Regular Payments off a Credit Card Discussion

Norbert_Colon

When my last Co-op Bank credit card expired, the new card came with a guidance leaflet which, among other things, specifically warned about the potential for abuse of CPAs, and advised cardholders not to give them except to trusted companies.

That suggested to me that many of their customers must have had CPA problems.

johnholcroft

I read about the the company that gives you calls for 3p.
It sounded very good until I heard the catch. When you said the billing was through a continuous payment method, my face dropped.
If I knew for sure that canceling the service would'nt be a hassle, I would sign up like a shot.
With this new age of call centres and automatic phone directing, I have had my fare share of frustration with not getting through to the right dept and being passed from pillar to post.
You did say that others have signed up and don't have any problems with the service. Have any of them tried to cancel yet?

J Holcroft

grumbler

johnholcroft wrote:

...Have any of them tried to cancel yet?...

I don't think so. Why? Rates are still very good.
Once I disputed by mistake their transaction (that appears as Bibit's on a statement) with my CC company. The money was instantly refunded by the CC company and my 1899 accout was blocked untill I paid the bill from my current account. Looks very reliable for me. And this is not a subscription - if you don't use the service you don't pay anything ...

pure-angel1103

I've been reading this thread with increasing fascination and horror. I have a CPA on my debit card that I can't track down. It shows a website on my statement that I've contacted but they can't find my details on their system. What can I do? Thanks

Bossyboots

cos wrote:

Point of correction - a previous poster spoke about cancelling a direct debit by first contacting the supplier/company. I've copied this from the BACS website:

If you need to cancel a Direct Debit, simply write to your bank or building society. It is also a good idea to send a copy to the organisation concerned. Your bank or building society can make the cancellation up to and including the due date, but try not to leave it until the last minute or you run the risk of a payment being made. Remember that cancelling the Direct Debit simply stops paying the organisation. If you carry on receiving the goods or service then you will have to organise an alternative payment method.

I have cancelled two direct debits by logging in to my online banking and deleting them from the direct debit list.

derbylad

CPA's are really difficult to stop, as the agreement is with u (the card holder) and the company who taking the payments, credit card companys have no authority to stop CPA's, Blocking or closing the cards may not prevent the transactions from reacurring as the companys continue to use the same authorisation code that they orignally gained with the first payment,

big ones to look out for are p**n Sites, general insurance (home, car, etc), ISP's and the one people call up to complain about is CPP (card protection plan) the one that covers all cards against L&S.

***What you can do to try and stop the cpas***
Other than CPP if u have tried to contact the companies to cancel the cpa's without success u MIGHT be able to get it resolved by disputing it with the credit card company,

***CLOSING/BLOCKING YOUR CREDIT CARD MAY NOT STOP THE CPA'S FROM BEING CHARGED***

Sixth_Sense

I am on the brink of signing up for 1899 and went through the process of signing up. When I reached the Payment Method window there was a Direct Debit option there as well as Visa/Mastercard etc. I clicked on the Direct Debit option and was prompted to fill out what looked like a standard Direct Debit form which asked for account number, sort code and bank name and address. I was not asked for my actual card number. Before signing up does anyone know if Direct Debit is now an option with 1899?

Galstonian

I believe they started to take DD recently so some FAQs may be out of date.

You don't need a card number for a DD, it sounds legit and if it wasn't would probably be asking for all sorts of additional info. Do you think there is a problem?

Sixth_Sense

Well I am a little wary after reading all about these CPA's and there didn't seem to be many with positive feedback. I understand that 1899 wants to keep it's costs down to pass onto the customer but I do feel uncomfortable just relying on e-mail to sort any problems out having had many problems with other companies trying to do just that - I usually don't get a reply resulting in me phoning anyway. There is no address (only a P.O. Box on the DD form) and a phone number is given somewhere in the FAQ's. Do you know if this is automated or can you actually speak to someone?

Do you use this service yourself Galstonian? If so, for how long and how do you find it?

Has anyone else had a problem with 1899 and have they dealt with it efficiently?

Is anyone else happy with 1899?

Thanks for replying Galsonian.

Edit: Also there is nothing on the Direct Debit window that indicates it is a secure area. Can this be confirmed?

grumbler

Sixth_Sense wrote:

Direct Debit form which asked for account number, sort code and bank name and address. I was not asked for my actual card number. Before signing up does anyone know if Direct Debit is now an option with 1899?

Yes, and you have a choice between CC payment and DD. 16-digit card number is not needed for DD. I keep on paying by CC and never had any problems.

...There is no address (only a P.O. Box on the DD form) and a phone number is given somewhere in the FAQ's. Do you know if this is automated or can you actually speak to someone?

You don't have to phone to 1899 CS to cancell DD. Call your bank or do it via online banking.

Has anyone else had a problem with 1899 and have they dealt with it efficiently? Is anyone else happy with 1899?

I am happy. You can find my experience a few posts above.