Treated badly by Nationwide

SanaKnapp

Hi, please can I have some help. A woman on security at Nationwide just hung up on me and I'm at my wits end with the lack of help. A year ago I started to go through my credit card debt after ignoring letters for some time due to mental health issues. I saw a website company I didn't know had been charging me a lot of money. I rang Nationwide who told me it had gone on for a long time. The amount was a lot. When I told them it wasn't me, they said they couldn't do anything about it and I had to contact the company scamming me, which I did but they insisted I must've given them by credit card details and when I asked for proof they had nothing and stopped replying to my emails. Nationwide said I had to pay so I managed to pay it off a year ago and requested for my card account to be closed. The lady I spoke to said the company couldn't charge me and to keep the card, but I wanted to know for sure so insisted the account was closed. It took around 3 months altogether to get it closed. First to pay it off, then interest came through, then that paid off, then closed. I rang to make sure it was closed and I was assured it was and I destroyed the card.

A year later, recently, I received a bill from Nationwide from this scamming company for around £300. I couldn't believe it. I rang Nationwide and spoke to a man who put me on hold twice for ages while talking to security. He came back and said security didn't know how it happened as the account was closed. The man then said they needed 3 days to look into it and would ring me back but if I didn't hear in 3 days I needed to wait 56 days and when I asked for reassurance that I didn't need pay as interest would build in that time he said I might have to pay it. I explained my health is bad and this stress of waiting is too much, can't they just delete it as I don't have an account with them. But he said no. Nothing about this made any sense to me and he put me through to another lady on security. She said the same and to wait 3 days while they researched. I asked what they were researching and they said listening to phone calls of me requesting to close the account etc, which I had so I was confident. Nobody rang me so on the 4th day I rang which is today. I spoke to a lady who said my account had been refunded and I'd receive a letter. It would also say that if or when the website company scamming me objected the amount would be put back on and I would have to pay it. Again I complained this is wrong and I had already reported them as scammers, and I had closed the account a year ago and she said she would put me through to security. The security lady said the same thing, when I asked how on earth can they keep scamming me she said it's nothing to do with them and Visa rules. When I said so if they contest it it will get put back on and I will have to pay it she said yes. I don't have the money to keep paying this. I have an auto immune disease that makes everything a struggle and some days I can barely function. The stress of this has triggered it to be so bad now I barely sleep and have bad irritable bowel which I haven't had in a year (just one small flare up) There are things I need to buy to help me but I can't afford them when I keep having to pay off this company.

As you can imagine I am at my wits end. I have tried to be reasonable but they keep fobbing me off and giving me excuses and never doing anything much. The lady from security got really shirty with me when I asked for answers how they can keep saying about my statement etc when I don't have an account with them. When I said I would seek help on a forum she hung up on me. This is what it's like dealing with Nationwide and it's unbelievable. I just don't know what to do. To put it into perspective, I got scammed by a company with a Lloyds Bank card and they sorted it in 5 minutes. That company didn't scam me again. How do I untangle myself from Nationwide and this website company please? I was told today that even if you close an account, it's up to the company and it's still kind of live. That's wild to me.  

I'd appreciate any help, I feel so alone in this. I don't have any family to help and friends just say it's messed up. Thank you for any advice.

kaMelo

There is a lot of unnecessary (emotional) information in there which makes it hard to work out what happened but from what I can deduce you have a continuous payment authority with a company, 
You need to cancel the continuous payment authority either with the company or Nationwide. If you don't then it keeps on being taken. From what you've said it looks like you did this with Nationwide.

SanaKnapp said:

 Nationwide said I had to pay so I managed to pay it off a year ago and requested for my card account to be closed. The lady I spoke to said the company couldn't charge me and to keep the card, but I wanted to know for sure so insisted the account was closed. It took around 3 months altogether to get it closed. First to pay it off, then interest came through, then that paid off, then closed. I rang to make sure it was closed and I was assured it was and I destroyed the card.

This is what the FCA say about cancelling CPA's
https://www.fca.org.uk/news/news-stories/continuous-payment-authorities-it-your-right-cancel

Notably:

How to cancel a continuous payment authority

In most cases, you should be able to cancel by contacting the company taking the payment and asking it to stop. However, you do have the right to cancel directly with your card issuer. Once you have done this, it must stop payments immediately – it cannot insist that you agree this with the company taking the payment first.

Complain to Nationwide, which it sounds like you have but make sure. If they don't play ball escalate to the FOS,

born_again

A CPA can reopen a closed account.

Did you ever tell to company (Who are they?) to cancel the agreement? If you did then go back to Nationwide. Tell them that the agreement was cancelled on that date. They can then look at charging back any within the last 120 days.

If you have not cancelled ask Nationwide to cancel the agreement. They will do that for you. But be aware that it does not cancel any contract with the company. 

breaking_free

Hi Sana. What a dreadful experience you've been going through and I truly sympathise. It sounds like you've been hooked in by a subscription service - see this link. https://www.cas.org.uk/features/beware-cpa-dont-get-locked

I've known several people, including myself, who have been caught out by these <insert expletive of choice>. After some Googling on how to contact these particular scumbags and what to say (complain and threaten them with the ombudsman) I did manage to get a refund so rest assured your problem CAN be solved. Best of luck.