Sunglass Hut

I went to this Sunglasses Hut location a couple days ago to attempt to purchase a new pair of Polarized Ray-​Ban Aviators. I had no trouble picking out the pair I wanted, and after a friendly conversation with the merchant working the store, I proceeded to the cash register to check out.
To make this purchase, I gave her my debit card to swipe. She swiped it once and told me that the transaction «didn’t go through». After swiping two more times, verifying the ZIP code associated with my card, and trying to manually enter the information, she told me that my card could not be processed, that the transaction never completed, and that I needed to call my bank. «Weird», I thought. I assumed she was right, however, and as I walked out of the store, I opened my Wells Fargo app on my phone to check my statement and then look up the number to call Wells Fargo.
I wasn’t more than 20 steps out of this Sunglasses Hut store when I opened my statement and proceeded to physically feel my jaw drop and my stomach plummet. This transaction that «didn’t go through» was now listed TWICE on my statement, knocking $ 430 ($ 215 with tax on the pair that I wanted to buy x 2) out of my account. I marched back into the store immediately, pulled up my statement, and proceeded to ask the merchant how I was just charged twice on a $ 215 pair of sunglasses that were never sold to me because the transaction, in her exact words, «didn’t go through». Puzzled, she told me to call my bank and inquire on the status of the charges. After speaking with a member of the Wells Fargo customer service team, I found out that the fault of the double charge was entirely on the merchant due to the «system timing out».
I am now out of $ 430 and nervously awaiting the claim that I filed with Wells Fargo to come into fruition and return my hard-​earned money. This process may take up to 10 business days, so in the meantime, I have practically no money left in my account due to this double charge wiping out nearly all of it. Never in my 3 years of owning and using a debit card have I ever had an issue with making a purchase, in person or online, with any merchant or business whatsoever… until now.
I could not be any more frustrated with this Sunglasses Hut store than I currently am. What I thought was going to be a simple purchase turned into a nightmare that has left me nearly penniless. I feel extremely cheated, especially considering the fact that the merchant made it seem like the «failed» transaction was the fault of my bank and me.
I’ll try my luck either online or at another Sunglasses Hut location, but this store, which is unfortunately the most convenient location for me, will never again receive my business.