Unauthorised credit to my cc account

scottishminnie

Apologies, this is a bit of a saga so I hope you are seating comfortably.

In early Jan I used my Tesco Visa to purchase goods in a store in Florida. No problem - paid exactly what I should have done.

On 10th Feb I noticed a credit to my visa from the same store for £148.14
As I wasn't due any money from them I contacted Tesco (big mistake I should have kept quiet)
Tesco initially said I couldn't dispute a credit but they would take a note of it.

Yesterday I had a corresponding debit for the amount charged to my account. Now the amount in dollars is the same ($246.20) however the debit is for £161.96.

I fully understand how the difference has come about - it's due to the different rates used for buying/selling dollars however I'm now £13.82 out of pocket through no fault of my own.

Tesco are refusing to refund the difference. I've challenged them on the debit as in my opinion this is an unauthorised transaction. Their suggestion was that I contact the shop and try to fix it as obviously I have been there in person at some stage.

I'm absolutely seething at the moment:mad::mad::mad: - I cannot see why I should end up footing the bill for someones mistake and I don't see why I should have to try and sort it out with the shop.

I also asked Tesco why it would be acceptable for the shop to re-use my details 6 weeks after my original visit - again Tesco response was - well you should ask them, we can't help.


I'm waiting on a call back from a Tesco Finance supervisor as I've gone off on one a bit - I'm normally pretty calm but I'm seriously p***ed off about this and their attitude.

Any advice here from those who know a bit more about spurious transactions appearing on your visa statement?

Thanks

PNPSUKNET

They are right about the charge, what will of happend it is the shop will have authed the payment then dropped off. Then re-authed , you will need to take the extra up with the shop however tesco may as a gesture give it back but they dont have to

chexum

It looks more like the shop's actually refunded the money and *then* re-charged the amount.

While it should be their right to submit the debit when they find it suitable (subject to certain limits), I don't think it's right of them to store the card details to charge later if it hasn't been agreed at first. If they refunded accidentally, that should be their problem, not an extra cost to the customer.

Obviously, it's more of a problem in a world with wildly fluctuating fx rates. Tesco is also famous for using made up fx rates to their advantage, I would not be surprised if they would get their share from the refund and the re-charge each way, which would make the the fees even more unreasonable.

Many card t&cs actually make the cost of fx changes between purchase and refund the cost of the customer, but this shouldn't be the case if the refund did not actually happen. Just say you want to complain formally, that'd cost them much more if it goes to the FSO (and you'll probably be right anyway).

scottishminnie

I can see this ending up at the FOS the way Tesco are acting.

Maybe I haven't been clear on this - I have a debit on Jan 6th for $72 (for the goods I bought), a credit on 10th Feb for $246.20 and then a debit on 23rd Feb for $246.20.

My original transaction back in Jan was for $72 so the other amounts bear no resemblance to this at all.

tesco seem to have missed the point that I got $72 worth of goods in January and paid for them at the time. The credit/debit this month has nothing to do with my original transaction.

What I can't understand is how Tesco won't accept this is an unauthorised debit. The $72 debit in January I signed for in person, the $246 in February I certainly did not sign for (and haven't been in the US since Jan 15th) so how can this be authorised.

I'm absolutely not letting it go so if I have to go through their complaints process and then escalate to FOS then so be it.

Consumerist

I think the formal complaint route is probably the only way you will get Tesco to take you seriously. You should mention in your complaint that you brought the mysterious credit to their attention on the 10 Feb.

If you only spoke to their customer services, it is likely they didn't know how to deal with the matter properly. A formal complaint by Recorded Delivery post should let them know you mean business. Head the letter with the word Complaint in bold letters so they know you are making a formal complaint and not just a general enquiry. You have the FOS to fall back on if you get no joy from Tesco but the FOS are likely to take quite a lot more time.

Good luck.

YorkshireBoy

Consumerist wrote: »

You have the FOS to fall back on if you get no joy from Tesco but the FOS are likely to take quite a lot more time.

All of which means more distress and inconvenience will be endured.

scottishminnie

Called Tesco Visa today as the return call from the supervisor never materialised (there's a surprise) only to be told by using my card in the first place I more or less gave the shop carte blanche to use my details again any time they felt like it.

So if you use your card in, say, Debenhams or Argos according to Tesco you have no rights if they decide to process some more transactions through it at a later stage.

Advice from the geniuses at Tesco is never to give out your credit card details- !!!!!!?????? If anyone could enlighten me how to use my card, in person, in store, without handing over any details I'd be most grateful:D

Never heard so much garbage in my life but it's all adding to the complaint.

Yorkshireboy - you know I'm sure I'm getting more distressed by the minute:)

chattychappy

Good advice from Consumerist and YorkshireBoy.

Seems to be the trend for call centre OPs to come up with completely outrageous statements. A few I've heard are:

1) Unless I take out card protection, I will be liable for fraudulent transactions on my account.

2) Nationwide telling me that there is absolutely no forex loading for using my Gold Visa abroad.

3) It is impossible to dispute a transaction if a continuous payment authority was originally given to the merchant

4) Declining suspicious transactions is for my protection

5) I'm liable for interest between when an unauthorised transaction occurs and when I report it.

etc etc

I'm beginning to think it should become an offence for operators to misinform customers.