OPUS CREDIT CARD - do not use or apply!

batterseaboi

Hi guys. I am going through a horrible experience with Opus credit card at the moment where they have taken an unauthorised payment from me.

Yesterday, I called Opus’ customer services on 020 7871 0464 to settle my outstanding balance of just over £1,000 and then close my credit card account. When I explained this to the customer service adviser, he told me that my account had been blocked because a letter sent to me by Opus had been returned to them with a message saying ‘person no longer at this address’.

I had no idea what letter the adviser was referring to as I’d never received it, but I pointed out to him that I had been receiving all of my monthly credit card statements and was in possession of the latest one, dated 15th May 2011. Moreover, I have made regular repayments in response to these posted statements. The adviser then said he could not discuss my account with me, as I would now need to post them photographic ID and various proofs of address.

The adviser then asked me to confirm my address details with him, which I recited back to him. He then went on to take the full payment of £1,000 from my Barclays debit card. I assumed at this point that having settled the account balance in full, that once I had sent Opus the personal ID and address details they’d asked for, that I would be then able to close my account.

After this phone call, I then checked my Barclays bank account online, and saw that the settlement figure had been taken TWICE, resulting in over £2,000 disappearing from my account! I was extremely alarmed at this and immediately called Barclays to alert them and arrange a refund. I was put through to their disputed card payments team and spoke to a man who told me that Opus would need to fax them a brief explanation on letterhead that they’d taken two payments instead of one, and only then would Barclays be able to refund the second payment back into my account.

I called Opus again and tried to explain that more than £2,000 had been taken from my account in error but the adviser said she wasn’t able to discuss the issue with me because of the ‘block’ that had been applied to my account. At this I became very frustrated and asked to speak to a manager, and she put me through to a man in their Essex call centre, who said he couldn’t do anything to help me until they received my personal and address identification in the post.

This morning, Thursday, 2nd June, I called Opus’ Essex call centre again to try to get a fax number that I could use to send my personal details. I spoke with an adviser and asked to speak to a manager again but she told me that as my account was blocked, no manager would come to speak to me. I asked her why no one had made contact with me to bring my blocked account to my attention, despite Opus being in possession of all of my telephone numbers, and she told me that someone should have called me. I asked if she had a record of any calls made and she said there was none.

By this point, I felt extremely exasperated and bullied by Opus, an organisation that had taken a significant amount of money from me, which they claim was in error, but which now was completely unwilling to swiftly arrange a refund.

I have now posted my details to Opus and in the meantime discovered on the Internet, a large number of similar complaints by other Opus customers, who have all similarly found themselves with blocked accounts at the point that they have tried to close them. It does seem to me from these many complaints that the ‘error’ which I am now forced to go to great lengths to resolve, is in fact standard business practice for this firm.

I was alarmed to discover from the Financial Ombudsman’s website, that this organisation has the luxury of eight whole weeks to resolve this issue and return my money to me. This suggests to me that Opus are earning interest on money they are taking and withholding from customers ‘in error’ on a national scale, for the period of several weeks within they are allowed to resolve disputes. This is, in my view, an utter scandal and should be fully investigated with immediate effect – it is something I am bringing to the attention of the BBCs ‘Watchdog’ programme.

In the meantime I am now in a position where I do not have enough money to pay my bills and live on and will inevitably end up going overdrawn with all of the bank charges that I will incur as a result.

In addition to a refund of the amount taken, I would also expect Opus to refund the cost of the letter I had to send to them by registered post and any overdraft charges I may incur as a result of this issue.:mad::mad::mad::mad::mad:

fallen121

Was this ever resolved? Did you get your money back?

fernandesb

I find that a number of Opus employees are as "thick as 2 Planks"
common sense is not one of their strong points,perhaps the are Monkeys being paid Peanuts.