5 One off fees debited from my account?!?

DCFC79

Motherofdragons wrote: »

You don't need to go as far as a new account. Tell your bank about what has happened and cancel your debit card. This will stop the payments, but also any others you have so remember to set those up again!

Maybe a new bank account was a bit drastic but at least a new account would mean none of the lenders will have access to it.

Pauloipam

Hello guys,

First, thanks for you help.

Second, I sent the letters and asked for a refund. The refunds came through (a few, not all) but instead of taking just £5 broker fee, they took half of the money! So for a £69 fee for example, I got credited £32.

What should I do? Contact them again by letter? Contact FoS?

Thanks!

DCFC79

Pauloipam wrote: »

Hello guys,

First, thanks for you help.

Second, I sent the letters and asked for a refund. The refunds came through (a few, not all) but instead of taking just £5 broker fee, they took half of the money! So for a £69 fee for example, I got credited £32.

What should I do? Contact them again by letter? Contact FoS?

Thanks!

How long ago did you send the letter ?

Yes send another letter, mention a time frame and after that you will go to the fos.

Pauloipam

Letter was sent Tuesday, 13th May

Should I saw then that I'm on my 14-day cooling period and I'm entitled to a full refund minus £5 broker fee?

And that I will be claiming to the FoS is the situation is not sorted?

Thank you!

Monkeyballs

Hi Paul,

Yes, make it very clear that you have read and understood their terms and conditions and also specify the dates of when they took the money so there can be no stalling over dates.

Highlighting that you are willing to reporting the issue to the FOS shouldn't be necessary but do so if you feel more confident in getting a reply.

MB

GingerBob_3

I just went ot the Creditmaze site and put a load of bogus info into it, up to the point where they ask for bank details. Do these companies offer anything at all, or are they just 100% leeches?

Maybe they might be alright for some people (probably not), but anyone who does use them would be WELL ADVISED to put bogus mobile and home phone numbers in. You can't progress without both numbers being input. Heaven knows what they do with the numbers ... sell them on I expect.

It's really telling when you do a Google search on 'credit maze'.

Monkeyballs

Hi,

I just spotted this in their T&C's;

The Fee charged for Membership Services

We provide a variety of services by phone, internet, mail and other means through a monthly membership programme (see 'The Benefits of Membership'). In return for these services, You agree to pay a one-off joining fee of not more than £69.75 which includes your first month of membership and £8.99 monthly membership fee there after. On submission of your Membership application you will be automatically charged by a direct charge to the debit/credit card you provided and authorised on application.

So, as well as asking for a refund you need to get confirmation that membership has been cancelled and the £8.99 membership fee will not be taken...

Reading this I'm wondering if this is possibly an attempt to get around the "£5 maximum fee" normally seen on broker sites? I don't recall ever seeing any brokers make reference to "monthly membership fees" in the past?

Someone else might want to take a look as well...

MB

Monkeyballs

In fact, I can only see one mention even to the word broker which is on the "about us" tab which reads;

We believe it’s only fair that you can compare products from the whole of the marketplace. Unlike most brokers/financial sites in the UK, we do not rely solely on commissions from lenders, that means that clients can be assured of Credit Maze sourcing the best possible deal available to suit their own personal circumstances at that time.

I could be overcooking this but I bet this is their way of saying "we're not a broker, so you are paying for a service fee NOT a broker fee"... The more I read the less I like...

MB

Pauloipam

I've now been in touch with all the services that charged me, some refunded me (partially, sent another letter), other acknowledged the reception of my letters and will refund.

There's one though, 'smart loans' that I can't get in touch with. The letter I sent (same address as 'Cash Locator' and 'credit maze' that partially refunded me) came back to my place (with 'company not in location'), their phone number doesn't even ring and their email is sending the emails back. They charged me £68.50.

Any advice on what should i do about this?

Thanks!

Gaz83

Was it this company? http://www.smartloans.co.uk/