Credit Card Security obligations

Ergates

Retired_Traveller wrote: »

However is it appropriate for a credit card company to change our details, put our financial security at risk and not be challenged?

No, they shouldn't do that and they've clearly made a mistake. Raise a formal complaint.

You could say that if it wasn't for their mistake you would have cleared the balance much sooner and thus would have ended up paying a lot less interest. And on the back of that you could request that they reimburse you some/all of the interest.

They *might* accept that, or they might not.

Ergates

Ben8282 wrote: »

All very contradictory. Standing order now a direct debit. You were told the balance was was cleared? By who? Either you made a payment or you didn't. Did you not notice that whatever funds you had used to pay by whatever means had not left the account? Did you not receive statements even before the address change? How can you have not noticed that a direct debit was being taken every month for 8 years to a credit account that you believed had no balance? The extent of your neglect defies belief.
No it is not appropriate for a credit card company to change the address but nor is it appropriate for a customer to be unaware of it for 8 years. The time to have complained was 8 years ago. As I previously said, how can they properly verify what happened 8 years later?
Are we really supposed to believe that your husband contacted MBNA and was lied to and told the balance was cleared at which point MBNA promptly changed your address without apparent cause to an address 'in a completely different part of the country'? And why did he contact them to ask about the balance? Did you not receive statements or use online banking?

Not really that contradictory.

Many people get Standing Orders and Direct Debits mixed up when speaking/writing and yt was pretty obvious the OP was talking about a DD from the start.

Not everyone checks their transaction history regularly, or at all. As long as there is money in the account and they aren't getting nasty letters from the utility companies, many people just ignore their accounts.

Also - Think about how often we get posters on here complaining that they think they've cleared the balance on their card, but then get a bill the following month, because they've forgotten about the interest. It's a very common mistake.

Not everything is a conspiracy. Not every posted is trying to pull the wool over your eyes.

Terry_Towelling

On the subject of the card company changing the address, there is nothing wrong in that - it happens all the time when people move house. The issue is whether the address was changed in error, or without the card company following the proper procedures. We have no idea what happened in this regard here.

It is hard to envisage how the DDrs (or STOs) could be paying only the interest (as stated by another poster). That is not how card companies work their minimum payments out (assuming it was set to pay only the minimum). It is also likely that the account would have been marked as in persistent debt during the alleged 8 years of neglect and the card company would have started to take a higher amount to get the debt cleared more quickly.

Perhaps OP could let us know a few of the payment amounts that were taken recently, what the balance was/is and what the APR is. We might then be able to work out whether it is feasible for the debt to have not been cleared after 8 years of payments.

You state you'd have cleared the debt years ago, if you'd been aware of it. But (taking you at face-value) you were aware of it and, having a payment go out to the card company every month, means you had every opportunity to be aware of it for the past 8 years. I accept not everybody checks their bank statements (and just look at what happens when they don't) but is that really a valid excuse? No, it isn't.

born_again

Given the Credit cards have min % repayment or a minimum fixed amount a month. There is no way that there was not a outstanding balance on the account for so many years.
Unless someone has been using the card and not telling the OP.

People have to take responsibility for monitoring their accounts. Which is why the FCA implemented a max of 13 months refunds on fraud or CPA disputes.

phillw

My initial thought is that your partner changed your address at the same time as he pretended to pay off the balance.

The other possibility is that the money was redirected to another account when you paid the balance off and then the account address changed was changed so that it wouldn't show up quickly. If you paid by phoning customer services then I would definitely suspect that, but proving it is much harder after 8 years.

born_again

phillw wrote: »

My initial thought is that your partner changed your address at the same time as he pretended to pay off the balance.

.

Well given the Op has not responded in nearly 2 weeks. You have to wonder (half term time)

Additional card holder should not be able to change any details or request a new card.

phillw

born_again wrote: »

Additional card holder should not be able to change any details or request a new card.

Maybe it was their partners card?

The address change at the same time as the balance was supposed to have been cleared seems a bit of a coincidence. Something went on, but it's going to be hard to figure out what happened 8 years later.

msallen

born_again wrote: »

Well given the Op has not responded in nearly 2 weeks. You have to wonder (half term time)

Either that or they took umbrage that everyone didn't join together in a rousing chorus of "Oh what a nasty bank".

JP2019

I think your husband has been telling fibs unfortunately! Many people hide debt from their spouse