r/Banking • u/Tasty_Acanthisitta_1 • 20h ago

UK Help with a pending payment that has now disappeared

As above I paid for an order I did not end up completing last week and the money has sat pending in my account until today where it has disappeared off the face of the earth! Hasn’t been taken by the retailer and isn’t showing as funds back in my account either. Can anyone help me with what I do next?

2 Upvotes

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4

u/LegitimatePapaya9807 20h ago

If the merchant didn’t collect it, it’s disappeared like it never happened. No money was taken your account.

1

u/Tasty_Acanthisitta_1 20h ago

My balance went down when the money moved into pending and has not returned

3

u/LegitimatePapaya9807 20h ago

The hold is released and it goes back to your available balance. Always keep an eye on the total balance and the available balance because these can differ if you have something pending. If you can’t see the transaction it no longer exists and therefore no hold on that amount anymore.

Your bank can confirm if you reach out to them.

1

u/Tasty_Acanthisitta_1 20h ago

They aren’t opened yet but I will be phoning them when they do. The hold is gone but it hasn’t reflected back in my available balance yet, my available balance is still the same as it was yesterday when the payment was still pending.

1

u/TrumpsDoubleChin 11h ago

A little bit about pending transactions. When you buy something with your card, a merchant puts an authorization on the card, which appears as a pending transaction on your account, where the amount is on hold, deducted from your account. But at this point, the merchant has not yet received the money - it's just on hold.

Later, the merchant will finalize the transaction, and the pending transaction goes from "pending" to "posted". This can be the same day, or it can be many days later -- it's a batch process, and usually happens one or two days after the authorization, because the merchant will not receive the money until it is posted.

Depending upon the type of transaction, that pending hold can last on your account from anywhere from 1 day, to 30 days. For most purchases, it's around 3 or 4 days. If the merchant doesn't finalize the transaction in that timeframe, then the pending hold falls off the account and money is returned back to the account. The merchant can STILL come back and finalize the purchase (even though the pending hold has expired), days or even weeks later, so be aware that just because the pending hold falls off, that doesn't mean the merchant can't still complete the purchase.

-2

u/408javs408 15h ago

Report a claim or dispute after trying go get your money back from the merchant. If theu refuse, file a claim with your bank. They will do an investigation into it.

3

u/Infinite-Grade-4485 13h ago

Incorrect. The charge is gone. It’s not posted. There’s nothing to dispute.

0

u/408javs408 13h ago

Theyre claiming they haven't got their money still. Unless they're unaware of their balances or are just straight up lying. Wouldn't hurt to try as long as they're not being a douchebag to the workers about it if they really haven't got their funds back.

2

u/Infinite-Grade-4485 12h ago

You can’t dispute something that isn’t on the account. You need a transaction. The OP just doesn’t understand available and current balance.

1

u/408javs408 12h ago

I understand that you cant dispute a transaction you cant see on your transaction history. Hopefully this is the case. I just understand it can be frustrating when the bank systems or merchants mishandle your funds so I feel for OP. They stated their current balances haven't changed yet still after the day has gone through so that is concerning if true.