Currys Made me really angry

trolleyrun

In the past, I've bought a few items from Currys. I never opt for the extended warranty they try to flog (afaic that's what contents insurance is for). It turns out that Currys have taken out over £100 -unauthorised - from my bank account :mad:

I went to Currys today and spoke to the store manager. Surprise surprise, he just pressed a few buttons on a keyboard and said he couldn't help and had no idea what happened and how. I'll add that I had the details from my bank with me to show him. He game me the details for head office and told me to contact them.

As an aside, my friend was with me and had just bought something. When I finished talking to the manager, we made to leave and he then said "Has that been paid for?" :eek::mad: I can't believe how rude that was (we were by the till at the time, by the exit).

Anyways, I returned home and called head office. They refused to deal with the issue as it was fraud (their words), so told me to contact the bank, as Currys can't do anything due to data protection. I did point out to them that how is it data protection affects me, my account and the fact that Currys have stolen money by setting up a DDebit without my consent, but they won't speak to me about it? Well, there was no answer to that, they said. I got frustrated, so I hung up.

I went to my bank who put me onto the fraud department of the bank. They were excellent and promised me the money would be put back into my account by 6pm, which they did.

Now, I'd like to point out that at all times I spoke to the people involved in a polite and calm manner. The only time I was rude was when I hung up on Currys (to avoid saying something rude).

I'm amazed that Currys obviously has someone within their company who commits fraud and they're not bothered! :eek:

Just needed to get all that off my chest. Top tip: if you've bought something from Currys at any point, check your bank account and DDebits.

Jakg

They took over £100 out in one direct debit?

I have to say I find that difficult to believe...

Was it 1 transaction? Who was the direct debit payable to?

trolleyrun

No, it wasn't just one transaction. Two DDebits had been set up, both for the same amount. As I've not been well recently, I hadn't had the energy or inclination to check my recent statements. The DDebits were payable to Currys.

Googlewhacker

I'm not sure if asking if someone has paid for an item is particularly rude? Maybe it was the tone he used?

trolleyrun

Considering my friend had paid at the till next to him, and had the receipt in hand, yes, it was rude of him. Also, the tone he used didn't help.

CoolHotCold

Sorry, but how much were the amounts for?

How long were they running?

What was the insurance for?

Do you still have the reciepts for the items they state it covers?

(If you don't know what they are covering phone the general line and ask to be put through to coverplan / WhatEver Happens) or pop into the store and they can print off what it covers.


Unfortunately in store they cannot lookup by the transaction numbers on bank statements (but can do it by address) and follow the electronic trail back to the original receipt, but the Sheffield contact centre has more power for investigation.


If it is the case that the direct debit has been setup by someone else, who got a hold of your Sort Code and Account number then it is a issue that you had to take up with your bank.


On all receipts it will state how the item has been paid for and if there are any Direct Debits and Credit Mandates (you also have to sign a A4 piece of paper to say you understand the DD guarantee).

You can take this further by requesting head office / Shefield Contact centre to provide you with a copy of the paperwork you signed.


To sum up, if they did take a DD on a purchase you made you can follow the paperwork back to the signature, or if it was indeed fraud and your A/C & Sort Code have been swiped it really is your Bank that deals with that, all Currys/PcWorld can do is cancel the DD and tell you to contact the Bank to recover the money.


As far as the managers attitude you can always send a email to [EMAIL="letusknow@knowhow.com"]letusknow@knowhow.com[/EMAIL]

Mk14:37

Trolleyrun, sorry to hear it, but glad your bank has sorted it under the Direct Debit guarantee.

willing2learn_3

trolleyrun wrote: »

I went to Currys today and spoke to the store manager. Surprise surprise, he just pressed a few buttons on a keyboard and said he couldn't help and had no idea what happened and how. I'll add that I had the details from my bank with me to show him. He game me the details for head office and told me to contact them.

What do you mean by 'surprise, surprise?!!' Did you have expectations about how the staff might behave before going in there? Could this have affected your interaction with them?

meer53

Accusing Currys of stealing your money is a bit OTT really. It could possibly be a mistake, you need to allow your bank time to request details of the DD before making accusations like this. You're also accusing a member of Currys staff of committing fraud, and that they aren't bothered !

Your whole post makes you come across as quite rude, maybe this came across to the store manager too ?

Ich_2

You're also accusing a member of Currys staff of committing fraud,

Er, reading the OP it seems that it was Currys who mentioned fraud during a phone call! All Trollyrun wanted was an explanation for the loss £100 and tried to deal with the store it may have originated from.
At the very least the store manager should have instigated a discussion with head office from the store rather than just give out contact details and wash his hands of it!

CoolHotCold

Ich wrote: »

Er, reading the OP it seems that it was Currys who mentioned fraud during a phone call! All Trollyrun wanted was an explanation for the loss £100 and tried to deal with the store it may have originated from.
At the very least the store manager should have instigated a discussion with head office from the store rather than just give out contact details and wash his hands of it!

The manager will not be able to deal with things from the stores side, simply put the store acting as a go between will take far longer to sort out the issues, as you simply cannot put everything down on paper the questions you might be asked.

It also isn't a Head Office issue, it's a call centre who will do a quick check of the details and see if they add up (previous purchase history, address's), forward onto investigations department, logs kept, paper trail of the investigation etc etc. You can't simply go outside of a centralised system that works.

Indeed, if it is Fraud and someone has stolen the A/C & Sort code, there isn't any contract between the OP & Currys/PcWorld and is a Banks Fraud Department who you should be contacting.



Without the details it really is too hard to say, but like I said, the store cannot trace a receipt or details by bank transaction numbers, what likely happened was the OP went into the store, they checked their systems against the Address the OP gave, no details found of Direct Debits for cover, the store advised the OP that they cannot trace the receipt as they cannot search their store systems by Bank Transaction number and to call the contact centre who will be able to.

It's not a case of the store washing their hands, but a practicable problem where the OP has to contact the call centre, where procedures are followed.



*Ninja Edit* The best the store could do is allow the OP to use their phones, when dealing with this type of problem there's also the issue of dealing with the owner of the account.