My card was apparently declined -- but the money was still charged/deducted from my account!

Hello,

I have been using Logos/Verbum for a number of years and I've mostly been happy.

Just before, I was trying to purchase some items on logos.com since I got my birthday coupon (my birthday is in January). I placed my order, entering my card details, however, at the moment of payment, a red banner on the top of the site announced my card was declined. I double-checked my card details -- yes, I have more than enough funds to cover the cost of my intended purchase -- and everything was correct. So I gave it a second try, but again, the site said my card was declined. Anyway, I gave up. Yet, it's odd that my card was declined because I have made previous purchases on logos.com using the very same card.

My big surprise, however, was when I checked my card/bank account. On the transactions listed was the intended, apparently declined, purchase made to "Logos Bellingham." So how does this work? Logos declines a purchase but still charges/deducts the money from my bank account. Needless to say, I am quite disappointed and feeling ripped off. At least only one transaction/deduction occurred -- and not two, for my two 'declined' purchase attempts.

Can someone at Logos please help me? Either I want that transaction cancelled (i.e., a refund) or the items I wanted to purchase added to my logos account.

Since, on logos.com the purchase attempts were 'declined', I don't have an order number for this -- indeed the items are still in my cart. However, I have the receipt from my bank indicating the transaction with the date, time, and amount deducted.

I am an Australian customer, yet this should not make a difference to the resolution of this matter.

Any help is greatly appreciated. Thank you in advance. God bless!

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Comments

Yasmin Stephen

For a query like this, you would need to contact Customer Service directly, either via email or you can use the chat function on the www.Logos.com site. I guess you can call them as well: +1 360-527-1700 (International) / 888-563-0382 (US).

The forum is mostly made up of Logos users like yourself, and we would not be able to help with a query of this nature.

Eric Manuel Torres

https://community.logos.com/discussion/comment/1283270#Comment_1283270

Thank you Yasmin. Indeed, I've sent an email to their customer support, i.e., customerservice@logos.com. I hope to hear back from them soon. God bless!

Wild Eagle

If transaction is under pending status, then it could go away. I would wait, unless it’s posted.

Eric Manuel Torres

https://community.logos.com/discussion/comment/1283274#Comment_1283274

Thank you Wild Eagle. Indeed, the trasaction currently show up as pending status.
This is the fisrt times such a thing has ever occurred to me -- at any site or store. Hopefully this transaction goes aways as you mentioned. Yet, I feel concerned, and my instinct is to raise this matter earlier than later -- if that makes sense.

Joseph Turner

https://community.logos.com/discussion/comment/1283275#Comment_1283275

I would raise the matter sooner than later. It says it was declined, you don't have what you were trying to pay for, but you have a pending charge. That sounds like a problem.

Did you check your order history to see if anything shows up?

Since you tried it twice, are there two charges or one?

Eric Manuel Torres

https://community.logos.com/discussion/comment/1283278#Comment_1283278

Thank you Joseph for your comment.
Fortunately, no double pending transaction from Logos.
Indeed, I have checked my order history on logos.com. All my previous Logos orders are listed, however, there is absolutely nothing related to this recent order attempt. In fact, the items I intended to purchase are still in my cart.
I have reached out to Logos Customer Service via email; so I await their response. Also, as I type this here, I am holding the line with my bank, just to inform them of this issue and that it may be documented -- just in case.

God bless!

MJ. Smith

So how does this work?

It depends on your bank, the kind of account, and the kind of card you used. For example, if you use a debit card against an account with overdraft protection, it will be treated differently than a credit card against a credit maximum. Even the latter, may be handled by raising your credit limit or canceling the transaction. Of course, Australia would have different banking laws than the US but I would expect similar distinctions.

I suspect that the declined transactions went into a pending status which the bank cleared, releasing one. The question would be how they tried to notify Logos of the change in status. I don't know how the point of sale aspect works.

Eric Manuel Torres

https://community.logos.com/discussion/comment/1283281#Comment_1283281

Thank you for your insightful comment MJ. Smith.

My card is a debit card linked to my bank account and it has sufficient funds to cover the transaction in question.

Joseph Turner

https://community.logos.com/discussion/comment/1283279#Comment_1283279

Thank you Joseph for your comment.
Fortunately, no double pending transaction from Logos.
Indeed, I have checked my order history on logos.com. All my previous Logos orders are listed, however, there is absolutely nothing related to this recent order attempt. In fact, the items I intended to purchase are still in my cart.
I have reached out to Logos Customer Service via email; so I await their response. Also, as I type this here, I am holding the line with my bank, just to inform them of this issue and that it may be documented -- just in case.

God bless!

I agree then that it is likely a temporary hold that will drop off; however, it seems odd that your card allowed the temporary hold in the event of a decline. I wouldn't think a decline would create a hold, as it was declined. Secondly, it's strange that it would decline with funds available. It sounds like a glitch of some sorts somewhere. I'm sure customer support will be able to get you sorted.

Hope you hear back soon!

John

https://community.logos.com/discussion/comment/1283282#Comment_1283282

My card is a debit card linked to my bank account and it has sufficient funds to cover the transaction in question.

Doesn't matter. If your bank/card processor declined the transaction, it is declined. Logos has nothing to do with this, it is how payments are processed anywhere you use the card.

Many banks/credit card companies automatically decline internet and/or international transactions unless you have previously consented to authorize them. Some of them attempt to contact you to verify the charge. This is usually done through an app or text messaging (or phone). Then after verification, they would authorize it on the next attempt.

Pending charges showing on your account are not charges. They can either become charges, or they can disappear.

You need to contact your card issuer, as Logos cannot do anything except try to run the charge through again, which in turn could be declined again.

Don't you miss the days when everybody used cash? [:D]

Eric Manuel Torres

https://community.logos.com/discussion/comment/1283306#Comment_1283306

Thank you, again, Joseph for your comment.
I must say, all this has been quite odd.
As you and others have mentioned, the pending transaction could go away or drop off. And, indeed, that is what has happened. Over the course of the day, I've been checking my bank regularly. About an hour ago, I noticed that the pending "Logos Bellingham" transaction had vanished.
I am still awaiting a reply from Logos Customer Service. However, since the transaction in question is no longer, I guess all that they might say is that there is nothing else to do.
As it’s my first time facing such an issue, it has been a learning experience for me.

God bless!

Eric Manuel Torres

https://community.logos.com/discussion/comment/1283316#Comment_1283316

Thank you John for your comment.
Indeed, I miss the days when cash was the main way to carry out transactions. Believe it or not, I still carry cash and it remains my preferred payment method -- of course, that is only possible at brick-and-mortar stores.
I hear you, the bank/card issuer is the entity that actually declines transactions. What I find odd is that I've previously purchased items from Logos using the very same card and nothing else has changed.
Anyhow, as I mentioned in my above comment, the pending status transaction from Logos has vanished. So, you are right, it could disappear -- and it did.
God bless!

Simon’s Brother

https://community.logos.com/discussion/comment/1283322#Comment_1283322

I miss the days when cash was the main way to carry out transactions. Believe it or not, I still carry cash and it remains my preferred payment method -- of course, that is only possible at brick-and-mortar stores.

Those day in Australia are disappearing by stealth as well, Eric. Coles and Woolworths now won't let you take cash out unless you purchase something and not limit the amount you can withdraw to $200. Automatic Teller Machines are disappearing and even if your local bank branch doesn't get closed it may no longer offer cash withdrawals.

(1) Access to cash becoming harder, RBA governor warns | 7 News Australia - YouTube

Shock for customers as banks turn away from cash | 7NEWS (youtube.com)

The results of the Reserve Bank of Australia's 2022 Consumer Payments Survey were released in November 2023 and can be accessed here:

RDP 2023-08: The Evolution of Consumer Payments in Australia: Results from the 2022 Consumer Payments Survey | RBA

"The decline of transactional cash use accelerated over the three years to 2022, with cash accounting for 13 per cent of the total number of consumer payments, compared to 27 per cent in 2019". And I believe about 10 years ago it would have been at 70%. The pandemic is being blamed on the recent decline but is Is it because institutions are making it harder to access cash and or because consumers are demanding it less. Is the tail wagging the dog or the dog wagging the tail?