Last week, three Southern California residents who had recently purchased Tesla cars discovered that the company had charged them twice, taking tens of thousands of dollars from their bank accounts without authorization or warning. Two other customers also said they noticed double charges from Tesla, which caused them major problems. One of them went over his overdraft limit and was faced with outstanding charges on his credit card accounts.
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As is well known, the cost of a Tesla car is not insignificant. According to CNBC, the amounts taken from the accounts of the above customers ranged from $37,000 (the price of a base version 2021 Tesla Model 3 sedan) to $71,000 (the price of a 2021 Tesla Model Y crossover SUV loaded with premium options).
Dave Excell, founder of Featurespace, a technology company specializing in financial crime prevention, said double charges are a common problem in e-commerce and banking services, in general.
Without specifically mentioning Tesla, Excell said that platforms that process ACH transactions can use so-called “de-duplicate functions” to prevent erroneous double charges from occurring.
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For consumers who are faced with double charges, Excell said: “The best thing to do is go back to the merchant and let them know what the error was. Ask them to refund the money. That should be the easiest way.” Contacting your bank to reverse the transaction can also help, but it can take longer as the bank will have to sort out the issue with the merchant.
What happened to Tesla customers ?
On March 24, one of the customers received a message from Tesla saying that the car he had ordered in January would arrive at his home within three days via the company's "contactless" delivery service.
Tesla would take the car to the customer's residence, who could use the Tesla app as a digital key to get into it the first time.
The contactless delivery process is one that Tesla has touted as safe and convenient during the pandemic. All the customer had to do was complete their order and choose a payment method.
When customers pay in advance and online, they can also do so via Bitcoin or by bank transfer. The customer added their bank account and gave the money transfer order.
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But when he checked his account the next morning, March 25, he discovered he was $53,000 short of what he had estimated. Essentially, Tesla had charged him twice for the 2021 Tesla Model Y he had ordered.
So he tried to contact Tesla immediately to inform them of the error. The process was not easy. Employees either didn't pick up the phone or didn't give clear answers about the refund.
Ultimately, the customer went to Tesla's store and service centerin Burbank, California, to speak in person with sales staff.
“I was told to call my bank and ask my bank to reverse the transaction. This is not acceptable. You charge more than $50,000 more and tell the customer to sort it out themselves? I kept pushing,” he said.
Five days later, Slattery is still waiting for a refund or even a written commitment to a return date.
The amount of money withdrawn from his account is large and is causing him problems, as he also has to settle other obligations.
While he doesn't plan on leaving Tesla, the customer said, "It's hard to imagine sales and service getting any worse. Almost $53,000 has been stolen from my bank account. And no one, no one has called me or sent me an email. There is no sense of urgency to resolve this issue."
Meanwhile, his bank told him it could take anywhere from 10 days to 45 days to process the refund and that it would be faster if Tesla handled it.
He's not the only one who's faced double charges from Tesla
According to the company's own staff, hundreds of customers were experiencing the same problem.
A Los Angeles resident told CNBC a similar story.
He was excited to receive his Tesla Model Y. Tesla told him the car would arrive at his home in 1-3 days and asked him to complete the payment. On March 24, the customer had completed the necessary procedures.
On March 25, a Tesla employee called the customer and informed him of the car's delivery time, while also telling him that his account had been charged twice.
“He told me to call the bank and stop the payment for it,” the customer said. “I said the money was gone from my account. I’m very familiar with how bank transfers work. When the money is gone, it’s gone! He insisted I had to call my bank. So I did. They confirmed the money was in Tesla’s account. There’s nothing we can do about it until they sort it out.”
The customer and his family were looking forward to receiving their new car. However, they wonder why it was possible to pay $71,000 for a luxury vehicle in a matter of minutes, but not be able to immediately get back this huge amount of money that was their fault.
A bank representative told him that he was not the only one who had called to resolve this issue.
The customer also mentioned the issue on social media and stressed: “For a company that has so much expertise, having this happen to so many people really raises questions.”
Another new Tesla customer, Christopher T. Lee, says the Model Y was his dream car, but he was disappointed when he was faced with the situation mentioned above.
Lee is known as “Everyday Chris” on YouTube. He makes reviews and how-to videos on his channel. On March 27, he uploaded a video mentioning the incident.
Lee told CNBC that he hopes his video will help other Tesla buyers avoid similar issues or at least resolve them more quickly.
Source: CNBC
