Halifax now allowing debit card CAs to be stopped

pvt

Just reading through a notification of current account T&C changes from Halifax and I note the following is being added:

"If you wish to cancel payments made on a regular basis from your card account, such as magazine subscriptions, you can tell us that you no longer consent to these payments being made....."

This seems like a very positive and much needed improvement. Does anyone know if this is being done by any other banks, and if so, are they being directed to do this by the FSA?

mikey72

It came into effect a couple of years ago, although not many banks seem to acknowledge the change, although the FOS can force them to refund if you have tried to inform them to cancel.

http://www.financial-ombudsman.org.uk/publications/ombudsman-news/103/103-ask.html

pvt

Thanks Mikey - I wasn't aware of that change of law in 2009.

It's interesting that the wording states the bank is only liable after the consumer has cancelled the continuous authority with them.

So this wouldn't apply to a situation where you give your card details to a company to make a payment, and that company subsequently takes further unauthorised payments using those details (a favoured tactic of PDL companies). If you haven't explicitly contacted your bank to tell them to "cancel" any inferred CA arrangement immediately after making the one-off payment to that company, then this change of law doesn't help you I guess.

reclusive46

Most banks have changed their terms and conditions now.

YorkshireBoy

pvt wrote: »

I wasn't aware of that change of law in 2009.

Nor, it seems, were Halifax, being as the notice of variation says the condition only applies from 2nd November 2012...

http://www.halifax.co.uk/bankaccounts/pdf/june-pricing-change-nov.pdf (page 3)

pvt

LOL.

There I was thinking Halifuxitupagain were breaking with tradition and leading the pack with a nice, positive, consumer friendly improvement to its Ts&Cs. When in fact it's actually one of the last to implement something it's been told it must do.....

There were a couple of hours there this morning when I was thinking I was a customer of a decent and honourable bank again - and then you guys came and cruelly reacquainted me with reality. :cool:

meer53

It's still a good idea to contact the people who you set it up with originally though. Halifax can't stop them coming through, it just means they can dispute them without speaking to you again.

opinions4u

The big question will be .... Do the staff know how to action such a request?

pvt wrote: »

There I was thinking Halifuxitupagain were breaking with tradition and leading the pack with a nice, positive, consumer friendly improvement to its Ts&Cs. When in fact it's actually one of the last to implement something it's been told it must do.....

There were a couple of hours there this morning when I was thinking I was a customer of a decent and honourable bank again - and then you guys came and cruelly reacquainted me with reality. :cool:

It's more than possible that they implemented the change some time ago.

This is merely firming things up in the T&Cs that are already in place.

Changes to T&Cs tend to happen every 12-24 months. But changes to legislation and regulation supercede any previously issued T&Cs without a need to immediately mail several million customers a new document that only affects a few thousand account users.

They've included this with a more significant change - an increase in overdraft charges.

MoneySaverLog

This prompted me to re-read a leaflet LTSB sent me in the post and it says the same about CPAs. The bank will cancel them if you inform them :-)

But yes, I guess the significant change is to how the OD system is going to work going forward from October.

dalesrider

meer53 wrote: »

It's still a good idea to contact the people who you set it up with originally though. Halifax can't stop them coming through, it just means they can dispute them without speaking to you again.

Sound advice.

Sadly a lot of people have no idea that if you had done this and the company still debited that you simply could go to your card provider and claim the money back.

The FSA/FOS should be targeting the co's that fail to act on a customers instructions. instead of making the banks do something they have had no part in setting up.

To many people fail to read T/C before pressing OK to sign up.

I don't agree on the PDL co's. If you borrow money from them, then expect them to take it back by any means they have. If you walsh on the repayments. its in their T/C....

MoneySaverLog

Well it stops these people who advertise trial subscriptions online, just to get the long number, charging you every month at full price after the trial ends and making it as difficult as possible to cancel with them.

That's a good thing.