Charged twice, now hugely overdrawn.

ParkLane

Hi everyone, I’d really appreciate some advice with this.

I have a student additions account at Barclays with an overdraft of £500.

My privately owned halls of residence took payment of my rent, but they took an unauthorized second payment of the same amount.

The company admitted that this second payment was taken in error. As a result of their error I am now overdrawn by £1617.07 :eek:

The company said they will refund me, but could not tell me when. Everything they said was verbal, I have no proof.

When I asked at the counter in branch, the man was very helpful and told me that 'I shouldn't have to pay any overdraft fees' because of the situation.

I'm very worried because I am not sure when I will be refunded by the company and as a result I do not know how long I will be overdrawn. I’m also worried because again, the man at the counter said I ‘shouldn’t’ be charged, not that I ‘wouldn’t’ and again, it was all verbal.

I have tried to phone Barclays, but as I am on a pay as you go mobile phone I can't afford the 0845 number fee and the free phone number is no longer in use.

I’m planning on going back into branch tomorrow to discuss this, but I’m really worried now! I’ve never been overdrawn and find the whole thing pretty horrible!

Is the company responsible for any overdraft fees? Do I have to pursue this, or will Barclays do it on my behalf?

Thanks for any advice, I really do appreciate it.

meer53

If you are debited in error by anyone, you won't have to pay any overdraft fees. If the company have said they will refund you, it may take them some time to do this so i would ask Barclays to action a chargeback for you. This way, your account will be credited and you won't be left waiting for a refund. If you have enough money to cover your expenses whilst you wait for the refund then you could wait for the refund to come through, but as you have no idea when that will be, i would go down the chargeback route. You never know, the refund might be there tomorrow ! But make sure Barclays check and refund any charges that have been incurred.

stclair

If you need to communicate with Barclays call them on 0247 684 2099.

How was the payment collected from your Bank account?

brightonman123

was it on direct debit? request bank do an immediate recall, under the guarantee.

then setup a standing order, so YOU have control.

meer53

Sorry, should have said that chargebacks only apply to card payments. Oops !

ParkLane

Thank you so much for your replies! I feel better about the situation now

The payment was taken via direct debit. The person I spoke to was very vague as to when I would get my refund despite my telling her I only had £10 cash. I can imagine it will take a while from what I was told, so tomorrow I'll go down the recall route.

Thanks again!:T

stclair

meer53 wrote: »

Sorry, should have said that chargebacks only apply to card payments. Oops !

I have a sneaky suspicion it may have been collected via Direct Debit..

In that case you may want to go down the Direct Debit Guarantee route.

stclair

ParkLane wrote: »

Thank you so much for your replies! I feel better about the situation now

The payment was taken via direct debit. The person I spoke to was very vague as to when I would get my refund despite my telling her I only had £10 cash. I can imagine it will take a while from what I was told, so tomorrow I'll go down the recall route.

Thanks again!:T

Call them now telephone banking is open 24/7 youll have the money back in your account by tomorrow.

blueberrypie

ParkLane wrote: »

The payment was taken via direct debit. The person I spoke to was very vague as to when I would get my refund despite my telling her I only had £10 cash. I can imagine it will take a while from what I was told, so tomorrow I'll go down the recall route.

It should not take any time for you to get the money back in your account.

From http://www.financial-ombudsman.org.uk/publications/ombudsman-news/27/27-directdebit-guarantee.htm

The direct debit guarantee applies to all banks and building societies taking part in the direct debit scheme. It says that:

if there is a change in the amount to be paid or the payment date, the person receiving the payment (the originator) must notify the customer in advance.
if the originator or the bank/building society makes an error, the customer is guaranteed a *full and immediate refund* of the amount paid.
customers can cancel a direct debit at any time by writing to their bank or building society.