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EPS was reported to have erroneously debited the accounts of its users. In a recent case, a user had tried three times to pay by EPS with different ATM cards issued by two different banks but none had succeeded. The transaction was eventually settled by cash. The cardholder later checked the account balance and found that an extra of HK$40,000 was debited as payment for two of the unsuccessful transactions. There were other similar reports on the same day. EPS confirmed that intermittent failures in the systems of the banks concerned had disabled immediate refunds to users for unsuccessful transactions. The EPS Company had reported these cases to the Hong Kong Monetary Authority (HKMA) but did not disclose the total number of users affected. It is understood that the banks concerned, being HSBC and Hang Seng Bank, had already returned in full the amount erroneously debited to the affected customers .
Christmas is a high season for shopping and spending; a lot of people make payments by EPS. However, a number of cases concerning erroneous debit of accounts were reported recently. On 26 December 2008, a customer bought a diamond ring worth HK$20,000 in a jewellery shop. It was said that when the customer tried to pay by EPS with a card issued by Hang Seng Bank, a notice indicating “bank system failure” appeared and the transaction was rejected. The customer and a friend then tried two other cards, one issued by Hang Seng Bank and the other HSBC, but the same problem persisted. The transaction was eventually settled by cash. When the customer checked the bank balance, both the account with HSBC and Hang Seng Bank were each debited HK$20,000, representing a total of HK$40,000. On the same day, the daughter of the customer encountered the same kind of problem in which her account was wrongly debited HK$300 for purchasing an electronic appliance.
EPS pointed out that the systems involved had restored to normal and the banks had started making refunds from the operating accounts to ensure all monies erroneously debited would be returned to the customers affected. EPS added that as advised by the banks concerned, all monies had been refunded to the customers on or before 27 December. The spokesperson of EPS said that up to now, they had not received other such complaints apart from these cases. ■Translated by 開明
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