TUI computer grabs customer cash

TUI UK has apologised to hundreds of customers for a computer gaffe which wrongly seized cash from their bank accounts.

A glitch in its payment processing system meant “several hundred” customers who booked and paid for holidays last year were charged the same amount again last Tuesday.

A spokeswoman said most of the bookings were through its direct brand Portland Direct and the company expected only a small number of cases to have gone through agents.

Customer accounts were re-credited within hours and Thomson has promised to reimburse any bank charges incurred as a result.

“We’ve contacted customers to apologise and explained it was a computer error that’s now been rectified,” the spokeswoman added.

The problem occurred when an old file of credit card debits was accidentally transferred to the operator’s bank. “We have taken steps to ensure it does not happen again,” said the spokeswoman.