The rise of contactless payment systems has been hit by technical issues at Marks & Spencer and Pret a Manger, following complaints that cards have been debited without permission.
According to press reports, a number of M&S customers have had payments taken when their cards were in purses, well away from the device. The cards were charged as the shopper was attempting to make a standard “chip and pin” payment with a different card.
The system, which can be used for payments of up to £20, is only supposed to take money from the cards when they are around 2 inches away from the terminal.
Sources have revealed that M&S has received only five complaints of payments being made unintentionally since the technology began roll-out last year. It receives more than 250,000 payments a week using the technology.
However, it raises the possibility that there could be other cases, where customers may not noticed the money being taken.
Sandwich chain Pret a Manger also said it was investigating similar claims after a customer reported paying with a card that was more than 11 inches away from the reader.
A spokesman for M&S said it had investigated each case it had been notified about and refunded customers where double payments have been made.
She said: “We’ve had an overwhelmingly positive response from our customers following the introduction of contactless.”
