Sum up - Fraud

vickielouise87

Hi, not sure I am posting in the correct forum so pleased direct me to the correct place if not. 

I use a card company called ‘Sum Up’ so my customers can make secure card payments to me on completion of jobs (I have a plumbing and heating business) 

I did a job for a gentleman in July 2019, he was happy with the job and paid the invoice via his debit card and via Sum Up. 

This week I received an email from Sum Up to say this customer had filed and they were taking the full amount of £1,400 back for this job. I called them to discuss and they said there was nothing I could do about it and the money had already been refunded. They are not prepared to help me further. 

I have tried to contact the customer - who conveniently wont answer any calls. 

He has never contacted me to complain about the job or made me aware that he us unhappy with my work or services. I am shocked he has been able to just take back the money without any type of investigation and after 18 months has gone by. 

Unfortunately for me, it has come to light that this guy is a known for committing these types of fraud and has done it to several tradesmen in my area. 

I am totally lost on what to do. Legal advice will cost a fortune and could actually end up costing me more than I have initially had taken off me. 

Any help or advice appreciated!

Browntoa

Small claims court for that sort of amount , minimal expenditure.

Get written evidence from other tradesmen that he's done it before 

elsien

That would appear to be against their own policy.

What should I do if I receive a retrieval request?

You will be duly notified of the retrieval request and you will be asked to provide us with all relevant information and documents on the purchase to be forwarded to the client’s bank. You can find the requirements for the requested documents here. If you have the option, the best practice is to contact your client to solve the issue and ask them to call their bank to stop any potential chargebacks.

Chargebacks

What is a chargeback?

When a card transaction is disputed (either at the request of the cardholder or by the cardholder’s bank), you may receive a chargeback. If a chargeback occurs, you will be charged for the amount of the transaction.

We will actively support you to dispute the chargeback and to recover the charged amount from your customer’s bank.

Is there a complaint mechanism? 

davidmcn

Not even sure if you need evidence (beyond the reversed payment) if the customer isn't claiming anything was actually wrong. 

vickielouise87

Thanks everyone this is really helpful

Jumblebumble

Also  I would involve the FCA
Sum up are under a duty to treat customers fairly

bigsky

Hi, just spotted this. It seems rather strange. According to UK Finance (trade body for banks etc) there is a 120 day time limit on a chargeback. I can't post a link but google ukfinance chargeback.

If SumUp won't give you more information, you could try doing a Subject Access Request under the Data Protection law, which might get them to disclose everything.

You can log a formal complaint with SumUp, which they must respond to. If that doesn't solve the problem, you can then go to the financial ombudsman. Note that I have heard other reports of dubious behaviour from SumUp, and there are quite a few bad reviews on TrustPilot.

Chris_English

You can also, while pursuing other routes, turn up at their house and make it clear to them that they still owe you for the work that was done, so need to pay.

Sandtree

Given the OP hasnt been back for almost a year you'd expect the matter is now resolved (or they are stuck in the court backlog)

born_again

How was the transaction made?
Did customer enter PIN? If so there are next to no chargeback options available.

SumUp should be on your side & helping you to contest the chargeback. As it will be the customers bank who has requested the money back.

But you do still have a ACE up your sleeve. You can take them to  court for non payment.

sheramber

This thread is one year old  and the OP has not logged on since February 21.