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Can anyone advise me the legalities of this please
haychee1416
Posts: 8 Forumite
. I have an 18month contract for a leased car. I have been a customer of this particular company for 4yrs at least. The terms of my contract stipulate direct debit only, which I do try ny best to adhere to. But as I am self employed I do find it difficult to manage, ie my income is not as regular as an employed persons. So as a result from time to time my direct debit is returned unpaid. In these situations firstly the company sends me a notification letter informing me of the failed direct debit and a subsequent charge is added to my balance outstanding. This letter also informs me of the 14days in which I need to contact their offices to make payment which I always do. Recently I changed the vehicle I was leasing and so a new contract was formed, I signed and returned it and awaited delivery of the new vehicle. On the first month that the new payment for the new vehicle was due, the company rang me to say there was a shortfall between the cost of the old car and the new of £20approx and could they take a card payment for that shortfall and to expect the new adjusted direct debit to run thereafter. I paid the £20 I was asked for with my debit card over the phone. I was thanked for that and that was that. However, this month my direct debit failed again (my fault entirely, was waiting on clearance of a cheque paid into my account and simply did not clear in time) as usual I received the 14days notice letter from the lease company which arrived at my house on Friday 4th May. I did not deal with it that day as I was working 7am-7pm and did not actually open that letter until that evening, by which time the company had closed for the bank holiday weekend. So I had to wait until Tues 8th to contact them. That morning, yesterday, I double checked my bank balance to ensure funds where available to pay the hire charge.. only to be astonished that the company had already taken their payment by using ny debit card without checking with me first My concerns/issue are: 1. Should I have been informed at the start of this new contract when they took payment for the £20 that my card details were being stored from that point to be used again without warning? Because I was totally unaware that this was the case on that occasion. I thought I was paying a one off charge and that would be that. 2. The storage of those card details: where how and who can access them are details I feel I also should have been informed of. 3. My 14days notification letter urges me to contact them asap, it DOES NOT state that they will use my debit card before the 14days has expired without warning. 4. With such concerns these days re card fraud I was staggered that thus company was able to , keep and store my card details without my knowledge.And then to use the card without clear consent on the day they used it.
My contract with the company does state that they may use a card that I previously supplied to them however they have never in 4yrs used this method before. Nor did I realise that the card I had used to pay the £20 one off payment would be stored from that moment, to be used again without warning. I know I owed them that payment and I know I am tied by a contract but does a 14day opportunity to pay yourself not actually mean anything?
I was advised yesterday to cancel my debit card, which I have now done, but do feel it was extreme action in order to ensure this company cannot withdraw from my account on unspecified dates without my consent.
Any thoughts or advice greatly appreciated and many thanks in advance. Also apologies for any errors in my text, spellings and alike but this forum is not easy to type and correct errors while using my Android phone
My contract with the company does state that they may use a card that I previously supplied to them however they have never in 4yrs used this method before. Nor did I realise that the card I had used to pay the £20 one off payment would be stored from that moment, to be used again without warning. I know I owed them that payment and I know I am tied by a contract but does a 14day opportunity to pay yourself not actually mean anything?
I was advised yesterday to cancel my debit card, which I have now done, but do feel it was extreme action in order to ensure this company cannot withdraw from my account on unspecified dates without my consent.
Any thoughts or advice greatly appreciated and many thanks in advance. Also apologies for any errors in my text, spellings and alike but this forum is not easy to type and correct errors while using my Android phone
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Comments
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From the way you tell the story you have a contract with these people which you repeatedly break.
They seem to have taken only the money they are owed.
I am surprised you are not being charged fees for paying late and bank fees for DD bouncing.
I would image it is trashing your credit records too.
The problem seems to be that you don't budget properly and spend more than your income.
If the nature of your income is variable then you need to make a major effect to build up a bit of savings to act as a buffer so you ALWAYS can afford to pay your fixed outgoing.
Cancelling your debit card probably won't help.0 -
I am being charged for bounced direct debits and charges from them for having the dd unpaid. And I do make a very strong effort to avoid this, but mine and ny husbands income is extremely irratic, due to this marvellous recession! Saving up a little buffer zone has been difficult, more so this year than any other. I do not repeatedly break the rules, it really is from time to time only.
Yes they have only taken the money they were owed, but surely .14days means 14days not we're going to use your card details, which you don't know we have, on day 8 without any warning?!?
Their contract says "we can use a card previously supplied through the course of the contract" I feel my details were taken off me in a very deceitful manner (bu asking for the £20 one off payment also the contract does not make it clear that they nay use the card without authorisation ob the day, I assumed this was normal practice.. otherwise what is the point of pin numbers and security codes etc!?
One thing is for sure this company's customer care is shocking. They had always been so understanding and courteous until this.
The details the have for the debit card are now not valid as the card has been destroyed. Surely they can't still use it?0 -
They can use it, even now. The authorisation predates the cancellation and is still valid.0
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You seem to be concerned about the 'legality' of their actions
from what you are saying it is sadly yourselves that are breaking the T&Cs of the contract you signed.
Unless the '14 days' is in the contract then it should be viewed as a courtesy arrangement rather than a component of the contracftual terms.
I don't know your circumstances or what businesses you are in but sadly the answer is to budget better even if it causes some pain initially. It will also save those fees and stop your credit rating getting worse.0 -
Cripes!
If, at the outset this was made clearer and I had of been asked to provide card details in the event of an unpaid direct debit, and a clear signiture to confirm I had understood this it wouldn't of been such a shock. Also, if they had graced me with the full 14days that they gave me and still I had not paid, I again could understand it. But to take my details and store then without me being aware and to help themselves to my account before the 14days expired I feel is very sneaky and underhanded. I felt like I'd been robbed!
So I guess the only way I can ensure it won't happen again is to close that bank account and set up a New one?0 -
haychee1416 wrote: »So I guess the only way I can ensure it won't happen again is to close that bank account and set up a New one?
Not necessary unless you fail to honour the direct debit in the first place.0 -
haychee1416 wrote: »So I guess the only way I can ensure it won't happen again is to close that bank account and set up a New one?
well, although it's not an action I would advise, if you do want to do this make sure you open a new a/c first before closing the old one; if your credit files shows a poor history of DDs bouncing you may find it hard to open a new a/c0 -
Thanks guys. I do appreciate your replies and honesty.
I do focus a lot on the legalities of their actions as I feel there has been some element of deceit here, by the way the obtained my card details at the outset of this new contract. It was not made clear that they would store those details from that transaction and they could use my card without my knowledge or consent. I agree I have defaulted my end of the agreement but have never not paid and never exceeded their 14day notice. Why bother writing/sending/serving me a 14day notice if they plan to use my card before then.
A simple phone call from them, or saying on that letter that they will use my card on a specified date would have easily solved my panic when I checked my bank balance that morning. Like I say I felt like I'd been robbed and was very upset that someone can access my account without any authorisation on the day.0 -
Sorry but IMHO seeking feedback on the legalities of their actions when you admit to consistently breaking the T&C's you signed up to is a bit of a joke.
I'm actually surprised they've bothered to collect the money and not just collected their property that you seem to have a problem paying for.0 -
IMHO? I don't know what this means, sorry.
Consistently is not the same as from time to time, say 3times over 4yrs is not consistently.
I don't have a problem paying for the car, it's just sometimes ends don't meet at the right time.. ie, on the date the direct debit cones out. This time the money was there but the cheque paid in did not clear until the day after the dd was due. I do try my very best to keep everyone paid and budget as best I can, I have not been flippant or overspending without considering my outgoings.
You are reading the situation wrongly. I do try and usually it's all ok. No problem. But occasionally, I have failed to meet the dd in time.0
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