Charged £12 for missing a Direct Debit on a cancelled card

hostman

Hello,

I cancelled my MBNA Credit Card start of August, after paying off the balance in full 30th July 2008 (£874.99), the minimum payment needed to reach the account by 06/08/2008.

At the time I cancelled, the advisor on the phone instructed me to cancel the Direct Debit, which I duly did immediately after the phone call. I received a letter last week confirming in writing cancellation of the card.

Today, I logged into my MBNA account, to check its all in order (expecting to see something saying its cancelled, but they don't seem to show anything like this), only to find a charge of £12 has been added to my account, because they attempted to debit the Direct Debit and this failed (because I cancelled it with my bank).

So I phone their customer service help line, in a rather inraged state, to demand they remove the £12 charge and continue with the cancellation of the card. Only to be told they have no record of an MBNA representive telling me to cancel the Direct Debit and I should not have done this. He stated MBNA would never tell me to do this, depsite the fact the balance was £0 and the card was being cancelled.

I asked for a recording of the conversation, he said they only record 25% of phone calls. He has instructed a manager to call me within 48 hours, but he won't be able to authorise the removal of the charge, appareantly.

Do we need to record every phone call ourselves when speaking to these sharks? I've come across this before with various companies in the past, telling people different advice and I'm sick to death with it. It may be time to invest in a small recording system I think!

Are MBNA right? If not, what on earth can I do for the charge to be removed?

The balance was £0, they claim I missed a payment due to the cancelled Direct Debit, I hope to god this does not appear on my credit file, as I'll be going through a mortgage application in the coming months! I have never previous missed any payments.

Aaarrrgggghh!!!!!!

YorkshireBoy

First of all, you need to give MBNA 7 working days notice in order for them NOT to claim the DD (see the 'important: confirmation of DDI' letter they sent you when you initially set it up).

Whenever you cancel a direct debit with your bank you also need to advise the originator.

The issue won't be recorded on your credit file because your account was never in arrears.

A tip for the future...NEVER cancel a DD until you've received a zero balance statement AND a letter confirming the account is closed.

MBNA are not alone in operating like this with DD's. Halifax, RBSG, et al also operate in the same way, ie they'll ignore whatever you pay in the meantime and take what they say they'll take on the statement. Always read the small print.

As to getting the issue resolved, ring customer loyalty on 0800 783 1116. Be calm, and be prepared to take some of the blame. Your main angle of 'attack' is innocence and ignorance (of the rules) and the fact that you shouldn't be 'fined' when no payment was due.

If you get enraged, you'll lose!

Good luck!

daveboy

hostman wrote: »

.....I'll be going through a mortgage application in the coming months!...

More fool you.

hostman

daveboy wrote: »

More fool you.

That comment is rather silly. You have no idea of circumstances/

I'm as bearish as they come, but circumstances dictate otherwise.

hostman

YorkshireBoy wrote: »

First of all, you need to give MBNA 7 working days notice in order for them NOT to claim the DD (see the 'important: confirmation of DDI' letter they sent you when you initially set it up).

Whenever you cancel a direct debit with your bank you also need to advise the originator.

The issue won't be recorded on your credit file because your account was never in arrears.

A tip for the future...NEVER cancel a DD until you've received a zero balance statement AND a letter confirming the account is closed.

MBNA are not alone in operating like this with DD's. Halifax, RBSG, et al also operate in the same way, ie they'll ignore whatever you pay in the meantime and take what they say they'll take on the statement. Always read the small print.

As to getting the issue resolved, ring customer loyalty on 0800 783 1116. Be calm, and be prepared to take some of the blame. Your main angle of 'attack' is innocence and ignorance (of the rules) and the fact that you shouldn't be 'fined' when no payment was due.

If you get enraged, you'll lose!

Good luck!

Yes, but I asked the MBNA representative when it was cancelled what should I do with the Direct Debit and she said to cancel it. I just hope this is recorded.

Next time I'll of course be wiser, but MBNA are completely to blame because they TOLD me to cancel it, as the balance was £0 and I was cancelling the card.

clio

If his balance was zero and spoke to the CS then why should he be to blame.
surely the CS man was to blame and i myself would be piddled off as well.
It,s not allways the customers fault you know!!

Gosia

Hi Hostman

I completely agree with you - you DID NOTHING WRONG! Common sense dictates as how could they have taken a DD out when you're account was at zero!

If I were you I would definitely fire off some letters to MBA. Don't bother discussing this over the phone - afterwards there's never a record of the conversations anyway! Just write a letter that as your account is now clear and you were in the process of closing it, and you rightly cancelled your DD you expect the 12 fine to be cleared and the account to be closed down. Also if you get a hold of their fax number just fax them the same letter a couple of times (like everyday for 5 days) I find that that works wonders.

In fact I think you are well within your rights to ask them for an apology.

Don't understand why the fellow Moneysavers are giving you such a hard time about this either - when it's you whose been wronged.

Good Luck

YorkshireBoy

Well, there you have it OP. You either prepare (including perhaps having a piece of humble pie* at the ready) for a phone call with, in my experience, some very helpful decision-makers...or fire off a ranting letter (11 times over a 5-day period!) to some faceless/nameless back office detailing how you're 100% right and they're 100% wrong - and furthermore, you want an apology.

Hmmm, difficult decision. :rolleyes:


* You paid the card off 4-5 working days before the DD due date (they told you they wanted 7 working days notice to cancel the DD remember), and closed the account/cancelled the DD 2-3 days before the DD due date...when the DD will have already been 'in the system' and so possibly the CSA couldn't even see it...let alone stop it.

Yes, you were given incorrect information by the CSA...but highlight this calmly and professionally and use it to your advantage.

As I said before, good luck (but you'll need rather more should you choose the wrong approach ).


EDIT: One further thing...if you fire off a 'complaint' letter, they'll treat it as such and it could take up to 56 days to resolve. If you ring them in the morning (office hours only) they'll probably credit your account straight away.

Incisor

hostman wrote: »

... I asked for a recording of the conversation, he said they only record 25% of phone calls. He has instructed a manager to call me within 48 hours, but he won't be able to authorise the removal of the charge, appareantly.

You really are easy meat for these people. You don't need their recording to prove anything. You were acting on advice. They have to prove that this didn't happen. They are the ones who need to get out the recording.

hostman

YorkshireBoy wrote: »

Well, there you have it OP. You either prepare (including perhaps having a piece of humble pie* at the ready) for a phone call with, in my experience, some very helpful decision-makers...or fire off a ranting letter (11 times over a 5-day period!) to some faceless/nameless back office detailing how you're 100% right and they're 100% wrong - and furthermore, you want an apology.

Hmmm, difficult decision. :rolleyes:


* You paid the card off 4-5 working days before the DD due date (they told you they wanted 7 working days notice to cancel the DD remember), and closed the account/cancelled the DD 2-3 days before the DD due date...when the DD will have already been 'in the system' and so possibly the CSA couldn't even see it...let alone stop it.

Yes, you were given incorrect information by the CSA...but highlight this calmly and professionally and use it to your advantage.

As I said before, good luck (but you'll need rather more should you choose the wrong approach ).


EDIT: One further thing...if you fire off a 'complaint' letter, they'll treat it as such and it could take up to 56 days to resolve. If you ring them in the morning (office hours only) they'll probably credit your account straight away.

The bank wouldn't have allowed me to cancel the DD if it was "in the system", I can cancel a DD up to three before its due. I have already made the phone call earlier today with no success. They are right, I am wrong, they would never tell me to cancel the DD, end of story from their point of view.

Re: Incisor - I dispute your "easy meat" comment - I did exactly as instructed and still end up in the poo. They don't have to proove anything, because it says in their terms a £12 charge will be levied if the DD fails, despite what I may have been told to do over the phone. I could argue the wording is ambiguous in my scenerio, but I'm not expecting them to move, espesically as the card has been cancelled.

YorkshireBoy

hostman wrote: »

I have already made the phone call earlier today with no success.

To the number I gave you earlier?...because I don't think they work outside 'normal' office hours (if you did ring that number today, maybe it transferred to a normal CSA?).

They are right, I am wrong, they would never tell me to cancel the DD, end of story from their point of view.

Don't give up. Many other people have been in your situation and had the £12 refunded.

Please post the outcome tomorrow.