Asda Issues - Warning to others!!

samboette

Hi there

Just thought i'd share this problem in case it might happen to someone else!!

I noticed today on my online bank statement that a payment of £136.10 had been taken by Asda, my first thoughts was someone has cloned my card, however when I looked properly, the day of POS was 26th September 2009. I looked back to September and there was no sign of payment but can remember them taking an amount before delivery and then it disappeared after delivery, which is fine because they adjust the total to the exact amount of your shop and then request payment again. As usual I didn't take any more notice of this because it happens most of the time and because of having to pay a large repair bill for our car we were left with not a lot at the end of the month anway, so definately wasn't in profit if you see what I mean?!

Obviously I was a bit peeved with this and phoned their Customer Services number and explained the issue. The call taker advised me they could take payment up to 6 months from POS and that it was written on their terms and conditions online. However, I had read the terms and conditions and there was no mention of this. Getting nowhere with the call taker I asked for another number to call. The number he gave me was for the financial services side of Asda, i.e Insurances etc. The man that answered this number was however, extremely helpful and although had no idea how to help me, found me another number to call.

Subsequently I dialled this number to have the phone knocked off the receiver by the idiots at that end and could hear a few members of Asda staff in the background shouting, swearing and messing around, I kept saying "hello" and eventually someone answered me. With a very unimpressed tone I reiterated my issue, for him to patronise me by saying "I know where you're coming from" over and over again, he eventually said he's pass my query onto one of his Managers and took my details, he even had the order number of the shopping order and advised me there was no one in to deal with it today but would get a call back tomorrow. He also added that back in August/September a lot of order details went missing, hence the delay in payment being taken but have obviously been found and then went on to blame my bank (Natwest) for not paying up and they they can take up to 6 months to issue payments, which as he stated were in the terms and conditions of my debit card.

I decided to call Trading Standards for advice and he rightly stated that they weren't doing anything illegal but it wasn't good practice and it was well worth carrying on badgering them, in the hope they give me some sort of compensation/good will gesture!! As I pointed out, I had received the groceries but would expect payment to be taken immediately, as per previous orders and now it could cause a problem because with this money being taken and paying out for Christmas, we could be left short. This isn't the case for us but if it's happened to me and they've openly admitted they lost other orders back then, it's no doubt happened to someone else.

With the phone calls done for today, I settled to watch tv and the phone started ringing, I looked at the displayed number and recognised the code and the one i'd dialled previously. A lady asked for someone with a completely different name, I asked where she was calling from and she said "Asda", so replied that I had called regarding an issue and it sounds like there has been a mix up. She then said the name again and promptly read the address out of the other person, which has totally breached Data Protection, to which I again said no I wasn't called that and gave her my address. The woman admitted she thought it was odd that the telephone number didn't match the one on the account. I informed her of the messing around of staff on the earlier phone call and said that could be the reason for the mix up, she made a note of that and was going to pass it to their line manager.

Anyway, she again said there wasn't that could be done but they would issue me a £20 refund or evouchers, I opted for evouchers because I knew I wouldn't get anything more!!

I know the post if long but it's just a warning that this has happened and how utterly shambolic their customer service is, i'm sure the woman that phoned back said their call centre was in Africa!! I could be incorrect but she definately said Africa. After telling my OH what had happened, he quite rightly said I should be concerned because they had obviously lost mine and others payment details for 3 months and made me aware that anyone could have viewed them.

I will be less inclined to use Asda in the future now because of this problem and obviously concerned that our data isn't being stored and used in a secure manner.

Thanks for reading!!
Merry Christmas!!

Quick Note - I spoke to Natwest after Asda blamed them for not releasing payment and they do have a policy where a payment can be taken upto 6 months after POS but only if there isn't money in the account. Since there is always money in our account, this wouldn't be the reason it was taken late, it was purely down to their incompetence!

geordie_joe

samboette wrote: »

Getting nowhere with the call taker I asked for another number to call.

Where did you want to go when you made the call? Were you just after compo?

samboette wrote: »

The man that answered this number was however, extremely helpful and although had no idea how to help me,

He was "extremely helpful" but "had no idea how to help me"

samboette wrote: »

I decided to call Trading Standards for advice and he rightly stated that they weren't doing anything illegal but it wasn't good practice and it was well worth carrying on badgering them, in the hope they give me some sort of compensation/good will gesture!!

Ah, now I see where you wanted to go with the phone call.

samboette wrote: »

As I pointed out, I had received the groceries but would expect payment to be taken immediately, as per previous orders and now it could cause a problem because with this money being taken and paying out for Christmas, we could be left short.

So, what you are saying is you want compo for not being in control of your own finances and bank account.

Would you want compo if you posted a cheque and it was delayed in the post?

samboette wrote: »

After telling my OH what had happened, he quite rightly said I should be concerned because they had obviously lost mine and others payment details for 3 months and made me aware that anyone could have viewed them.

I thought the definition of "being lost" meant nobody could view it! What makes you and your Oh think that just because Asda couldn't find your data others could?

samboette wrote: »

I will be less inclined to use Asda in the future now because of this problem and obviously concerned that our data isn't being stored and used in a secure manner.

You don't know it wasn't stored in a secure manner, it may have been stored so securely that nobody could find it.

samboette wrote: »

Quick Note - I spoke to Natwest after Asda blamed them for not releasing payment and they do have a policy where a payment can be taken upto 6 months after POS but only if there isn't money in the account.
Since there is always money in our account, this wouldn't be the reason it was taken late, it was purely down to their incompetence!

If they have this policy, why did they let Asda take your money? Sound to me like they have a policy of giving your money to anyone who asks for it.

If I were you I'd go for compo from Natwest too, for giving money to Asda when it was against their policy.

I think your story is a complete disgrace, there should be a law that says a shop can't take payment for goods it supplies after you have forgotten about it.

There should be a clause in the sale of goods act, saying retailers must take the payment before the customer forgets about the transaction.

The government must realise that we have brought up a generation that can't control their own finances and bank accounts. Having a computer, online banking, and more financial help/education than any other generation is not enough for them. They need the law to hold their hand too, otherwise they will be blaming everyone else, and demanding compo, when THEY get it wrong.

Storck

Same thing happened with Tesco but October 24th, think that was the date.

http://forums.moneysavingexpert.com/showthread.html?t=2150427

samboette

My my climb down off that high horse you're sitting on!!

I'm probably wasting my breath but will clarify some points......Natwest only pay out the money when a request has been sent, so no request no payment. However, in September a payment was earmarked and came off my account but due to paying out for a large repair bill, I really didn't notice whether the money was in there or not!! Quite frankly, even the most dilligent person can sometimes miss something!! After all we're not perfect like your good self!!

No I wasn't after compensation, I was trying to establish why it had happened because I have never had it happen or heard of it happen before and didn't think it was good practice!! In fact it was Trading Standards who said I should ask for a good will gesture!!!

Yes the call taker was helpful and friendly and managed to get me a number but wasn't sure if it was correct or not but at least he tried even though it wasn't his department!!

I think you're definition of 'lost' in incorrect - I 'lost' my phone some time ago but it was viewed by someone else because they called my home with it to inform me they had found it!!

Yes you're right, I don't know it wasn't stored in a secure manner but you also don't know that it was stored securely. If the order details were stored where they were meant to be then we wouldn't be here now writing about it, so something clearly went amiss.

You also cannot comment on how I manage my finances, as it says above, nobody is perfect, even you!! Fortunately for us, we have money in the account and it isn't going to affect us but for some, it could result in them having a difficult time until next payday.

As for my story being a "disgrace" well I beg to differ. If it means someone else can gain some answers because it's also happened to them then that's all that matters, after all, this forum is about helping others and not trying to make other people look silly!!

I hope Father Christmas leaves some happy pills in your stocking tomorrow!!

Merry Christmas!!