South Essex commuters are raising concerns about an issue with online payments, leaving customers hundreds of pounds out of pocket.

An error on c2c’s website, in which customers are able to input their card details and enter the payment but are then are then told that there is an issue with processing, has left some commuters paying for a ticket up to three or four times without realising.

Passengers have also expressed their frustrations during attempts to retrieve their money via c2c themselves or their banking providers, with one passenger describing her attempts at contacting managers being met with “radio silence”.

One commuter, 26, who commutes daily from Benfleet to London Fenchurch Street, and has had money withdrawn erroneously six times since May.

She said: “It’s incredibly frustrating - since complaints have come in they have added a note to their website with instructions for what to do if a transaction goes wrong, but many commuters buying their ticket in a rush could miss this.

“I think it’s terrible that it’s a known issue and yet hardly anything seems to have been done to address it – I hate to think of how many people have been affected and potentially not even realise it.

“I’ve had to do a lot of work myself to try and get the money back, which isn’t how it should be – I was shocked to hear that other people had had similar issues.”

Other customers have reported losing hundreds of pounds whilst buying monthly or annual passes.

Another customer, who wished to remain anonymous, has faced problems since November.

She said: “Whilst the payments do eventually return to my account, I have been left overdrawn at times which incurs a £15 charge a day from my bank and it can take a minimum of seven days for them to return the money to my account. At times I have been hundreds of pounds down for the month.”

A c2c spokesperson said: “We’re sorry to hear of the problems. These are very rare, given we complete thousands of successful transactions online every month.

“The ticket transaction was not completed, which is likely to be related to the security settings on the computer used. The complainants money has never been passed to c2c, but was held pending by her bank.

“We have offered to meet the complainant to assist her with our online purchases, and will be happy to help anyone else who has faced similar issues in the same way.”