Regular Payments off a Credit Card Discussion

ironybrew

I have seen the credit card problem from both sides having 1) set up a merchant account with a UK bank to collect credit card payments and 2) having had horrendous problems getting rid of CPAs from one of my cards.

There are distinctions between the rights of a purchaser in a credit card transaction that depend on the status of the transaction which can be classified as:

Cardholder Present - CP
Cardholder Not Present – CNP
Continuing Payment Authority – CPA

In non-legal language:

If it’s a Cardholder Present transaction within authorised limits (or with an authorisation code) and there is no valid dispute the Merchant Account holder e.g. a shop will get their money and there is onus upon the customer to provide evidence of a valid dispute.

If it’s a Cardholder Not Present transaction any dispute will almost certainly result in a chargeback, with the merchant not being paid and the cardholder not being required to pay (at least by the credit card company, it may become a legal dispute between the cardholder and the merchant). Because of the risk that a fraudulent merchant could theoretically have been paid before the disputed amount is seen on a statement by the customer there is obvious potential for fraud and banks certainly used to be very careful about who they permitted to operate a CNP merchant account. If a merchant develops a record of “excessive” chargebacks there is a good chance their merchant account facilities will be withdrawn if they are provided by a reputable bank.

With a Continuing Payment Authority the scandalous situation is well documented on this thread.

So to summarise from the point of view of the consumer:

If you have handed over your credit card and authorised the transaction with signature or PIN you would be well advised to document any dispute with the merchant before asking the credit card company to reverse the transaction.

If it is an individual internet or mail order purchase, using a credit card (as opposed to a debit card or cheque) provides the consumer with the maximum protection. (If it goes wrong, you might be asked to sign a statement but you should get your money back).

CPAs are an absolute last resort. If there is no direct debit alternative, ask yourself why and before using a credit or debit card for an ongoing supply, find and PRINT OFF contact details for cancellation. If you can provide your credit card company with a copy of the cancellation procedure and your cancellation, this might just be enough to prevent them squawking “Can’t refuse a CPA” repeatedly while they pay out your money but I wouldn’t bet on it.

nives316

Ive had similar problems. I think I may have to "lose" my card. Cheers for the advise.

Kevin79_2

nives316 wrote:

Ive had similar problems. I think I may have to "lose" my card. Cheers for the advise.

Describe your problems here. It can be useful.

alanf_2

I had this with a net name provider. Tried to get all heavy and legal with me after i cancelled the CC and told them that i did not require their services any more

chands

I has this problem with sky TV. My cc marbles wouldnt cancel it and sky were very unhelpfull and unauthorised funds were being taken out for 2 months. I cancelled the cc as lost but payments were still continuing. I then called sky to tell them i want to change to Direct debit. Soon as they changed it my card details were off the system and then i cancelled the direct debit .

By the way what is &quot and stolen&quot?

tpurch

calleyw wrote:

Yes they can do it and do, do it. Even if you shut the credit card account down it still remains active for at least a couple of years. The reason being to cover CPA's. Such as Magazine subs etc.

Yours

Calley

OK, but if you close the account then surely you can no longer be held responsible for it (or held to any T&Cs that are applied to it). If the account is closed the the credit facility is closed isn't it ? Surely a CPA should be returned unpaid, then its down to the company requesting to decide what to do next i.e cancel subs, insurance or contact the person to obtain payment via a new method.

padington

Halifax have confirmed to me that they keep their credit card accounts 'dorment' 'for many, many years' to honour CPA's that may be evoked. The customer is then liable and will occur interest and will negatively effect their credit rating if this payment is not paid. The truth is out. You can't close a credit card account. Martin needs to make people much more aware of this. A credit card is not just for the interest free period, its for life. Martin is currently promoting people to open many credit card accounts to enjoy the interest free period. In my opinion this is a very dangerous thing to do if you don't intend on informing all of these banks of your new address 'for many years' even after 'closing' an account (in case of CPA transactions). Martin please step up the campaign against CPA's! Anyone that has been experiencing credit problems please check the ballance of your old credit cards (and debit cards), you may be in for a shock.

http://forums.moneysavingexpert.com/showthread.html?t=289241

pandamania

Unfortunately I've found this thread about 2 years too late .

In December I switched from Aol to Tiscali using a migration code(MAC). Because I used a MAC I couldn't cancel Aol as the service had to remain live to be transferred straight over. My Aol broadband was switched off on 19 Dec. Another payment was taken on 31 Dec (for January). We have phoned up and complained and a cheque was supposedly on its way to us...but guess what? Instead another payment has been taken off my card on the 1 Feb. To make things worse I was worried about Aol continuing to take payments so I changed my payment card to my Halifax cc which is at its limit after I defaulted last year. I am only making token payments now.

Obviously I can't cancel the card without paying what I owe and anyway this thread shows it wouldn't change matters. Any ideas how I can stop this card being used and get the £50 back Aol now owe me??? Obviously I will be phoning them again but need to get my facts right before I do.

samsong

Hi! I'm a new user and not sure what to do exactly. I've just joined the chat forum as I have a new problem. Do you remember when the 0% offer was on for Barclaycard a while back. Well Martin set up a CPA for £1 per month so the minimum spend was achieved therefore not attracting any interest. Well I've just been charged interest on this months balance because the £1 wasn't taken out. Does anyone know whats changed regarding this ?????

LeifGR

Does anyone know whether a CPA on a card would be an agreement between the card holder and BIBIT/WorldPay or between the card holder and the individual merchant that uses BIBIT/WorldPay for their transactions?