Equifax took a pound

leafyant · 10 February 2015 at 2:38PM

OK, this sounds slightly hilarious but I just don't 'get it'.

I noticed that Equifax had taken a pound from my account. I asked why they had done this, and their response was:

"The £1 deduction is only temporary. Our credit card merchants take £1 off your card to check it’s working properly and then return it to your account a few days later."

I don't understand. It's not the fact they took a pound and are putting it back. The point is, why on earth do they 'need to check my card is working properly' :eek: and who are the 'merchants', and when and where did I ever give them permission for this?

I guess it annoys me that some unknown entity can reach into my bank account for no apparent reason.

Has anyone else experienced this?

:beer:

molerat · 10 February 2015 at 3:26PM

They have not taken a pound they have reserved a pound and they will not claim that reservation, it will drop off in 7 - 10 days. When you signed up to Equifax you would have agreed to this, probably by ticking the box saying you agree to (and have read !) the T&Cs, they are just checking that your card is active. Their "merchants" are the organisation who operate their card payment system, exactly the same as any shop uses.