A computer implemented method, apparatus, and computer program product for determining a state associated with a transaction for use with a transactional processing system comprising a transaction coordinator and a plurality of grouped and inter-connected resource managers, the method comprising the steps of: in response to a communications failure between the transaction coordinator and a first resource manager causing a transaction to have an in doubt state, connecting to a second resource manager; in response to the connecting step, sending by the transaction coordinator to the second resource manager, a query requesting data associated with the in doubt transaction; obtaining at the first resource manager, by the second resource manager, a shared lock to data associated with the in doubt transaction; and in response to the obtaining step, collating, by the second resource manager, data associated with the in doubt transaction associated with the first resource manager.