My transaction failed but I see a charge on my account—what happened?
Don’t worry—you will not be charged for a failed transaction.
What you might be seeing is a temporary authorization hold, not a completed payment. When a transaction fails, the payment processor will place a hold on the funds while it attempts to complete the booking. This will show as “pending” or “processing” on your bank statement, but the money will not leave your account unless the reservation was successful.
Why did my transaction fail?
The most common reasons include:
- Incorrect billing address, zip code, or phone number at checkout
- The trip sold out or the price changed before payment completed
- A page timeout or poor internet connection (including switching between WiFi and mobile data)
- A temporary error with the carrier’s payment processor
- Insufficient funds or over credit limit bank decline
When will the hold be released?
Holds typically clear within a few hours, but in some cases (such as a credit card decline or incorrect billing info) your bank may take up to 5–7 business days to reconcile and release the funds.
What if I am not sure if my purchase was successful or not?
Remember to check your spam and promo folders as well. If you received a ticket after seeing an error message or if only a portion of your reservation was successful and would like to confirm the status of your booking or are unsure how to proceed after reading below, please reach out to us.
What should I do next?
Follow the prompts provided on the error message to resubmit your purchase and book the same trip again or start a new search to book a missing trip leg.
- Re-enter your passenger and billing details.
- It is rare, but an extra space or typo in the passenger name, email or phone number can cause some carrier’s reservation system to time out.
- Avoid booking the same trip twice.
- Double-check your trip route, dates and time.
- Do not repeatedly click on the purchase button.
- Repeated attempts can trigger a fraud alert, temporarily block your account and hold up more of your funds.
Still have questions?
Email us at [[email protected]] or use the chat bubble at the bottom right of this page. To help us look up your transaction, include: the bus or train company name, your email address, billing name and the total amount on hold on your statement (or an image of the same).