How long can a merchant wait to charge my debit card?

ferraristo

I bought something in a major retailer's store 6 weeks ago via debit card, but the payment has yet to be presented.

I am careful enough to keep my own independent bank transaction records with a spreadsheet as it is so much safer and accurate than relying on the bank's actual/available balances! , So I'm not worried that the funds won't be there when the debit eventually goes through.. andI received the goods and they are entitled to the monies - this is not in dispute or being challenged in any way.

My question is rather how long does the merchant have, legally under UK law, to process the payment? Or - in practical terms - is there a cut-off point in time when I don't need to take into account in my personal records that this debit is still pending and the Merchant can no longer take the payment? Is the debt legally binding in perpetuity or does it become void in say 6 months?

Any informed and qualified advice most welcome. Thanks.

paragon909

Just contact the company you bought something from and explain what you just said here that you bought someone received it and you shall be paid. Am sure they would then pass it to the appropriate department and the payment will be represented in no time....

Either way they will take the money and you could suffer the consequences of bank charges etc if you don't have enough to cover the unexpected charge.

ferraristo

Thanks, not worried about not having the funds, interested in learning if there is a legal end-date for when the debit can be processed.

shortcrust

From what I can remember (I'm sure someone will correct me if I'm wrong...) they have up to six months to take the money from your account. The can take legal action to get their money from you for up to six years, as with most contracts.

A big company will notice sooner or later so it's incredibly unlikely that you'll get away without paying.

agrinnall

It's basically what shortcrust says, but they may not need to take legal action after 6 months as they already have your debit card number so if they account is still open they can take the money from it. What they should do in that case after 6 months is to notify you that they intend to take the money, if they don't you can ask your bank to return it (but you'll still owe it anyway).

I have a transaction that is now 18 months overdue (I even rang the company to tell them that they hadn't taken it but that didn't prompt them to do anything) and although I'm happy to pay it if they ask for it I suspect they never will.

Anthorn

ferraristo wrote: »

I bought something in a major retailer's store 6 weeks ago via debit card, but the payment has yet to be presented.

I am careful enough to keep my own independent bank transaction records with a spreadsheet as it is so much safer and accurate than relying on the bank's actual/available balances! , So I'm not worried that the funds won't be there when the debit eventually goes through.. andI received the goods and they are entitled to the monies - this is not in dispute or being challenged in any way.

My question is rather how long does the merchant have, legally under UK law, to process the payment? Or - in practical terms - is there a cut-off point in time when I don't need to take into account in my personal records that this debit is still pending and the Merchant can no longer take the payment? Is the debt legally binding in perpetuity or does it become void in say 6 months?

Any informed and qualified advice most welcome. Thanks.

The money can be claimed for up to six months. But you should really be asking how long it takes for the bank to return set aside funds and make it available for spending. Usually 10 days.

How it works is you and your bank authorise payment, the money is set aside and then paid to the retailer when they claim it. Usually it's claimed automatically at the end of the day or in the case of Paypoint manually.

In your bank account usually the available balance is less than the balance and the unclaimed payment shown as a pending payment.

ferraristo

Thanks folks, much appreciated!!

Sounds safest to make sure there is always enough funds to cover it for 6 years!

Nice, fast, and polite responses from lovely people. Thanks again.

Westie983

ferraristo wrote: »

Thanks folks, much appreciated!!

Sounds safest to make sure there is always enough funds to cover it for 6 years!

Nice, fast, and polite responses from lovely people. Thanks again.

lol, 6 months will do :-)