Tesla twice billed some customers for new cars

Last week, after paying for new Tesla electric cars, Southern California residents Tom Slattery, Christopher T. Lee and Clark Peterson told CNBC they were dismayed to find the company billed them twice. , taking tens of thousands of dollars out of their bank accounts without authorization or warning, then giving them a frustrating sleight of hand when they demanded a refund.

CNBC reviewed the records, including motor vehicle purchase contracts, correspondence with Tesla, and bank statements to confirm their stories.

Two other customers, whose identities are known to CNBC but who have requested to remain anonymous for privacy reasons, said they also suffered duplicate debit charges from Tesla, leaving them in distress. One of them faces overdraft fees and looming finance charges on credit card bills due at the end of the month.

The cost of any new Tesla is not trivial. For affected buyers polled by CNBC, the amounts withdrawn from their accounts ranged from $ 37,000, the price of a Tesla Model 3 sedan from the base 2021 version, to around $ 71,000, the price of a Tesla Model Y crossover SUV. 2021 loaded with premium options.

Tesla did not immediately respond to a request for comment for more information. CNBC asked them how many customers suffered the duplicate charges, how these issues might impact their end-of-quarter delivery numbers (which they should report in early April), how quickly they can reimburse owners, and what that customers should do in this situation.

Dave Excell, founder of a financial crime prevention technology company called Featurespace, said duplicate fees are a common problem in e-commerce and banking in general.

Without specifically talking about Tesla’s issues, he said that platforms that process ACH transactions can use so-called deduplication functions to prevent double charges from happening in an erroneous manner. At the same time, the systems they use need to be flexible enough to allow for duplicate transactions that should be done – like a regular salary payment or a grandparent who sends each of their grandchildren $ 50 the same. day.

For consumers who see funds taken from accounts twice, when they’ve only ordered once, Excell said: “The best thing to do is go back to the merchant and let them know that an error has occurred. Ask them to cancel or refund the money. This should be the easiest way. “Contacting a bank to ask them to try to cancel the transaction can also work, but it does may take longer and will require the bank to coordinate with merchants.

Here’s what happened to buyers of Tesla vehicles.

On March 24, the Slatteries were excited by a message from Tesla that the car they ordered in January could be delivered to their homes in one to three days via the company’s “contactless” delivery service.

Tesla would drop the car off at their residence and Slattery could use the Tesla app as a digital key to enter it for the first time. It was a slightly different process than what he experienced when he bought a Tesla Model 3 in 2019 – a car he says he still enjoys driving after the initial flaws were discovered and fixed.

The contactless delivery process was a Tesla touted as safe and convenient during the pandemic. All Slattery had to do was complete their order by uploading proof of insurance, driver’s licenses for Model Y holders, and finally, choosing a payment method.

While customers pay in advance and online, Tesla now accepts Bitcoin or ACH direct debit payments. For convenience, and with no other options, Slattery added their bank account and routing numbers and authorized the funds transfer.

When he checked his account the next morning, March 25, Tom Slattery woke up to find his bank account depleted by almost $ 53,000 more than expected – the amount he agreed to pay for long-range all-wheel drive, 2021 Tesla Model Y. It would be a second Tesla for his family.

Slattery says he immediately spotted the duplicate and jumped in to call and text Tesla. He was stranded all day, people didn’t pick up the phone or get definitive answers on a refund.

Slattery eventually made it to the Tesla Burbank, Calif., Store and service center to speak in person to the sales and delivery staff.

He said, “They told me to call my bank and ask my bank to waive the charge. It was not acceptable. When you charge over $ 50,000 and tell a customer to solve it on their own ? I kept pushing. “

Five days later, Slattery is still waiting for a refund or any commitment, in writing, that it will be refunded and on what date.

He says he will refuse to accept delivery of the new 2021 Model Y, which did not show up during the previously estimated delivery window until the refund is complete.

The stress comes at a horrible time for their family – they are looking for a new home in another state, and any funding issues could impact their ability to bid on a home or secure a mortgage in a timely manner and at a price. desirable. or rate.

Slattery is hardly alone. He said a Tesla employee at the Burbank store and service center said in his presence that hundreds of customers were experiencing the same issue with duplicate charges.

While still in electric cars and has no plans to give up on Tesla, Slattery says, “It’s hard to imagine sales and service deteriorating. I had almost $ 53,000 unauthorized stolen from my bank account. And nobody, nobody called me, emailed me, there is no sense of urgency in solving this problem. ”

Meanwhile, his bank told him it could take a minimum of 10 days and potentially up to 45 days to get a refund processed on their side. And it would be faster to deal with things through Tesla.

Another resident of greater Los Angeles, Clark Peterson, told CNBC a similar story.

He was excited to finally accept delivery of a Tesla Model Y, a car his family wanted since the three-row version of it was teased last year, but they couldn’t order from. Tesla before January 2021.

After missing the original estimated delivery windows in February, Tesla said last week that it could finally drop off the 2021 Model Y at Peterson’s home within one to three days through a contactless service program. . Tesla asked him to complete his payment, and he uploaded proof of insurance, driver’s license, and banking information for the debit payment on March 24.

On March 25, Tesla called and left a voicemail message saying he wanted to review the delivery schedule with Peterson. When they finally connected by phone, the delivery clerk said his vehicle could arrive anywhere between 9 a.m. and midnight on March 26 and mentioned, in passing, that Peterson’s account was billed for two. times.

“He told me to call the bank and stop the payment on it,” Peterson said. “I said the money had left my account. I am quite familiar with how wire transfers work. When the money was gone, the money was gone! He insisted that I call my bank. So I Did it. They confirmed that no, the money is in Tesla’s account now. There is nothing we can do about it until we hear from them. “

Peterson says he loves owning a high-tech car that doesn’t use gasoline, is fast and quiet. Her children are thrilled to have a Tesla. But he wonders why it was possible to pay $ 71,000 for a luxury vehicle in a matter of minutes, but not be reimbursed for a massive, wrong charge on the same day.

A customer service representative at his bank told him that he was not the only one who called to try to resolve this issue.

On social media, where Peterson turned to seek further information and express his frustration, someone asked him if he had just pressed the buy button twice.

“It was not an operator error,” said Peterson. “And for a company that has so many technological skills, the fact that this happens to multiple people really raises questions.”

A customer service employee, who called over the weekend, told Peterson that Tesla would reimburse him within one to three business days. He asked her to send the details by email or text. A written record never arrived.

He was still awaiting his reimbursement or any written communication on this matter as early as Monday afternoon.

Another new Tesla customer, Christopher T. Lee, says Model Y was his dream car, but he and his girlfriend resorted to “broken college” food pending reimbursement.

Lee also produced a video recounting his struggles in owning Tesla. While working in another field, Lee is known as “Everyday Chris” on YouTube. He’s been making consumer tech reviews and how-to videos on his channel for about a year. He now plans to lead a series devoted to Tesla’s adventures and ownership.

In a March 27 episode titled “Did I just get ripped off by TESLA ???!” Lee kicks things off by saying, “Hey, it’s Chris! And I love Tesla, but in today’s video I’m going to talk about how I got ripped off by Tesla.”

He says he saved up for his “dream car,” the 2021 Tesla Model Y, and paid for the car with ACH, using his routing and verification information. Then, he talks about the feeling of “bad dream” when he saw his bank account emptied the next day.

“I was only supposed to pay $ 56,578.63 for my Model 3 … They ended up billing me twice for the car.”

Unlike Slattery and Peterson, Tesla told Lee that there was no record that he had been charged twice. Tesla kept telling him to call his bank, even though he paid through ACH where the funds were immediately withdrawn.

The service center near him was finally able to provide him with an email address to someone in the finance department at Tesla’s offices in Fremont, California. He is still waiting for a refund for the double charge.

Lee told CNBC he hoped his video could help other Tesla buyers avoid similar issues, or at least solve them together faster. If he had had to start over, Lee says, he might have used a cashier’s check and paid in person rather than online.

Here is the full video: