Santander CC direct debit payments

Brie

I knew there was a small balance on the Santander card due to be paid.  I checked it last week and saw that there was a minimum payment £5 due by 2/9 and also that there was a direct debit showing that it would clear the balance on or immediately after 2/9.  This information is still showing online.

Imagine my surprise then to discover that they took a DD of £5 on 1/9 (not 2) and have taken nothing further.  So presumably I will now be charged interest for not clearing the bill in full.  

I think the new bill will be generated today (the last one was 6/8) so do you think they will still clear the balance or not??  

It's the sort of thing that I'm likely to have to ring them about and hate hanging on hold for ages hence asking for experiences with them here.

fyi - clearing the balance is not an issue but may result in an overpayment which I would then need to ring them about as their messaging service is not available to me for some reason.  it wouldn't kill me financially to over pay but it's a hassle I don't really need.

Brie

45 minutes on the phone only to be told that nothing can be done about this today.  I will be charged interest for not clearing the balance in full. 

I asked to have a complaint logged on the basis that the statement on line said that the full balance would be taken by DD.  Chap admitted that there was a problem with their DD information that they were trying to resolve but that he couldn't log a complaint.  All he could do was ask the complaint team to ring me back at some point.  No specific time could be organised but it would be "some time in the next 2 to 3 days" which is incredibly awkward for me so I will have to ring them back.

I have cleared the balance now and hopefully the chap doesn't know what he's talking about and I won't be charged interest given that the statement won't be produced until tomorrow.  We shall see. 

molerat

What does your paper / PDF statement show ?

Does the DD box in Credit card summary  show full or minimum payment set up ?

Mine shows £5 will be taken on or after 6th but full payment was taken on 3rd as per the PDF statement and DD set up details.

Likely there is some sort of computer glitch happening - there was another similar thread here - and front line CS won't have a clue what is going on until the back office / software geeks come back with an answer.

I would submit another complaint on the basis that the CS refused to open a complaint, they cannot do that, you have the right to submit a complaint about anything you wish !

Thrugelmir

What is your direct debit set up to be every month. Minimum amount or full balance?  Only one direct debit can be taken (collected) every month. 

Brie

The problem is that the card isn't used all the frequently - we have it for foreign transactions as there are no extra charges.  So travel or when we used to order stuff from the EU.  Somehow the paper statements keep being turned off (they claim it's me but I know it isn't) so it's only when I check my online banking that I will see exactly what they claim they will take and when.  

The statement online says both "your minimum payment of £5 will be taken on or after 2/9" and "your DD for £full will be taken on or immediately after 2/9."  I take from this that there will be one payment for the full amount as it is more than the minimum and the statement regarding the DD is very specific.  

I will ring them and complain in a couple of days.

molerat

You don't need paper statements. The PDF statement, available through both the on line portal and app, will state exactly how much is going to be taken by DD, no confusion - it says minimum payment £5.00, DD payment xx.xx debited on or after xx-xx-xx

Brie

molerat said:

You don't need paper statements. The PDF statement, available through both the on line portal and app, will state exactly how much is going to be taken by DD, no confusion - it says minimum payment £5.00, DD payment xx.xx debited on or after xx-xx-xx

PDF statements are not available online.  Neither is their chat/messaging service.  No idea why.

But as already stated online it said "DD of £XX will be taken on or immediately after 2/9" but that didn't happen so supposedly that's the IT glitch.

molerat

Why can you not get PDF statements ?  What do you see when you click on e-Documents on the left side of the screen ?  If using the app, when on the CC page click on the 3 dots top right.  The statement is the definitive item.

Brie

molerat said:

Why can you not get PDF statements ?  What do you see when you click on e-Documents on the left side of the screen ?  If using the app, when on the CC page click on the 3 dots top right.  The statement is the definitive item.

Unfortunately the few times I can get into e-docs it normally shuts down the whole session!  Again - not sure why.

But I've finally got through to them again and am waiting to hear what the complaints team has to say about the info online being inaccurate. 

I know it's only a few pounds of interest and not worth my time to chase but it is after all my money!!