rewards.co.uk taking payment every month - HELP!!!

thomasdown

Hi there guys,

Before you read its not rewards.co.uk its rewardsnow.co.uk - I can't change the title of message - sorry!!

Can someone help please!!! A company called rewardsnow.co.uk are taking £19.95 every month from my account and have been since last month. (£39.90 so far), I only just noticed this morning. Its a card payment and not direct debit. I bank with Santander and I've never had any problems with them until now. Rang them up and asked them to stop the card payment and got told no we can't do that, you need to get in contact with them and get them to do this. I said its a card payment (that I have never granted) and not a direct debit so can't you just cancel the card and then they wont get payment and then I will get in contact with them to try and get my money back. She then said no we can't do that, you need to get this sorted with them and after 60 days if you have tried and they refuse we will then act on your behalf to which I replied after they have taken another (£39.90). I furiously put the phone down. Went on to the website rewardsnow.co.uk and surprise surprise they are Monday-Friday 9am til 5pm. So can't do anything today. But after doing abit of digging online I don't sound much chance of getting my money back or sorted.

How can they do this without my consent. I am usually quite clued up when buying things online and only go through proper channels like paypal or a trusted website. Always read the small print when signing up for things online like please untick this box if you don't consent to us etc etc.

I believe some company has passed my info onto another company.

Where do I stand, if I phone up and say I lost my card will I get a new card with a different number on and will it resolve the problem or will they put a charge against my name?

Switch to someone else (get a cash incentive) and close the Santander account because they have really !!!!ed me off. I have never had a bad word to say until this morning. Its my account and I should be able to tell them who I want a payment to go to? No?

Your thoughts and help would be appreciated. If anyone has had the same problem with Santander or rewardsnow.co.uk could you shed some light?

Thanks & Regards

Tom

YorkshireBoy

thomasdown wrote: »

A company called rewardsnow.co.uk are taking £19.95 every month from my account and have been since last month. (£39.90 so far), I only just noticed this morning.

You need to start checking your accounts more frequently!

I said its a card payment (that I have never granted)

Why, then, didn't you say "I'd like to report some fraudulent transactions on my account"?

...if I phone up and say I lost my card will I get a new card with a different number on and will it resolve the problem or will they put a charge against my name?

Think about it...if you do that after the conversation you've already had with them (which will have been recorded) it looks a bit suspicious doesn't it? Anyway, it won't work because the old and new card numbers will be 'linked' by Santander.

Its my account and I should be able to tell them who I want a payment to go to? No?

No, not if you've agreed a CPA with a third party. And at the moment they're not sure you haven't because you've not, technically, reported a fraudulent transaction.

A question...have you ever visited the site you mention prior to this issue arising?

PasturesNew

Sometimes, sites like these are hidden in the small print of something you bought. e.g. Get this fabulous XYZ at this cheap price ....... once you've been finding the cheapest online. Then, you buy the thing you wanted at the cheap price and way down in the small print there's a little thing that says you're now a member of some "club" .... and, hey, guess what .... they start charging you every month for this fabulous membership... that you knew nothing about.

On the plus side, if you can track it down, they might refund all your monies. It happened to me and I was refunded, can't remember which "club" I'd inadvertently signed up for as the resolution/repayment was so swift it only took me one lot of tracking it down and one phone call.

abbas5001

thomasdown wrote: »

Hi there guys,

Before you read its not rewards.co.uk its rewardsnow.co.uk - I can't change the title of message - sorry!!

Can someone help please!!! A company called rewardsnow.co.uk are taking £19.95 every month from my account and have been since last month. (£39.90 so far), I only just noticed this morning. Its a card payment and not direct debit. I bank with Santander and I've never had any problems with them until now. Rang them up and asked them to stop the card payment and got told no we can't do that, you need to get in contact with them and get them to do this. I said its a card payment (that I have never granted) and not a direct debit so can't you just cancel the card and then they wont get payment and then I will get in contact with them to try and get my money back. She then said no we can't do that, you need to get this sorted with them and after 60 days if you have tried and they refuse we will then act on your behalf to which I replied after they have taken another (£39.90). I furiously put the phone down. Went on to the website rewardsnow.co.uk and surprise surprise they are Monday-Friday 9am til 5pm. So can't do anything today. But after doing abit of digging online I don't sound much chance of getting my money back or sorted.

How can they do this without my consent. I am usually quite clued up when buying things online and only go through proper channels like paypal or a trusted website. Always read the small print when signing up for things online like please untick this box if you don't consent to us etc etc.

I believe some company has passed my info onto another company.

Where do I stand, if I phone up and say I lost my card will I get a new card with a different number on and will it resolve the problem or will they put a charge against my name?

Switch to someone else (get a cash incentive) and close the Santander account because they have really !!!!ed me off. I have never had a bad word to say until this morning. Its my account and I should be able to tell them who I want a payment to go to? No?

Your thoughts and help would be appreciated. If anyone has had the same problem with Santander or rewardsnow.co.uk could you shed some light?

Thanks & Regards

Tom

It's a recurring payment, so blocking your card and reissing a new is very unlikely to resovle the issue.

These type of transactions, although morally very ambigious, are typically valid in that something is bought and in the small print they do state you are signing up for a subscription and so on.

As it is a card payment, it is not easy for the bank to terminate the payment, whereas with Direct Debits it is as you are covered by the DD Guarantee.

Look up recurring payments on google...although i must say i think it's a tad unfair to slam the phone down on the operator

Mikeyorks

FAQ 7 under My Membership - tells you how to discontinue membership :

http://www.rewardsnow.co.uk/shopcontent.asp?type=faq

thomasdown

YorkshireBoy wrote: »

You need to start checking your accounts more frequently!Why, then, didn't you say "I'd like to report some fraudulent transactions on my account"?Think about it...if you do that after the conversation you've already had with them (which will have been recorded) it looks a bit suspicious doesn't it? Anyway, it won't work because the old and new card numbers will be 'linked' by Santander.No, not if you've agreed a CPA with a third party. And at the moment they're not sure you haven't because you've not, technically, reported a fraudulent transaction.

A question...have you ever visited the site you mention prior to this issue arising?

For your information I did tell Santander that I have a fraudulent transaction on my account but they did not believe me because I didn't notice the payment coming out of my account the 1st month? Your reply you should check your accounts more frequently, well I do. It just so happens that they have managed to take the £19.95 from my account the same day I get paid every month. Which is why I didn't notice it the 1st month? I managed to get hold of them this morning and get a full refund and them cancel my membership? Also got an email confirming the cancellation and refund. They would not tell me the company that passed the information on to them though? What he did say is though they are linked with many reputable companys like Zavvi, Debenhams and even Call Credit. So god knows who passed my information on to them and signed me up for something I didn't mean to sign up to?

What has made it clear for me though is that its true Santander are a waste of space and I shall be moving my accounts and savings to another bank pretty soon.

abbas5001

thomasdown wrote: »

For your information I did tell Santander that I have a fraudulent transaction on my account but they did not believe me because I didn't notice the payment coming out of my account the 1st month? Your reply you should check your accounts more frequently, well I do. It just so happens that they have managed to take the £19.95 from my account the same day I get paid every month. Which is why I didn't notice it the 1st month? I managed to get hold of them this morning and get a full refund and them cancel my membership? Also got an email confirming the cancellation and refund. They would not tell me the company that passed the information on to them though? What he did say is though they are linked with many reputable companys like Zavvi, Debenhams and even Call Credit. So god knows who passed my information on to them and signed me up for something I didn't mean to sign up to?

What has made it clear for me though is that its true Santander are a waste of space and I shall be moving my accounts and savings to another bank pretty soon.

As i said in my previous post, it is a recurring payment, it is very difficult for a bank to cancel these as typically you have had in or way or another an agreement with the company, hence why the bank did not raise it as fraud.

With card payments, it is almost always the case it is quicker and easier for the company/vendor to cancel the payment and refund the funds than asking the bank.

I don't know what you received in terms of customer servie but from your post it seems they told you the correct thing in tellin g you to contact the company

bengal-stripe

thomasdown wrote: »

What has made it clear for me though is that its true Santander are a waste of space and I shall be moving my accounts and savings to another bank pretty soon.

abbas5001 wrote: »

I don't know what you received in terms of customer servie but from your post it seems they told you the correct thing in tellin g you to contact the company

As 'abbas5001' has said already, any other bank would have given you the same information and acted the same way: a 'Continuous Payment Authority' needs to be cancelled with the receiving company. You did that (eventually) and the problem got resolved.

No need to throw a hissy wobbly.

thomasdown

bengal-stripe wrote: »

As 'abbas5001' has said already, any other bank would have given you the same information and acted the same way: a 'Continuous Payment Authority' needs to be cancelled with the receiving company. You did that (eventually) and the problem got resolved.

No need to throw a hissy wobbly.

I'm not throwing a hissy wobbly my point of the matter is thankfully it was only £19.95, twice. But what regulation is there in UK law to stop these clowns from taking £195 or even £1950. If that were the case Santander would not have put a stop to it when I'm pretty sure they have the means to do it.

Maybe Martin Lewis needs to look into this because this could become a serious issue, especially if its reputable company that has passed my card details and address onto these clowns.

I thank abbas5001 for saying it was a "recurring payment" after looking into a thread on this website I believe. I then realised that is what it must be. I was lucky in the fact that it was not a minimum term contract like 12 months or 18 and could be cancelled at anytime.

But what if there was a minimum term contract, Santander would have just let them take the £19.95 every month until the end of the agreement, even though I have signed up for something that I know nothing about? Seems pretty steep to me.

bengal-stripe

thomasdown wrote: »

But what if there was a minimum term contract, Santander would have just let them take the £19.95 every month until the end of the agreement, even though I have signed up for something that I know nothing about? Seems pretty steep to me.

You've answered your own question previously.

thomasdown wrote: »

.....after 60 days if you have tried and they refuse we will then act on your behalf.....

Why do you think those recurring payment authorities are every payday loan companies favourite method of calling in payments due? Unlike a DD, they cannot be cancelled by the person paying, only by the person/company receiving. The payment doesn't even stop after the owner 'has lost' the card. The bank has acted correctly in line with current regulations. There probably is need for a change, but this have to be international agreements, as many of those payments are border-crossing.

thomasdown wrote: »

.....furiously put the phone down.

thomasdown wrote: »

I'm not throwing a hissy wobbly......

Of course not!

richard9991

thomasdown wrote: »

I'm not throwing a hissy wobbly my point of the matter is thankfully it was only £19.95, twice. But what regulation is there in UK law to stop these clowns from taking £195 or even £1950. If that were the case Santander would not have put a stop to it when I'm pretty sure they have the means to do it.

Maybe Martin Lewis needs to look into this because this could become a serious issue, especially if its reputable company that has passed my card details and address onto these clowns.

I thank abbas5001 for saying it was a "recurring payment" after looking into a thread on this website I believe. I then realised that is what it must be. I was lucky in the fact that it was not a minimum term contract like 12 months or 18 and could be cancelled at anytime.

But what if there was a minimum term contract, Santander would have just let them take the £19.95 every month until the end of the agreement, even though I have signed up for something that I know nothing about? Seems pretty steep to me.

Martin did look into this a long time ago and was on tv talking about also see this article

http://www.moneysavingexpert.com/banking/recurring-payments