Signed up without my consent.

Seansmit17

I was recently looking into a loan, wanted to check interest rates etc.

I ended up at loan-panel.co.uk via a link from either credit karma or totally money. I'm not sure, But they took my info including my card details for an age check. Seemed all legit and did not notice anything wrong.

This was last Friday, Fast forward to today and some company called betterdigit.co.uk have tried to take £32.25 from my account for their budgeting and planning services. I never signed up for them and I cant even login with my email. It says I do not have an account. I have sent in an email telling them this and to cancel any service and not take any money. The source of them getting my card info must be loan-panel.co.uk or one of its partners. Loan-Panel.co.uk's website is actually a mess if you look. T&S does not work and links to a contact page.

Question is, what the hell? I will get in touch with the FCA but wanted to get you guys thoughts on this.

bargainbetty

Notify your bank that you wish to cancel any direct debit or continuous payment authority they have set up, and put that in writing to the company too. Ensure that they do not get any of your cash at source, and then contact loan-panel to ask what you have signed up for, and to cancel it immediately. 

Loan-panel do clearly state that they are a broker and not a lender, so there is an absolute expectation that they will share your details with 'partners' and the likelihood is that they have hidden a checkbox somewhere about signing up for a financial service.  

[Deleted User]

Seansmit17 said:

Question is, what the hell? I will get in touch with the FCA but wanted to get you guys thoughts on this.

We'd need to know what the hell what in order to answer that question.

But the FCA don't take customer complaints, so FOS would be the better destination, once you've exhausted the complaints procedure. 

Never give card details unless you're buying something (or registering for a CRA). They're not needed for an age check when applying for loans.

Exodi

This sounds like one of those stitch ups that refers you to sites that 'recommend' credit products but by doing so signs you up to a subscription that costs £30 a month or whatever nonsense. It will usually mention this in size 1 font at the bottom of a page somewhere.

https://uk.trustpilot.com/review/loan-panel.co.uk ... yeah...

Seansmit17

Thanks

I got an email back from Beterdigit:

"We were offered to you whilst you were online applying for loans and finance. It was whilst you were on these sites that you added our service onto an application you made and your account with us then began. We provided you with a 5 day free trial and made you aware of the £37.75 monthly subscription fee.

I can confirm that I have now closed your account with Better Digit. You will no longer have access to your application and no further payments will be debited from your bank account.

If you require anything further, please get back in touch.

Many Thanks

Better Digit"

Lets hope it stays that way. I like how they say its £37.75 there and not £32.25 as it is on the website. They say I signed up but the search on loan panel found nothing for me and again, I looked for these hidden "scams" and there was nothing. There is a chance I missed it somewhere, Maybe it's in there T&C of using the service but the page that's supposed to show the T&S's does not so i cant check that.


I got no confirmation email from betterdigit, no login info, I never even got to chose a password for any account creation. So they are talking rubbish there.

kaMelo

Maybe it's a random figure as it shows me £35.25 per month on betterdigit.co.uk

As for Loan Panel:

              Loan Panel is a broker, we are not a lender. Representative 1270% APR

That alone should be reason enough to go no further than the homepage.

poppasmurf_bewdley

A modern tilt at a scam from at least 10 years ago.  Secretly signing people up for a subscription when looking for a loan.  

Never, ever, give your card details to anyone when you're not buying something on line.  These are not needed for verification, they're needed to take money from your account.  

Seansmit17

I asked betterdigit where they got my info from and all they say is this:

Hey there ! Thanks for getting in contact. We were offered to you whilst you were online applying for loans and finance. It was whilst you were on these sites that you added our service onto an application you made and your account with us then began. We provided you with a 5 day free trial and made you aware of the £37.75 monthly subscription fee. No company passed on your information as we do not accept any 3rd party information and this was opted into directly as an advertisement during this process. If you require anything further, please get back in touch. Many Thanks Better Digit Non of that happened. At no point was I made aware of any service from them. I would of said no if I saw it. At any rate, No harm on THIS occasion. They have not tried to take anymore money from me but I will be keeping an eye on it.