Credit card Continuous Payment Authority (CPA)

LondonTom12

Hi

Just need some advice here.  I have a credit card, but three years ago I switched to another credit card provider, however, I never cancel this card.  last month, I noticed there is a  monthly charge from an online company from 2017 until now. I remembered that I have cancelled it in 2017. I even complained to the credit card company that it is an unauthorised payment at that time. the complaint was accepted and they refunded the money back to me. after the complaint, I believe I asked them to block this company to take any money from my account again. but this company still takes the money from my account until last month. I called the credit card company again this time, and raise a formal complaint, but this time they say they can't assist me on this matter because it is a Continuous Payment Authority (CPA) 

"Unfortunately, even if we apply a block against the CPA, there’s a risk the merchant will change their details and still be able to claim money from your account. Due to this, we always recommend contacting the merchant directly and asking them to cancel any ongoing subscriptions.
We have no way to guarantee an absolute stop on CPAs, as you’ve shared your details with them previously. We understand this may not be the outcome you were hoping for, and we’re sorry for any inconvenience caused."

is there anything I can do to claim the money back?

I also recall they did send me a new card after my first complaint at 2017, how this company is still able to claim the money from my account even without the new card detail?

thanks for your help

Sandtree

For a CPA to be setup they must first put through a regular payment and then subsequent payments can go through as a CPA (or at least thats my understanding).

For a CPA payment things like expiry date and CCV are no longer required and Visa/Mastercard etc run a card updater service which is supposed to be used before the next CPA goes through... this gives one of three responses... a) yes card is fine to use, b) card number has changed, heres the new one or c) do not process payment plus a code which gives a clue as to why.

If its a legit company using card updater then when you cancel the CPA they will get response C next time and then stop taking payment. If they aren't using card updater they can still try with the old card number and its down to your bank if they accept or not etc.

If they do what the bank warns of and changes their details to bypass the CPA block then as far as I know they'd need to do a regular transaction first to restablish a CPA for which they are likely to need most, if not all, of the current cards detail.

Also have a look at Continuous payment authorities: it is your right to cancel | FCA from your bank's regulator which states that if you ask them to cancel the CPA any future transactions must be considered unauthorised.

Finally... remember that cancelling payment is not the same as cancelling a service... if the service with the merchant hasnt been cancelled then you will accrue a debt with them that they may decide to pursue.