[basa]

Last week I booked 4 flight tickets to LAX with Expedia at a cost of £1500+. I immediately received confirmation via Expedia's web site (printed off a receipt) and by email.

My online bank statement showed nothing going out of my account until early this week when each of the 4 ticket costs were deducted individually.

The same day my debit card was refused at 2 shops !! My bank statement still showed my account was OK, but on phoning my bank was told I was overdrawn by £1000 !!!

Apparently what had happened was that Expedia had placed a "Deferred Payment Processing (or Pre Authorisation)" amount on my account, which reserves the amount to be drawn later, but doesn't actually take the cash at that time. 5 days later when they did take the cash (as 4 separate amounts) it appeared (to my bank) they had taken the £1500+ amount TWICE (the 'deferred' amount plus the actual amounts) which put my account in default !! Apparently the deferred payment should have been removed at or before the real amounts were taken, but because none of the 4 separate amounts taken matched the original total reserve amount this failed.

Although it was sorted within an hour of my discovering the problem I was fortunate there were no DDs or other payments due during that time else I would've been charged for returned items.

Anyone else experienced this and what would have happened about charges for payments returned due to lack of funds ?