Help! Charged twice – anyone else had this happen?

[Staffan6]

Hey everyone,

I’m hoping someone can help or has had a similar experience. I booked a place on Airbnb, and my bank statement shows I was charged $530 (equivalent in my local currency) twice on two different days. Both charges have separate authorization codes, so it’s clear they are two distinct transactions.

The confusing part is that when I contacted Airbnb, they insisted they only charged me once. Meanwhile, my bank shows two charges to Airbnb, so I’m stuck here with less money in my account and no resolution.

Has this happened to anyone? How did you sort it out? I’ve already spoken to my bank, but they’re pointing out that both charges seem legit. Does anyone have any advice on what to do next? I'm feeling a bit stuck, and I would appreciate any insights!

Thanks!

[Joelle43]

Hello @Staffan6 

Airbnb offer guests a split payment for certain stays so that's the only instance I have come across to explain two Airbnb transactions.  

[Staffan6]

Hi @Joelle43,

Thanks for replying to my question.

In this case, I used a split payment, but that's not the issue, as AIRBNB has withdrawn from my account three times in total when it should have only been two times. So they did the final installment two times instead of one.

[Staffan6]

An Update:

AIRBNB still hasn't found a solution to this issue of the incorrect debit. My bank has been very helpful in getting information that could be used to track the double unjustified charge.

I got the PAC number. A Processor Authentication Code is a six-digit unique code generated by the card issuer or payment processor to authenticate and verify a transaction between a cardholder and a merchant.

But even with this, AIRBNB could not locate the wrongfully charged transaction.

As a next step, I got the ARN from my bank. Where the PAC is not unique, the ARN is supposed to be unique to the transactions. Even with the two ARNs for the unauthorized charge (one charge is correct, and one is an inaccurate billing), AIRBNB could still not find the incorrectly billed transaction.

So even though they have shown some support in trying to find the erroneous transaction, nothing has yet come from the investigation.

As a next with my bank in this case, I have had to rectify a Police report. Hopefully, my bank can help where AIRBNB has been unsuccessful for the last six weeks.

[Joelle43]

Hello @Staffan6 

Oh crumbs!  sorry to hear that you're still dealing with this issue after over a month.  I'm wondering if @Bhumika or @Quincy have any suggestions on how to take this to the next level?🤞

[Quincy]

Thanks for the tag @Joelle43! 👍

Hi @Staffan6, thank you for your reply here. We have flagged this to the team earlier. I will try to give them a nudge, but please bear in mind that the Community Center is not customer service, and as such I will not be able to look into your details. With that said, I will do my best to notify them of your update here. 

[Staffan6]

Hi @Quincy ,

Thank you for your reply and for doing what you can to look into it.

I understand this is not customer service, but I'm just trying to grasp anything and hoping that someone else might have had a similar experience with a positive outcome. 

Thanks again.