GRAND RAPIDS, Mich. (WOOD) — Hundreds of people are disputing charges made at Meijer stores over the weekend.
Customers tell News 8 that they were charged more than once for groceries and gas purchases — a problem some say happened at other stores in the area.
“So far, we have no indication that there is any sort of scam or information compromise. What we know is that Meijer is still working on it and fixing their issues with the card statements,” Katie Grevious, communication specialist at the Better Business Bureau, said.
Grevious advises customers to call their banks as soon as possible if they dealt with the card payments issues on Saturday.
Customers were having trouble using their debit, credit and EBT cards which store representatives attributed to technical issues caused by the recent storms.
Emily Marks shopped in the store Saturday. When she looked at her account, she saw two identical charges around $375 from Meijer on her account.
“My husband called our bank and after telling them it was not actually an authorized charge, he was told they were required to lock and replace the card which could take up to two weeks,” Marks said. “It’s okay for us as we’ve gotten our bills paid already, but that is going to be stressful for a lot of people if they have to go the same route we did.”
The BBB told News 8 that’s the reason you should use a credit card to make purchases.
“IT issues happen,” Grevious said. “If something does go wrong, credit card issues are a lot easier at getting your money back and taking those charges off especially if you’ve been double charged.”
She added that if it involves your debit card, it’s a little bit tougher to get that money back, initially.
“With a case like this your bank should be able to work with you but every bank operates differently, credit unions operate differently so definitely give them a call,” she said.
Even if you didn’t shop at a Meijer store this weekend, Grevious says you should check your statements for any charges made within the last few days.
“We know something is happening locally it’s good to be a little more vigilant right now,” she said. “Check some of those other store purchases to make sure if it’s a technology issue that it didn’t impact you in any way. It can’t hurt to triple check.”
Grevious encourages consumers who are worried about the safety of their information to talk to their bank first as they can put a hold on your card or your account and help you monitor charges.