Bank won't cancel unauthorised payments...

moneytracker

I discovered this morning that £55 was being held in my account waiting to be pay someone but I dont know who. I rang the bank and they have no details yet.

As I have also realised my card is missing this morning I have asked them to cancel my card and stop the payment, they have cancelled my card but have refused to stop the payment.

They said for legal reasons because it was made using my card they can not stop it, and I will just have to wait for it to go out and try to sort it out then.

Can they really refuse to do this and just let my money go out when I have asked them to cancel it? Is there anything I can do if they money does go out and I can't get it back?

The account is just a electron debit.

cifpower

Once the transaction has been authorised that's it I'm afraid. If it is fraudulent your bank will have processes set up and you will be refunded within a few weeks.

rb10

When you use your debit card to make a purchase, the retailer gets what is called an 'Authorisation Code'. You will usually see this printed on your receipt, it's about 5-6 digits long. This code is unique for that transaction. Once the code has been issued, the money is then 'reserved' for that retailer. In practise, you see it as having been deducted from your Available Balance, but not yet from your Account Balance.

The retailer will then, at some stage later (may be later that day, or up to a few days later), use that Authorisation Code to actually get the money from your bank. At this stage, it will be deducted from your account balance. The reason why they do it this way, rather than taking it immediately is because of the computer processing time required. It is easier to do many transactions together, in bulk.

But the key thing is that once the retailer is in possession of the Authorisation Code, they are guaranteed to get that payment. It is illegal for the bank to stop it unless they have the written permission of the retailer to whom the payment was made. If this wasn't the case, the whole debit card system would fall apart, because otherwise you could just cancel things you didn't want to pay!

So the payment has to go out. This is unavoidable. What you will have to do now is submit a fraud claim. As it is for a small amount, you may even get the money refunded on the spot, depending on the bank. Otherwise, you may have to wait a little while.

Extant

Yes. The merchant has basically asked the bank if you're good for that money, and may provide some service/goods on the basis of that. As such it's typically treated as a guaranteed transaction.

How do you know you didn't spend this money? You'd be surprised how many swear blindly they haven't spent anything and then when it shows on their statement, it all comes flooding back.

With that in mind, it really wouldn't be appropriate for a bank to cancel - because you might already have taken the TV or something.

If it is fraud, which sounds unlikely based on the amount, your bank will have a procedure for you to get your money back in that event.

moneytracker

Finally after three day my bank have told me that it is Bargin Booze that are trying to take the money. Definatly not me.

The bank have said if it does goes out that I need to get it marked as fraudulent activity and then they will see if I can get my money back.

Has anyone ever had this done with Halifax, will I get my money back and if so how long will it take?

rb10

As soon as it's gone out, go in to a branch and report it as a fraudulent transaction. As it's only £55 they will probably credit your account on the spot. They will also, obviously, take details of where you and your card were at the time, how you remember your PIN, etc.