Today, nothing prohibits a bank from charging twice fees for a single chargeback. The only solution to avoid being a victim of overpayment: be vigilant and ask for a refund, if necessary.
Every day, tens of thousands of French people are financially sanctioned by their banks following payment incidents. In particular for a chargeback, which occurs when a payment – an invoice in general – appears on the account, but the bank refuses to honor it because its balance is insufficient. In this case, the bank charges a fee, ceilings by law 20euros per rejectionintervention fee included.
It happens however that this same direct debit is presented again to the bank by the creditor, a few days later; that the bank still refuses the payment because the funds on the account remain insufficient; and that it levies rejection fees a second time.
For years now, consumer associations, in particular the UFC-Que Choisir, have been protesting against these overpayments. They represent, according to her, 20% of collection of fees for rejection of direct debits, i.e. more than 400million euros per year. A sum that weighs, obviously, mainly on already weakened customers.
Rejection fees: overpayment by banks estimated at 420 million euros per year
Only one solution: vigilance
The problem is that It is not forbidden. In this case, the regulations (1) only allows the payer to ask his bank for a refund, if he is able to prove that there has been a duplicate.
A simple solution, however, exists: impose on banks the automatic reimbursement of fees for the rejection of duplicate direct debits. It is technically possible, since some banks already do it. Problem: according to the UFC Que Choisir, they are today… only 2: La Banque Postale and BRED Banque Populaire!
Result: while waiting for the public authorities to take hold of the problem, there is only one way to avoid paying twice for a single payment incident: vigilance. Carefully review their account statements. In case of duplicate, contact his bank. How? By mail: the UFC Que Choisir makes available to consumers a standard letter.
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(1) Source: article D133-6 of the monetary and financial code