Other Asian, Australian and South Pacific Frequent Flyer Programs - MAS Double Charge Payment

Hi there,

I'm having a big trouble with MAS and my bank but apparently it's something to do with MAS stuff..here is how it is:

I booked a return ticket from Adelaide to Kuala Lumpur from the Malaysian Airlines website on the 11th of September. I used my debit card to purchase it and the transaction got through on the 14th of September. However, from the 17th of September when I logged in to my bank account, it seems there was another transaction made for the ticket. I am certain I did not press the button twice.

I have called both the bank and Malaysia Airlines regarding this but to no avail, I am not given a proper solution or even my money. Here is what I have been told:

According to the bank, it has something to do with an authorization proxy (or something like that) that have been left on about this purchase and hence has charged me twice. The second lady that I spoke with had assured me that after 5 days from the first payment, the second one will be cleared off and I will be refunded my money. It has already been 5 days and the outstanding transaction remains in my account.

According to Malaysia Airlines call support in Adelaide, they did not receive a second payment. The second lady I spoke with here has also mentioned that she has no access to viewing any payments and also that she couldn't trace anything about my payments.

Could someone please advise me what to do? I have no idea what to do.

Thank you.

Can't you lodge a transaction dispute against that 2nd transaction with the credit card company? The credit card company would then initiate an investigation into that transaction and if its truly a 2nd charge for the same transaction it would come up and hopefully solve your vows.

Can't you lodge a transaction dispute against that 2nd transaction with the credit card company?

The OP has clearly stated that he has used a "Debit" card. The real money has already been taken from the account. I guess the best option is to ask the bank to help. They should sort it out with MAS.

My trouble with MAS arose in March 2009 to date I sitll await my full refund.

Your better bet instead of waiting the 3 months MAS indicate they require (think abacus and carrier pigeon) would be to go the IATA route and lodge a formal complain via that avenue.

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According to the bank, it has something to do with an authorization proxy (or something like that) that have been left on about this purchase and hence has charged me twice. The second lady that I spoke with had assured me that after 5 days from the first payment, the second one will be cleared off and I will be refunded my money. It has already been 5 days and the outstanding transaction remains in my account.

According to Malaysia Airlines call support in Adelaide, they did not receive a second payment. The second lady I spoke with here has also mentioned that she has no access to viewing any payments and also that she couldn't trace anything about my payments.

Could someone please advise me what to do? I have no idea what to do.

Thank you.

Its not up to MAS really as they have no way of finding out where the payment went when they only received ONE payment.

You have to take this up with your bank and ask them to do a trace on where the payments went.. and then ask for a refund. The banks can see that they are identical amounts. Also you might be able to view details of your transaction/payment. ie ticket number of your reservation, or at least a booking reference. If it has neither, then do a back charge against it cos that is just the authorization amount. Yes when you do a transaction online, the site charges an amount against your cc or debit card to make sure that card can hold the amount. Then when the ticket is issued, the authorization code is then used to issue the ticket. It really shouldn't charge it twice.

Which is why in such circumstances, it is always better to use a creditcard.. or deal with a reputable bank that values customers rather than brushing them off.

Good luck.

I recently had a similar problem with getting billed twice using a debit card when booking on MH's website (but this was a result of Bank of China's online payment system crashing when using Google Chrome!). MH's call centre in KL told me I had to resolve it with the bank, which I didn't want to attempt since I don't speak Chinese. However, the very efficient MH office in Shanghai advised me to email ibesupport@malaysiaairlines.com, and two days later the refund was authorized. I'd suggest trying this route; IBE Support seems to hold the keys to the payment records.