How Halifax Clarity Creidit Card now threatens to steal your money.

Alun

OK - I've just got burned by this - I always use my Clarity Card when in the US - after getting back I decided to transfer the balance to 0% - did the transfer of £1,280 to my Barclaycard and thought nothing more.


Today I get a text from my bank [First Direct] that the same payment [full balance] has come out of my accout making me overdrawn.


OK - I now look at the blurb on the front of my last statement and it all makes sense [I suppose it will teach me to read the front of my statement].


Direct Debit Changes: REMINDER - If you pay by Direct Debit the amount collected will no longer be reduced by any payments you've made in that statement period. Instead we'll treat it as an extra payment on top of your usual Direct Debit amount. The Direct Debit amount shown on your statement will still be taken. This will help you pay off your balance more quickly. However if you have missed a payment and not brought your account up to date, your Direct Debit WILL reduce by any payments you've made in that statement period.


I thought I was fairly financially savvy - but if I can get caught out, I'm sure others can - and it can probably get people into trouvle rather than helping them...


Cheers


Alun

chattychappy

What I object to is the "this will help you pay off your balance more quickly" baloney.

wazza99

Well, i got caught as well.....logged onto my banking to find my credit card £1500 in credit, odd i thought as i paid the amount manually, so despite having a zero balance they still took the £1500 via DD.

Pff now luckily it doesn't make any odds as i could cover it and a quick call sees it transferred back, but i do fail to see the logic in the strategy, anyway teach me to read those mails in future.

NoodleDoodleMan

Well in my opinion, when someone takes your money without your permission and with no claim on it, then that is theft. The only reason it is not theft technically is because of the DD mandate.

Can somebody correct me please if I'm mistaken - but when you complete and submit a DD mandate is that not a written, signed and dated authority for the other party to debit the relevant account by a stipulated £? amount on a set regular cycle, monthly being the most common frequency ?

The other party has the right to amend the sum in question but have to give reasonable notice.

Then you have the right to dispute and challenge the amount, or cancel the DD at you discretion.

In which case I'm not clear as to how the other party might have acted "without your permission" as suggested.

18cc

I suppose the point op is making is that if you make a manual payment say putting your balance down to zero then you don't at that point owe them anything and therefore because you don't owe them anything they have no right to take anything from your bank account

I know the terms of conditions probably say now that they will take the full amount excetera excetera but the bottom line is they are taking money that you don't owe them that's the point of the post

it's a bit like I suppose if I pay back a debt to you with a cheque and then a couple of days later so don't worry about the cheque here is the cash and then you go ahead and cash the check cheque anyway...

18cc

P.s. I have now today closedmy Clarity card which I have had for quite some time and will be using tandem starling etc for foreign travel. If others do the same then who knows they may reverse the change but I doubt it though

jackieblack

18cc wrote: »

P.s. I have now today closedmy Clarity card which I have had for quite some time and will be using tandem starling etc for foreign travel. If others do the same then who knows they may reverse the change but I doubt it though

Of course you're free to 'cut off your nose to spite your face' if you choose.
For those of us who understand how to make it work (and IIRC it's how the Clarity used to work years ago when it was first launched) it's not a problem

[Deleted User]

Yes - I'm sure they're revert the change now that a few MSE'ers have got the hump with them

18cc

Quite the opposite of cutting off nose to spite face - I only ever used Clarity abroad (I use a cashback card at home) and now I am using Tandem I am getting cashback abroad as well which Clarity didn't give me. It's also one less App on my phone.

In fact I would go further - anyone on here who has a smartphone and doesn't immediately close their Clarity card and use Tandem instead (and thus get cashback) is not a moneysavingexpert at all.

redux

I don't understand why people want large cash withdrawals anyway.

It isn't only the UK where card payment in even small establishments has become common.