Understanding Pre-authorised Payments
If you see a pending transaction to Unmanned Tech on your bank statement, but you don't have a confirmed order on our website or haven't received an order confirmation email, you're likely experiencing a pre-authorisation issue.
What is Pre-authorisation?
Pre-authorisation, also known as a 'hold' or 'block', is when your card issuer temporarily reserves funds for a potential transaction. This is common in the UK's two-step card payment process:
- Authorisation: The card issuer checks and reserves the funds.
- Capture: The merchant (Unmanned Tech) confirms the transaction, triggering the actual transfer of funds.
In this case, only the first step has occurred.
Why This Happens
Several reasons can cause a pre-authorisation without a completed order:
- Security checks by our payment gateway
- Connection issues during the checkout process
- Incomplete order submission
- Technical glitches in the payment system
In these cases, our system hasn't proceeded to the capture stage, even though your card issuer has pre-authorised the funds.
Other messages you can get are: "Something went wrong. No money has been taken from your account. Please try again."
What You Need to Know
- Unmanned Tech does not have access to these funds.
- We cannot capture or release these pre-authorised funds after a certain timeframe (usually a few hours).
- The pre-authorisation will be automatically released by your card issuer, typically within 3-7 days, depending on their policies.
Steps to Resolve the Issue
- Check your email for any order confirmation from Unmanned Tech.
- Log into your Unmanned Tech account to verify if there's a pending or completed order.
- If you find no evidence of a completed order:
- Contact your card issuer (the bank that issued your card).
- Explain that you have a pending pre-authorisation for a transaction that wasn't completed.
- Ask when the pre-authorisation will be automatically released.
Important Points to Remember
- Unmanned Tech cannot speed up this process or release the funds directly.
- In the UK, merchants typically have a limited window (often just a few hours) to capture pre-authorised funds. After this, we lose the ability to capture the payment.
- The time it takes for funds to be released can vary depending on your card issuer's policies, but it's typically 3-7 days for UK banks.
Frequently Asked Questions
Q: Can Unmanned Tech cancel the pre-authorisation?
A: No, once the initial pre-authorisation window has passed, we don't have the ability to cancel or release pre-authorisations. This can only be done by your card issuer.
Q: Will I be charged for this incomplete transaction?
A: No, Unmanned Tech has not received these funds. The pre-authorisation will be automatically released by your card issuer.
Q: What if my bank says Unmanned Tech needs to release the funds?
A: Politely explain to your bank that this is a pre-authorisation, not a captured payment. In the UK card payment system, merchants cannot release pre-authorisations after the initial capture window has passed.
Q: How long will it take for the funds to be available again?
A: In the UK, most card issuers automatically release pre-authorisations within 3-7 days if they're not captured. However, this can vary, so it's best to check with your specific card issuer.
Q: How can I prevent this from happening in the future?
A: Always ensure you complete the checkout process and receive an order confirmation before closing your browser or leaving our website. If you experience any issues during checkout, contact our customer support immediately.
If you have any questions about orders or payments on your Unmanned Tech account, please contact our customer support team. While we can't directly resolve pre-authorisation holds, we can verify whether an order was placed and provide any necessary information about transactions on our end. Please get into contact us with the following information so we can help:
- Your delivery address
- The payment method used
- The approximate date/time of the order
- The value of the order (this is the value showing on your pre-authorised bank statement)
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