Cancelled - but they're still allowing transactions?

Brian_A_2

Hi

I've recently cancelled a Smile credit card. However, there's a company still processing monthly debits from the card. I raised this with Smile (who have rubbish customer service, btw, one of the reasons I cancelled) to be told - eventually - that:

"Transactions will still be allowed to go through on the card even if the card was going to closure. They are usually called continuous card authorities. The transactions need to be closed with the companies who are still taking them. If they will not stop the transactions please let us know and we can put through the details to our visa disputes department to cancel future transactions to the companies. Once all payments are stopped the card will close."
:eek:

Is that correct? I thought that cancelling a credit card automatically stopped any payments being processed through it?

custardy

yup,you gave them authority
you need to contact the company and cancel whatever service you have with them

dgtazzman

They should have told you this when you closed the card. I closed both a Cap One and Halifax card in the last month and both told me this on the phone, backed up by a letter with the same information on a few days later.

meer53

Brian_A wrote: »

Hi

I've recently cancelled a Smile credit card. However, there's a company still processing monthly debits from the card. I raised this with Smile (who have rubbish customer service, btw, one of the reasons I cancelled) to be told - eventually - that:

"Transactions will still be allowed to go through on the card even if the card was going to closure. They are usually called continuous card authorities. The transactions need to be closed with the companies who are still taking them. If they will not stop the transactions please let us know and we can put through the details to our visa disputes department to cancel future transactions to the companies. Once all payments are stopped the card will close."
:eek:

Is that correct? I thought that cancelling a credit card automatically stopped any payments being processed through it?

Nope, cancelling a card doesn't stop payments being processed.

pqrdef

Card payments are accepted by merchants on the basis that they're guaranteed by the bank. So the merchant knows he'll get his money. If merchants couldn't rely on that, nobody would accept card payments.

Think of it as a string of post-dated guaranteed cheques.

oldagetraveller

custardy wrote: »

yup,you gave them authority
you need to contact the company and cancel whatever service you have with them

Not any more http://www.guardian.co.uk/money/2012/feb/24/continuous-payments-authority-know-your-rights

Buzby

Which, when you think about it, is an incredible loss of control by the cardholder who must go cap in hand to the merchant who took the money to ask for it back.

NEVER provide any continuous authority on any plastic (I have a standing instruction that NO such authority should be permitted on my account ) on the basis that any such request would not be approved by myself. So far it as worked well, but you do have o be vigilant especially with firms who retail insurance products.

meer53

Telling a card company that you don't allow CPA's is a bit of a waste of time as they aren't the ones who set them up. It's the company you buy from who set them up. The card issuers just accept them as they come through, it's only after they've debited that they can be disputed.

chattychappy

custardy wrote: »

you need to contact the company and cancel whatever service you have with them

Nope - you can cancel with the CC if you prefer.

Buzby wrote: »

Which, when you think about it, is an incredible loss of control by the cardholder who must go cap in hand to the merchant who took the money to ask for it back.

Not really. If you authorised the transaction, then you have nothing to complain about. If you didn't authorise it, then you dispute it. If you don't want further CPAs to go through then you can either cancel with the merchant, or the CC or both.

I prefer CPAs to DDs because it is not my money that's being played with. A wrong DD could seriously mess me up until I get it sorted. Not the case with an unexpected CC debit.

meer53 wrote: »

Telling a card company that you don't allow CPA's is a bit of a waste of time as they aren't the ones who set them up. It's the company you buy from who set them up. The card issuers just accept them as they come through, it's only after they've debited that they can be disputed.

Yep. Also, if you tell a card company that you don't allow CPAs but then authorise one, the later instruction would override your first.

The only way is to remember with whom you have agreed CPAs. As an additional precaution, when cancelling a CC you could also notify the CC that all outstanding CPAs are also cancelled. If further CPAs go through you would then have grounds to dispute.

bris

Stopping the payment method does not stop the liability. If you stop the payment through the CC co but don't cancel the service then you could find yourself hounded by debt collection agencies and your credit file trashed.

Make sure you do both so there is nothing to actually pay for.

anoncol

bris wrote: »

Stopping the payment method does not stop the liability. If you stop the payment through the CC co but don't cancel the service then you could find yourself hounded by debt collection agencies and your credit file trashed.

Make sure you do both so there is nothing to actually pay for.

This is what i was going to suggest. If you still have access to a service then you can still be invoiced.