Experian - Be Warned

SnowTiger

Labled wrote: »

Ive also been found foul of Experian's disgraceful behaviour and had our card charged for the last 6 months.

You didn't check your statements for six months?

Hax

Labled wrote: »

Ive also been found foul of Experian's disgraceful behaviour and had our card charged for the last 6 months.

Was your card charged because you signed up for the free trial period and didn't bother cancelling? Or was it due to someone else fraudulently making transactions?

Either way - 6 months is a long time to not check your statements.

meer53

Labled wrote: »

Ive also been found foul of Experian's disgraceful behaviour and had our card charged for the last 6 months.

Is it the FSA or OFT i complain to please?

Im always going to give my MP & Ann Robinsons watch dog a ring, as i cant believe that a company whom should be helping people with credit, are actually abusing their said position with their crafty tactics.

Experian aren't abusing anyone, it's up to you to check what you've agreed to and to check your bank statements.

lisyloo

if you signed up for it then they are entitled to charge you for it.
If it's fradulent activity then report it to your lender but you should be a bit quicker off the mark.
I would report it next day not 6 months down the line.

Labled

hey guys & gals,

you are right, i most certainly should have noticed earlier. My actual complaint isnt about the fact i didnt notice for 6 months, but the under-handed way they conned me.

So my question is......FSA or OFT for complaints please?

ALIBOBSY

gomer wrote: »

The wording from the page that asks for your card details seems pretty clear to me -

Why do we need your card details?
We need your card to verify your identity. If you choose to stay as a member after your free 30 day trial your card will be charged the monthly membership fee of £6.99.
Don’t worry, your card will NOT be charged for membership during your free 30 day trial and there is no obligation to continue with the service after the trial period.

Whilst this does tell you the legally correct information it certainly isn't written in a clear format. it in fact implies that you are given a choice to opt in to stay as a member, when you actually have to opt out to avoid it.

The reality is companies do this all the time. the level of people on this type of forum tend to be pretty savvy and reasonably well educated and intelligent, however this kind of obtuse wording can and does confuse some people. I believe to be fair this should clearly state you must cancel by say midnight on the 30th day after your trial starts otherwise you automatically go on to the paid service.

Mind you i have never used this so don't know how clear any follow up emails, after the service is started are. Does it make it clear you have to cancel within the 30 days and how to cancel in the email you get after subscribing?

Ali x

BTW experion and the like are NOT about helping the consumer in any way shape or form. They were set up by financial companies and in many cases are closely linked to debt collection agencies. They are purely for the banks etc and used to computerise finacial decisions for the most part.
Treat them like this and check your entries are correct-many, many cases where they are wrong or missrepresented.

ALIBOBSY

Labled wrote: »

hey guys & gals,

you are right, i most certainly should have noticed earlier. My actual complaint isnt about the fact i didnt notice for 6 months, but the under-handed way they conned me.

So my question is......FSA or OFT for complaints please?

I would say initially both the above would expect you to go through the companies internal complaints service first. Write to them to complain and state what you expect ie all money back? some money back?
If no joy then on to FSA I would expect.
ali x

Hax

Labled wrote: »

you are right, i most certainly should have noticed earlier. My actual complaint isnt about the fact i didnt notice for 6 months, but the under-handed way they conned me.

In what way did they "con" you? Can you elaborate on this for us - as it is clearly stated that after the trial period expires, then your card will be charged for the membership fee.

Gordon_Hose

lol! People don't read what they're signing up to, then moan because they think they've been "conned"...

Classic.

alonzo_mosely

My problem isn't with the 30 day trial period - I signed up for the service and paid for it for a while. It's that I went to cancel, was told my cancellation date, but was then charged for a further 2 months. When querying this and asking for a refund, their first response (after a week) was "Our records show this is cancelled". I sent them a scan of my card statement (with the number blanked out) to prove my point. The charges did eventually stop but in trying to recoup the 2 months fees they took post-cancellation I've been told I can only do this if I email them (!) my full credit card number. I gave them the card type, issuer and last 4 digits and said I don't want to do this in full, but this apparently wasn't enough and I've now been given the option of calling an 0844 number and paying (admittedly only a few pence a minute) for the privilege of having my query resolved.

Am I being outlandish in thinking their systems should be able to show what they've charged against my account (I've only ever had 1 card registered), and should be able to refund me with the info I've given? I know it's a piddly amount in the grand scheme but the fact it takes them over a week to reply each time means this has now dragged on for months and I'm getting to the point where I want to complain to someone...