Insurane company payment problems

how509

I am new to this forum but well versed in complaining and getting what I rightly deserve as a consumer.

However I have encountered something that I have not experienced before and would like some advice, perhaps if someone has experienced the same.

My elderly father was recently trying to pay for car insurance by phone, as he still does not trust online services. He made the payment of over £200 by card, within a minute the customer services operator confirmed that the payment was sucessful and that the new policy would be in the post soon.

Shortly after this my father got a call from his bank stating that there was irregular activity on his account. The insurance company had attempted to withdraw the amount 15 times before the transaction went through. The bank has suggested that the security code on the bank of the card was input incorrectly. On speaking to the insurance company, they has said it was a computer error.

My questions are this

1. Computers will only do as they are told so surely this is human error, and how did the computer know on the 16th attempt that the security code was wrong?

2. Should the customer services operator have told my father that the payment was accepted when it actually wasn't?

3. My father has been given an apology and as far as the company are concerned there was no way this could have been foreseen. Surely this is rubbish. What action can be taken against them?

I rarely give up on consumer battles, but my father will most likely roll over and just accept the apology.

Any constructive advice will be very much appreciated.

dtaylor84

how509 wrote: »

I am new to this forum but well versed in complaining and getting what I rightly deserve as a consumer.

However I have encountered something that I have not experienced before and would like some advice, perhaps if someone has experienced the same.

My elderly father was recently trying to pay for car insurance by phone, as he still does not trust online services. He made the payment of over £200 by card, within a minute the customer services operator confirmed that the payment was sucessful and that the new policy would be in the post soon.

Shortly after this my father got a call from his bank stating that there was irregular activity on his account. The insurance company had attempted to withdraw the amount 15 times before the transaction went through. The bank has suggested that the security code on the bank of the card was input incorrectly. On speaking to the insurance company, they has said it was a computer error.

So, they attempted to take payment a number of times, and eventually succeeded in taking the correct payment?

My questions are this

1. Computers will only do as they are told so surely this is human error, and how did the computer know on the 16th attempt that the security code was wrong?

Presumably at some point a human changed what the computer was doing, but it's impossible to say what happened without more information.

2. Should the customer services operator have told my father that the payment was accepted when it actually wasn't?

But you say it was accepted, how do you know this was after your father had been told it was accepted?

3. My father has been given an apology and as far as the company are concerned there was no way this could have been foreseen. Surely this is rubbish. What action can be taken against them?

What? What did they apologise for? What action would you want to take against them? What have they actually done?

I rarely give up on consumer battles, but my father will most likely roll over and just accept the apology.

Any constructive advice will be very much appreciated.

Drop the non-issue without wasting any more outrage.

Quentin

What do you hope to gain by taking action?

Why do you feel your father deserves any more than the apology he has already received?

how509

Quite surprised that the extent of the responses to this are so defeatist.

If there is a litany of rage in my post then I feel this is totally justified.

If you feel that it is acceptable for a company to say that payment has been accepted then attempt to take the payment 16 times then so be it. I for one think that an apology is easy to say but is rarely meant with any value.

I was really after advice from people who may have suggestions of where to go from here, other than just accepting a faceless apology. Or people who have experienced the same.

If there had been sufficient money in the account and the error human or otherwise had been different whos to say that they wouldnt have taken the payment 16 times. Just because they didn't doesn't mean that it isn't possible.

Quentin

You are now looking for hypothetical problems to rant about.

You haven't been put to any cost whatsoever, you have had an apology and still started this pointless thread here.

If you want advice, go down the pub and see if someone will listen to your rant!

You have no grounds for tangible compensation, which reading between the lines is what you are really hoping for!

how509

Well thank you for no constructive advice whatsoever. Thank you for dismissing my thread as a rant. I agree to disagree with you on that one.

The non thread comment was not necessary, if you feel this is a waste of time then fine. But putting this down as a non thread is unfair. It is a forum afterall, if you feel it is not worth the time in typing then at least be adult about it.

Quentin

As you haven't told us the answers to the questions posed in #3, all that we can assume is you somehow think there's an angle in this situation for you (or your father)!

Best advice is that you use your experience of consumer battling, give up on this and instead concentrate on reassuring your father that everything is OK with his bank account etc, rather than stoking fires when there is no wood to burn.

dunstonh

2. Should the customer services operator have told my father that the payment was accepted when it actually wasn't?

Often they dont know straight away.

3. My father has been given an apology and as far as the company are concerned there was no way this could have been foreseen. Surely this is rubbish. What action can be taken against them?

Why should any action be taken?

Well thank you for no constructive advice whatsoever. Thank you for dismissing my thread as a rant. I agree to disagree with you on that one.

They have issued an apology. You dont want an apology which means you must want money. As there is no financial loss why should any money be paid? are you one of those compensation scumbags who go after money for every little thing and then make it worse for everyone else?

how509

Thank you Quinten, I'm not trying to be inflamatory about this, I can assure you of that.

If my initial post was a bit ranty then I apologise, I sincerely mean that. And I'm not after compo from anyone just some proper customer service, I have not heard of a situation like this before and have had many major run ins with companies like B.Gas and Virgin to name a couple.

But after some proper treatment on their side and no compensation, have been satisfied with the outcome.

I have used similar forums to this and been met with the 'old and bold' members dismissing comments that they don't feel have any merit, and felt that was the response I was getting from yourself, I understand that was not your intention.

how509

dunstonh

Thanks for reminding me that very little is often achieved by these forums.

I may not be a financial advisor like yourself, and do not need the money like the 'money grabbing scumbag' you are presuming that I'am.

I was simply asking for advice, nothing more. If I came across like I seeking compensation then Ill take that on the chin.

dunstonh

Fair enough.

The problem is that they have three options. Reject your complaint. Accept the complaint and apologise or accept the complaint and pay up. What do you want?

Earlier in the year I made an overpayment to C&G for a mortgage using my debit card. I was told it was processed and ok etc. Then then later that night I got a phone call from the automated telephone service from Lloyds telling me I had suspicious transactions they wanted to check. They confirmed the C&G transaction was refused and that I should go back to "the retailer" and try again. I thought that was stupid as C&G and Lloyds being the same. I then got a letter a few days later from C&G saying it had been rejected. After I got the call from Lloyds querying the transaction, i went back to C&G and they tried again and it went through. It happens unfortunately that the banks auto fraud checking procedures reject valid transactions from time to time. It may be that it went through on the 16th time as between the 1st and 16th they had verified that the transaction was valid.

The issue is not one of the insurer in your fathers case doing anything wrong but being held up by the anti fraud measures of the bank.