COMMUTERS have been left furious after several weeks’ worth of train ticket payments were taken out of their bank accounts all at once.

Those affected took to social media to share their outrage, with many claiming hundreds of pounds have been taken out as a backlog payment from as long as five weeks ago, but without notice from c2c.

Commuter Duncan Ireland is furious and said the backlog has happened at one of the most expensive times of the year.

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The 41-year-old, who travels from Southend East, said: “I’ve been charged a total of £313 for 16 daily return tickets dating back from as far as October 15.

“The problem isn’t that they’ve taken the money, we are all fully aware we’re entitled to pay for these journeys. What’s frustrating is, it’s all came out at once with no notice.

“I contacted Barclays who explained that typically, they would take the money and put it in reserve for c2c to collect.

“Apparently if they don’t collect this within a window of ten days, it’s classed as a pending transaction, which c2c can legally collect anytime within the following six years after the day the ticket was bought. Even though it’s not illegal, it’s not morally right.”

He added: “There’s no way to know how many ticket payments haven’t been collected. It’s really angered me; I’m essentially paying for two months’ worth of tickets at once; from last month and this month. Now I’ve got no money for the rest of December or Christmas. I was also in the process of saving for a holiday next year, which now I’ll have to start saving for all over again.”

Paige Alston, 19, who travels from East Tilbury station, is also angry.

She said: “I had four payments come out all at once, totalling £60, which doesn’t seem like a lot but it really is for an apprentice. Everyday there seems to be problems, yesterday the whole ticket system was down so nobody could even buy a ticket.”

A c2c spokesperson said: “Over the past five weeks there has been a delay in charging some customers who used new ticket vending machines.

“These payments have now been processed, reflecting the tickets the customers bought at the time.

“We’re sorry if this delayed transaction causes issues for any customers. In the event of anyone incurring any bank charges as a result, we will of course cover these.

“IBM has fixed the core issue and has taken the necessary precautions to avoid any further disruption of this sort happening again. We thank our customers for their ongoing patience.”