M&S Contactless Readers Have A Mind Of Their Own

Contactless card owners: beware of standing too close to payment terminals—you might be charged twice, or more.

Customers at UK retail store, Marks and Spencer, have complained about the new contactless card system making charging errors, reports BBC News.

The M&S payment system was designed to accept payments of up to £20, and only when the cards are placed within a two-inch proximity from the contactless terminal. But recently, two customers have reached out to BBC’s Money Box program to report unexpected payments made via contactless cards. They said the cards were well away from the card reader, either in their hands or in a purse.

Both customers claimed they were reaching for the standard chip & PIN card to make payment. One woman, from Sussex, was about to enter her card when she heard the till employee inquire whether or not she would like cash back. She explained her confusion, as she stood almost a foot away from the NFC reader.

She told BBC News, “Before I could answer, the transaction came up as complete and the till issued a receipt so I hadn’t put in a PIN at all at that stage.”

The Sussex customer said she had planned to pay with her Lloyds debit card, and until that moment she hadn’t even realized her other account had contactless capabilities.

Since the M&S reports, other customers have been coming out of the woodwork after finding unintentional transactions on their contactless card account.

According to The Telegraph, other sources have come forward, and complained they were also accidentally charged by the new technology. It’s possible that many other customers have similar unintentional transactions, but have yet to notice.

M&S has responded to the complaints, and reported they have dealt with each customer and refunded them. They said they were investigating further into the cases, but still seemed puzzled.

An M&S spokesperson stated to BBC News, “We’ve tested the system extensively and it is robust and fit for purpose. Almost 250,000 transactions a week are now taking place in M&S stores on contactless.”

The British retailer recently completed the roll out of the payment technology across its 644-store network.

The spokesperson added, “We’ve had an overwhelmingly positive response from our customers following the introduction.”

M&S’s NFC scheme is provided by Visa Europe and it still in the initial stages of roll out. Many banks and other retailers have started using similar payment technology, which now poses a great concern for consumers.

Until the payment terminals and double-debiting card issues have been sorted, you may want to pay close attention to card proximity.

To read the full story at BBC News click here, or to read the full story at The Telegraph click here.