Conroe Courier - News
Macy’s patrons charged double debit in glitch
By T.L. Hamilton
Customers who shopped at Macy’s department stores with their debit card on the Saturday before Christmas may have been double-charged, according to store officials.
An unknown number of Macy’s stores in the company’s Central (including Texas) and East divisions were affected by a computer glitch, spokesman Ed Smith said.
The glitch, which has been resolved, occurred between 1 p.m. and 2:45 p.m. on Dec. 20, and caused some purchases paid for by debit cards to be charged twice, Smith said.
Purchases made with credit or gift cards were not affected.
Smith said he does not know whether or not the glitch occurred at the Macy’s store in The Woodlands Mall. He does not know how many customers were affected or how many dollars were overcharged.
Macy’s has notified banks, and all known double charges have been credited back to customers, he said. The double charge and a credit may appear on customers’ bank statements in some cases.
“A very small number of customers were affected,” Smith said. “By now, 11 days after the fact, I’d guess that about 99 percent of these charges have been corrected.”
Smith said that “in that rare case where it may have fallen through the cracks,” customers who have not been credited or have been charged overdraft fees as a result of the glitch can fax their bank statement to (513) 573-2433.
Customers can black out their checking account numbers if they prefer to do so, Smith said.
“The reason we ask they (fax a statement) is because we want to ensure that the double-debit glitch that happened at Macy’s is what caused them to be in an overdraft situation in the first place,” Smith said. “We certainly will assume responsibility for that, but we have to verify it.”
Woodlands Mall officials did not return phone messages for this story on Wednesday.
An unknown number of Macy’s stores in the company’s Central (including Texas) and East divisions were affected by a computer glitch, spokesman Ed Smith said.
The glitch, which has been resolved, occurred between 1 p.m. and 2:45 p.m. on Dec. 20, and caused some purchases paid for by debit cards to be charged twice, Smith said.
Purchases made with credit or gift cards were not affected.
Smith said he does not know whether or not the glitch occurred at the Macy’s store in The Woodlands Mall. He does not know how many customers were affected or how many dollars were overcharged.
Macy’s has notified banks, and all known double charges have been credited back to customers, he said. The double charge and a credit may appear on customers’ bank statements in some cases.
“A very small number of customers were affected,” Smith said. “By now, 11 days after the fact, I’d guess that about 99 percent of these charges have been corrected.”
Smith said that “in that rare case where it may have fallen through the cracks,” customers who have not been credited or have been charged overdraft fees as a result of the glitch can fax their bank statement to (513) 573-2433.
Customers can black out their checking account numbers if they prefer to do so, Smith said.
“The reason we ask they (fax a statement) is because we want to ensure that the double-debit glitch that happened at Macy’s is what caused them to be in an overdraft situation in the first place,” Smith said. “We certainly will assume responsibility for that, but we have to verify it.”
Woodlands Mall officials did not return phone messages for this story on Wednesday.
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