Asda customers suffer e-commerce payment glitch

Tuesday, September 4, 2012 - 12:28 by Mike Price

Asda is one of the UK's largest supermarket chains, but its size and experience did not stop a computer error from overcharging customers who were buying their groceries online.

The retailer issued an apology at the end of last week, after it emerged that major refunds would be handed out to hundreds of customers, who had suffered as a result of the bug.

In one instance, a customer had created a shopping basked online with around £140 worth of products in it, but when they passed through the e-commerce checkout, it emerged that their account had been charged over £790.

The error was apparently caused by a power cut, which occurred within the offices of Asda's US owner, Walmart, according to This Is Money.

The good news for those affected is that in the long run, they will actually benefit from the error. Not only is Asda going to refund the money they spent, but they will also be honouring the orders and also paying off any banking charges which customers may have incurred, as a result of the unexpectedly large payments that were taken.

Of course, this has not prevented many from voicing their annoyance at the nature of the glitch, with Asda's system for safe shopping online. Some were left without much needed cash, with most having to wait for around five days before the refund was finally paid.

Asda said in a statement that this glitch with payments was a one-off occurrence and that it has now put checks in place, to make sure that it is not repeated.

Asda customers may remember a similar incident which occurred in the middle of last year, when its e-commerce service charged some shoppers twice, which also meant that refunds and apologies were necessary.