few times but most of the time it just bounced back into my account after a couple of days, but this is the first time it got stuck for 14 days and claimed by the merchant.