A man living on the Île d'Yeu, off the coast of the Vendée region in western France, was charged twice after paying an insurance premium by card at his insurer's office, according to French broadcaster TF1's daily consumer segment "Le 13H à vos côtés." The viewer, identified only as Eric, said his first payment attempt failed, so he tried again. He later discovered that two separate charges of 458 euros had gone through in error.
The case was addressed on the programme by consumer affairs expert Valentin Depret, speaking to presenter Marie-Sophie Lacarrau, who set out how viewers in this situation can recover money taken from their account by mistake.
Contacting the Bank First
Depret said the first step in this kind of situation is always to try to recover the money from the merchant. In Eric's case, his insurer maintained it had received only one payment, not two identical amounts. The next option is to contact the bank, though the outcome depends heavily on how many times the customer entered their PIN at the payment terminal.
Under France's Monetary and Financial Code, Depret explained, a bank is liable for any payment transaction that was not authorised or was carried out incorrectly. It is up to the bank to prove that each transaction was, in his words, "authenticated, duly recorded and accounted for, and was not affected by a technical failure." So if a customer entered their PIN only once, the bank cannot prove that a second, duplicate charge was ever authenticated, meaning it must refund the customer and then pursue the merchant itself.
Two PIN Entries Changes the Picture
In Eric's case, however, he had made two separate card payments after the first one failed, meaning he entered his PIN twice and no technical fault was involved. Depret said this makes the situation more complicated, because the bank is no longer liable, and the dispute shifts back to the merchant, in this case the insurer.
Depret advised that customers in this position send a formal complaint letter to the merchant, attaching their bank statement and their insurance premium statement, to make clear the error is obvious. If the insurer still refuses to refund the money, he said, it would be at fault under the French Civil Code for what is termed "unjust enrichment," meaning it had wrongly received a sum of money it is refusing to return to its rightful owner.
What to Do if a Merchant Refuses
If the insurer or merchant continues to refuse, Depret said the next step is a formal notice sent by registered letter demanding the return of the wrongly taken sum, with the option of turning to a consumer mediator if that fails. Eric did not need to go that far. His insurer tracked down the source of the error after two months of back and forth and has now refunded him the 458 euros.
TF1 said viewers with their own consumer questions can submit them by video through the programme's dedicated page, or by email at [email protected].
