Are Next Directory legally allowed to open a credit account without my permission?

hev7878

My Next account has been suspended due to my credit criteria not matching their requirements. I had not been told about this and apparantly they did it in April. I complained three times to them that I had not received any directories nor any emails about promotions/sales. Not once did they mention that it was because of my account being suspended. I had ordered some items on Monday and was sent a letter today saying that they had tried to call me as they needed me to pay the money via debit card and as they didn't get me they cancelled the order.
I rang to find out what this was about and all he could say was your credit criteria does not meet requirements. I said I have been a customer for years and I paid my bills on time every month and was never late and I never owed anything. They actually owe me 80p. I have closed my accounts and I will never use them again!!

TheGardenGnome

Cazz wrote: »

do you get charged for the directory if you only place orders online? sorry, rather confused............

If you use a directory account to place your orders then you will be charged for the directory..

TheGardenGnome

DCFC79 wrote: »

possibly because some people are not aware that next charge for it, sime ple answer is dont use next,

Or of course we could highlight the fact that Next have charged for their catalogue for TWO DECADES and give people the information to make an informed choice as to whether or not to use Next, rather than just throwing arms in the air and saying don't use them!

TheGardenGnome

murphy306 wrote: »

I dont understand why they cant be normal and let you purchase and pay for items online without all the hassle of a credit account which you do not want......

They do.....

calippo_2

I recently tried to buy something from the Next Sale & wanted to avoid setting up a Next Account by all means. I took every step to ensure that I hadn't clicked a box that would unwittingly sign me up for a Next account.

I got as far as the 'Pay by Direct Debit' page, but three times it said there was an error with the page and that it could not submit my payment details. I gave up after this, as I wasn't willing to set up a Next credit account & the Direct Debit function seemed to be down.

To my surprise, three weeks later the clothes turned up on my doorstep, shortly followed by an e-mail letting me know that the new statement of my Next Credit account was ready to be viewed. They've opened up an account in my name, with £500 credit.

If the Direct Debit payment was unsuccessful & I changed my mind about the purchase, I in no way think it's ethical for Next to set up an account without my permission, simply to guarantee a sale.

I've e-mailed complaining about this situation & await their response, I'd advise people to steer clear of Next's website for any purchases.

moniq

hello everyone
today i recived a letter showing that next directory opened an credit card account on my name(£600) and that i need to pay £3.95 for directory. probelm is that i never ever applied for credit card nor did i ordered a copy of a next directory. im not going to pay for something i didnt order and reciece. what to do?? and last thing i want is to have now an credit card account. please help. how to cancel all this account with next. and how can i be sure that no one will again wont do it in my name again.
been wondering who could do it in my name(such a silly joke...)

Giant_Space_Lizard

snugglepet20 wrote: »

This happened to me too. I ordered some stuff off the website expecting to just pay by card like normal but they sent a bill instead which I had to ring up and pay which is a pain. I selected 'just pay for delivery' as well so that makes no difference and they have given me a £900 credit account I didn't even want! It is weird and has lowered my opinion of them as a brand. Other stores do not charge for catalogues and you pay for stuff when you order it.

yes a cipule years ago i ordered a dress for partner and it was 'weird' not like a normal purchase it felt like i was being roped into something, never touch them again tbh

Giant_Space_Lizard

moniq wrote: »

hello everyone
today i recived a letter showing that next directory opened an credit card account on my name(£600) and that i need to pay £3.95 for directory. probelm is that i never ever applied for credit card nor did i ordered a copy of a next directory. im not going to pay for something i didnt order and reciece. what to do?? and last thing i want is to have now an credit card account. please help. how to cancel all this account with next. and how can i be sure that no one will again wont do it in my name again.
been wondering who could do it in my name(such a silly joke...)

call up next and tell them to close it i guess

BECKIWOO

I got cornered today in next by some women with that £10 first time surfer thing - I asked her if it was like store card thing at the time and she said it wasnt, you dont get a card - gave an email address and signed the thing - which alarm bells should of been ringing - what am I signing for. Anyway called CS number and they said an account will be set up and I just need to cancel but there is no way they can charge me for the directory can they as they dont have my address - I am not signing up for this so all they effectively have is my email and a signature??

SiRaff

I just wanted to share my experiences of shopping online with Next. I tried to use their online shop for the first time today and when I went to check out, I was prompted to create an account with my email address and password. Fine - most websites expect you to do this. However, the next page gave me two options: free delivery if I agree to pay £3.75 for a Next directory, or I pay for delivery and do not get the directory. The text below said that by clicking Continue, you are agreeing to a credit check. I didn't want this as I don't want an unnecessary search on my credit file, I just wanted to pay for my shopping up front using a debit card. As I soon found out, this is simply not possible. I even read the terms and conditions (which I have to admit I found a little unclear - it just wasn't clear which parts did and did not apply if you opted out of the directory) and it seemed so ludicrous that they would force you to take out credit regardless of which option you took, so I went ahead with the no directory option and clicked Continue.

At this point I cancelled my order anyway, as I was hoping for my items to be delivered next day but they weren't able to do this due to stock levels. However, I was shocked to find that I now have a £250 credit account open with Next. Considering all I did was opt OUT of the free delivery and did not even place an order with them, I find this quite appalling. The website was simply not clear and was at best worded ambiguously. I will be calling them tomorrow to cancel the account and get the search removed from my credit file.

I would advise anybody thinking of using their online shop to be extremely careful as even if you read all the small print, it is ambiguous and do not be fooled - you will be setting up a credit account whether you want to or not. Won't be using their website again!