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Tesco credit card problem
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McFazzler
Posts: 1 Newbie
in Credit cards
Does anyone have any advice on what to do if a credit card company takes an unauthorised direct debit payment?
I pay off my full balance every month by direct debit on my Tesco credit card. Last month, due to an increased spend and pay day coming the day after my balance was claimed, I ended up the direct debit bounced due to insufficient funds. Charged accordingly, but my own stupid fault. After I was paid, I phoned Tesco to pay the full balance, which they received before the payment date, which was the 5th of this month.
On 12th June, they claimed the whole balance again on direct debit. This I noticed on 14th when I went to pay a bill and discovered I couldn't as I was overdrawn. I phoned Tesco on the 14th who agreed that the whole balance had been taken twice and they would refund my initial debit card payment. I made 4 phone calls in total between the initial and Friday at 17:45 as no refund materialised. I explained each time that they had left me with no money, and quoted the direct debit guarantee to them as I believe applies. Telling them that they cannot change my direct debit date without warning me, and that if they make a mistake I am entitled to a full and immediate refund (I think that's right anyway). I was told by later advisers that the 1st advisers hadn't done things right. Phone calls I was told I would receive never materialised. By the time I called them back on Friday, the accounts department was closed. They agreed to refund me a small amount to put my balance back to £0 (as they had even taken more than I owed them from spending this month) but that money wouldn't appear till Monday. Explaining that they were leaving me with no money at all until then did not come up with any other ideas, they really didn't sound interested in my predicament. The rest of the money they tell me has to be refunded by the accounts department as it is so much (around £1000) and that it will take 7-10 days. My bank today informed me they could reclaim the direct debit but it would take till Tuesday and might complicate the situation already started by Tesco. None of the 4 advisers at Tesco I have spoken with have been able to explain how this payment was taken.
Has anyone else ever been in this position before? Is there any advice with what to do? Is my understanding of the direct debit guarantee right? I will be phoning the complaints department when they open on Monday, but would like to know where I stand.
I pay off my full balance every month by direct debit on my Tesco credit card. Last month, due to an increased spend and pay day coming the day after my balance was claimed, I ended up the direct debit bounced due to insufficient funds. Charged accordingly, but my own stupid fault. After I was paid, I phoned Tesco to pay the full balance, which they received before the payment date, which was the 5th of this month.
On 12th June, they claimed the whole balance again on direct debit. This I noticed on 14th when I went to pay a bill and discovered I couldn't as I was overdrawn. I phoned Tesco on the 14th who agreed that the whole balance had been taken twice and they would refund my initial debit card payment. I made 4 phone calls in total between the initial and Friday at 17:45 as no refund materialised. I explained each time that they had left me with no money, and quoted the direct debit guarantee to them as I believe applies. Telling them that they cannot change my direct debit date without warning me, and that if they make a mistake I am entitled to a full and immediate refund (I think that's right anyway). I was told by later advisers that the 1st advisers hadn't done things right. Phone calls I was told I would receive never materialised. By the time I called them back on Friday, the accounts department was closed. They agreed to refund me a small amount to put my balance back to £0 (as they had even taken more than I owed them from spending this month) but that money wouldn't appear till Monday. Explaining that they were leaving me with no money at all until then did not come up with any other ideas, they really didn't sound interested in my predicament. The rest of the money they tell me has to be refunded by the accounts department as it is so much (around £1000) and that it will take 7-10 days. My bank today informed me they could reclaim the direct debit but it would take till Tuesday and might complicate the situation already started by Tesco. None of the 4 advisers at Tesco I have spoken with have been able to explain how this payment was taken.
Has anyone else ever been in this position before? Is there any advice with what to do? Is my understanding of the direct debit guarantee right? I will be phoning the complaints department when they open on Monday, but would like to know where I stand.
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Comments
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It's not happened to me, but if it did I'd head to my local bank branch first thing Monday. Take as much documentation as you have (although it should be available to the bank's staff) and beg for help!
The Direct Debit guarantee is meant to allow you to reclaim money very quickly when a dispute arises, so I'd push that with the branch staff.0 -
It's not happened to me, but if it did I'd head to my local bank branch first thing Monday. Take as much documentation as you have (although it should be available to the bank's staff) and beg for help!
The Direct Debit guarantee is meant to allow you to reclaim money very quickly when a dispute arises, so I'd push that with the branch staff.
why let a credit card company have access to your bank anyway !!! why not either ring up and pay each month or go in the branch that way YOU are in control0 -
...but that money wouldn't appear till Monday. Explaining that they were leaving me with no money at all until then did not come up with any other ideas, they really didn't sound interested in my predicament.
could you withdraw some cash at an ATM using the credit card or pay for things with your credit card ?Hi, we’ve had to remove your signature. If you’re not sure why please read the forum rules or email the forum team if you’re still unsure - MSE ForumTeam0 -
When you do that, people forget or don't pay on time and get charged interest and late payment fees. So people pay with DD to prevent that from happening. However, I only ever pay the minimum payment, as insurance against a late payment fee marker.bankhater_1965 wrote: »why let a credit card company have access to your bank anyway !!! why not either ring up and pay each month or go in the branch that way YOU are in control0 -
I hate to say this - but you really don't have a leg to stand on. DD's these days are for unspecified anounts on unspecified dates, so there was no specified date for them to breach. If a debit fails for insufficient funds, they automatically rechedule it to be called again a few days later. This will happen irrespective of what happens in the mentime (alternative payment method), as a DD payment has to be scheduled in a computer run, it is an automated process and usually requires a five-working day window to update the funds to collect, but the recalling of funds is usually less than this.
This invariably means you may a manual payment, and the recalled DD goes out. This is NOT an error, but the customer can request the additional amount to be returned to their bank account, and this request is not normally refused.
However, as you found, having to beg for your own money back is hardly a good use of your time, as there is no urgency of the CC's point of view to expedite it.
The only solution? Avoid DD's as they are not your friend, and you are effectively passing the responsibility of payment to a third party that cannot be trusted.0 -
bankhater_1965 wrote: »why let a credit card company have access to your bank anyway !!! why not either ring up and pay each month or go in the branch that way YOU are in control
Completely agree with you. These sorry tales of Direct Debits not working as expected appear on these boards every day - I actually think there are more problems of this nature than those caused by late\missed payments.
In the age of Faster Payments, Direct Debits are an outdated and clumsy mechanism of making payments (I mean they take over a month to activate, any alterations have to be made a week in advance of the actual payment date etc). I avoid them like the plague.0 -
Pay by Debit Card as that's tracked..but contrary to the email you'll get stating payment clears in two working days it doesn't..it takes up to six working days..trust me I knowNever argue with an idiot. Especially not this idiot because I'm always right anyway.0
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