Charges to a cancelled card.

SnowTiger

DrBarnacles wrote: »

I do appreciate all the advice given here, but I still feel it's morally wrong that a cancelled card can be used 4 years after its cancelled.

It wasn't. The card was used once to set up a continuous payment authority.

The only question that needs answering is why Demon continued to take payment after September 2010 when you cancelled your contract with them.

This moral stuff is very confusing, isn't it? It's interesting that you didn't give Demon an alternative method of payment after cancelling your debit card in 2008. Was that a morally right thing to do? And, even worse, you continued to use their service for nearly two years, thinking you weren't paying for it. Is that morally right?

What's the view like from that moral high ground of yours?

DrBarnacles

SnowTiger wrote: »

This moral stuff is very confusing, isn't it? It's interesting that you didn't give Demon an alternative method of payment after cancelling your debit card in 2008. Was that a morally right thing to do? And, even worse, you continued to use their service for nearly two years, thinking you weren't paying for it. Is that morally right?

When I didn't pay for my Internet it got shut off, so I knew I was paying for it and every other company asked for my new details as soon as they attempted to take payments. I must have thought that I was paying by direct debit and the first thing I checked was my DD's and I then looked closer to find out what had occurred.

SnowTiger wrote: »

What's the view like from that moral high ground of yours?

It's a fine view, I wouldn't have cared about this whole issue until I realised I was getting charged for something I didn't ask for or receive. Every other payment I had set up had to be given new card details. I checked my whole statement for uses on that card and the only charge was demon. I don't blame them for that, I blame my bank for not stopping those charges.

SnowTiger

DrBarnacles wrote: »

When I didn't pay for my Internet it got shut off, so I knew I was paying for it.

It's a fine view, I wouldn't have cared about this whole issue until I realised I was getting charged for something I didn't ask for or receive. Every other payment I had set up had to be given new card details. I checked my whole statement for uses on that card and the only charge was demon. I don't blame them for that, I blame my bank for not stopping those charges.

Previously you wrote:

Back in December 2008 I lost my debit card and had it cancelled. However, my ISP at the time (Demon) continued to take charges from it. I left demon on 24th Sept 2010, but they continued to charge me to this present day.

As far as I'm aware Demon doesn't do free Internet, so how did you think you paid for their service from December 2008 to September 2010?

And are you asking us to believe that you're only now checking bank statements from December 2008 onwards?

Wow.

DrBarnacles

SnowTiger wrote: »

Previously you wrote:



As far as I'm aware Demon doesn't do free Internet, so how did you think you paid for their service from December 2008 to September 2010?

And are you asking us to believe that you're only now checking bank statements from December 2008 onwards?

Wow.

Read my post you quoted me on, and my previous posts: first my wife checked the accounts and didn't realise we had left demon, second when people asked me for new payment details I gave them, demon never asked and I didn't notice. It was 4 years ago and I may have thought I was paying by DD. up to September 08 I was unemployed for over a year and when there was no money to pay for Internet, I got no Internet. I never thought for a second I was getting something for free, that's just a stupid idea. I only noticed these issues recently as my card details got stolen and my account emptied, all those charges were returned immediately, but after following up I noticed a charge from demon and wondered !!!!!! it was, and investigated.

Gromitt

Your forgetting one thing: You authorised Demon to take continuous monthly payments from your card. So they only need to request authorisation once and from then on can continue to take payments until they cancel it. The bank can't stop a payment which has been authorised by you unless it was marked as fraudulent. So the fact that the card was cancelled or expired doesn't matter. Even if your account was completely closed, the next payment would reopen it, as the authorisation had been completed on month 1.

The reason you can't find other cases like this is that other people notice unwanted payments before 4 years are up.

meer53

Bad accounting on your part (or your wife seeing as you let her run your finances)

You can't blame the bank, they're doing exactly what they've been asked to do. Which is to pay Demon for a service YOU agreed to and gave authorisation to them for payments to be claimed.

If you've not received the service you paid for, and you have proof that you cancelled the service, you should be having a fight with Demon, not your bank. If Demon won't help, and you have the proof, then go to your bank. BUT, they can only dispute transactions within the last 120 days, so by your poor accounting, you probably won't get as much back as you're expecting, have a word with your wife about the rest.

chattychappy

Gromitt wrote: »

The bank can't stop a payment which has been authorised by you unless it was marked as fraudulent.

In the case of CPAs, under the Payment Services Directive, it is sufficient to cancel with the CC. The PSD came into force 1st Nov 2009. I don't think this really helps the OP unless somehow he can argue that by cancelling the card he was implicitly cancelling the CPA. But of course he cancelled his account prior to the change in law which makes this line of argument even more difficult.

eddddy

If I'm reading this correctly, as others have said, your argument is with Demon, not your bank. Demon confirmed your cancellation by email, but continued to collect charges. From what you say, Demon have clearly made a mistake - I would have thought that they would refund you without question.

Most people would see what your bank did as a benefit. Your card was compromised or stolen. So the bank gave you a new card number, but continued to pay existing 'Continuous Payment Authorities'. This means that you didn't have to phone around the ISP, Insurance Cos, Motoring Org, Satellite TV co etc to give them your new card number (or face the risk of cancelled car insurance, reconnection fees etc, if you forgot).

DrBarnacles

Just spoke to the bank and they were amazed that this had happened, they couldn't understand how demon were able to use a card that expired (not cancelled) in 08 for 4 years. Anyway I explained that I had no business with them since sept 10, and they were able to refund all charges as far back as Oct 11 which was the maximum they could action, giving me a nice christmas bonus of £270.

meer53

DrBarnacles wrote: »

Just spoke to the bank and they were amazed that this had happened, they couldn't understand how demon were able to use a card that expired (not cancelled) in 08 for 4 years. Anyway I explained that I had no business with them since sept 10, and they were able to refund all charges as far back as Oct 11 which was the maximum they could action, giving me a nice christmas bonus of £270.

Good that you see it as a bonus. But you could have saved yourself a whole lot more by checking your account !