GE Money/Capital - disorganised or deliberately underhand?

julieo_3

Hello Everyone,

This is my first post, so how d'you do?

I want to have a rant and rave about GE Money/Capital who run the Mothercare Card. I've had problems with them for ages and I keep thinking they are resolved only to find that they're not.

It's quite intricate, so I'll just tell you briefly about the worst problem: in August I got a statement which had something called a "Payment Adjustment" for £67.88. I phoned and then emailed about this and in September received a letter telling me it was "charged to my account in error. This error has now been corrected, leaving your account with a nil balance." Further down the letter it said "As requested your account has now been closed with a nil balance." I thought - how kind, they've even cancelled what I did owe them - must be a gesture of goodwill. There was even a new statement confirming that I had a nil balance. However, in October I received another statement - with the £67.88, plus what I had spent and , of course, interest. I phoned and then wrote, providing copies of letters and emails. What they had actually done is closed my account, and transferred everything to a new account. Yesterday I received my lastet reply from them and I've been told "The balance on your October 2005 statement is correct. The reason for this is a direct debit was requested on 24/04/05 and this amount was credited to your account on 25/04/05. However, on 24/04/05 your account was transferred to a new account number ... Subsequently this cancelled the direct debit transaction and no payment was ever received from your bank." Thank goodness because I never owed them £67.88, in fact at that point my account was in credit.

I threatened in my letter to publicise the story, so here it is , well a little bit of it. I wrote "It is beginning to appear to me that there is a deliberate policy to take advantage of the distraction of new mothers - first by setting up a direct debit to take the minimum balance, then by ignoring repeated attempts to change this, and finally by misleading customers by letter, so that you can make more profit. I find it a cynical and insidious attitude."

What do you think? Which do you think is the most appropriate newspaper/tv/radio programme/website to publicise my complaint? Or do you think another letter would sort it out?

Thanks for any suggestions

Julie

Stonk

I think that there's no need to run to newspapers / TV / etc over something that is obviously just a mix-up. Sure, in an ideal world they wouldn't have made the initial error, and they would have sorted it out quicker, but mistakes happen. That's all this is. There is no conspiracy. Storecard operators make enough money from their customers legally without having to defraud them.

If everyone who was the victim of a mistake by a financial institution ran to the media, then the media would be packed to the brim with it. Well, actually not, because the media aren't going to give a tinker's cuss about your story I'm afraid!

Keep on at them until it is set right and you are not out of pocket.

julieo_3

Yes, I suppose you're right - it's just that I keep on and on at them and seem to get absolutely nowhere. Thanks - it's useful to read an objective viewpoint

JaneV_3

If you are still having problems with your card why not call MotherCare card inquiries on 0113 240 4394.