Attempt to get CPAs changed

withnell

I was just thinking that while CPA's have a valuable place, allowing you to pay recurring bills on a card, they seem to be lacking the major feature that the consumer can cancel them.

Should the system be remodelled like Direct Debits, where the company set the payment arrangement up with your authorisation, but if as the customer you wish to cancel you can just contact the account holding bank and they will cancel the arrangement.

It doesn't seem quite right to me that someone able to take your money is also the only one who can turn off the arangement - is there any reasonable reason why there shouldn't be a self-cancellation mechanism?

Discuss!

benf90

When a credit card transaction is processed there is a code which identifies the type of retailer (I can't remember if this either 4 or 5 numbers in length).

The only difference between a CPA and a normal transaction is that they have their own code which identifies it is a 'subscription'. It's processed in the same way as any other transaction.

The credit card company doesn't have a list of the CPAs set up. So in order for them to be able to cancel CPAs it would require a major change in the way they're set up and managed.

I don't think there's necessarily anything wrong with the system as it is. The vast majority of CPAs are cancelled with no problems.

The problem is just the few rogue firms that we continuously hear about. I just think Visa/Mastercard need to be more strict in punishing those firms if they have a high number of successful disputes against them.

withnell

benf90 wrote: »

I don't think there's necessarily anything wrong with the system as it is. The vast majority of CPAs are cancelled with no problems.

I'd agree that the majority of insurance companies etc will cancel the arrangement when asked - but it does bring up a question around whether it is right to have a CPA authorisation hidden in the small print; it would seem that it should be stated clearly on the payment window, with a box to tick to agree with it, and an option to make only a single payment.