Lloyds now charges for charitable donations through a credit card

Susiepet

I've just had a conversation with Lloyds about charges for donating via my credit card to my local church on the "Just Giving" website. The rules changed in October and IMC is now classed as an online trader - why I don't know - but it means any donations through them are treated as cash withdrawals - so attract a £1.25 plus interest fee whether you clear the balance or not. I argued and got the fees back, and I've suggested Lloyds do something about it as it seems to be a PR disaster, but I have little hope. 
I'll find an alternative way to donate but the sheer greed - given Lloyds already charges IMC to process the transaction - defeats me.
One of the reasons I used a credit card is for my protection (as I keep telling people ) if someone steals your debit card details they can access your money and it takes time to get it back with all the issues that can cause. Through a credit card they can only run up a bill using the bank's money that you can dispute!

emmajones1976

Who is "IMC"?

born_again

Susiepet said:

I've just had a conversation with Lloyds about charges for donating via my credit card to my local church on the "Just Giving" website. The rules changed in October and IMC is now classed as an online trader - why I don't know - but it means any donations through them are treated as cash withdrawals - so attract a £1.25 plus interest fee whether you clear the balance or not. I argued and got the fees back, and I've suggested Lloyds do something about it as it seems to be a PR disaster, but I have little hope. 
I'll find an alternative way to donate but the sheer greed - given Lloyds already charges IMC to process the transaction - defeats me.
One of the reasons I used a credit card is for my protection (as I keep telling people ) if someone steals your debit card details they can access your money and it takes time to get it back with all the issues that can cause. Through a credit card they can only run up a bill using the bank's money that you can dispute!

You do realise that any fraud on either credit or debit cards has to be paid back the same day under the Payment Services Directive, unless they have good reason to believe that acc holder has been involved.
To not refund a customer means the bank has to prove their case.

If you think that a CC is the banks money, you are wrong. It is a credit facility afforded to you. If the bank think that the disputed transactions are yours then you will have to pay it back.

blue.peter

Your headline appears a bit misleading. As I understand it, it's not charitable gifts generally that Lloyds is treating as cash advances, but just payments made to one particular organisation. Have I misunderstood?

Sandtree

Susiepet said:
I've suggested Lloyds do something about it as it seems to be a PR disaster, but I have little hope. 

Have you seen the fees Just Giving charge their charities? If you were looking for a PR disaster in the charitable giving space there is a much larger one there than Lloyds.

I will defer to more knowledgeable members but my understanding is that if the transaction is treated as cash then the fees that Just Giving are paying are lower than if it was counted as a purchase. 

born_again

TBH. Just giving is a site where you are making a "Cash" donation. You are not buying anything. So in many way they are right to charge the cash fee. Morally, when it is a charity donation, not really. But as they are now used for crowdfunding. You can see the banks stance. As there is no separation of the 2.
Just Giving is also not a charity. They made £16 million profit in 2020 (Giving.com on companies house)

https://www.justgiving.com/about/fees
So even they charge charities for any donations made...

Susiepet

Thanks for the responses - as someone who suffered fraudulent transactions on a credit card I can say Lloyds don’t refund same day - whatever the rules might say. Nor do they refund fraudulent transactions on a current account immediately with all the issues that can cause, especially if the first inkling you have is plunging into overdraft or failed payments. 

But the point is the lack of transparency on charges - why would anyone think a charitable donation done through a third party was share dealing or investing- which is the category Lloyds puts IMC ( invest my community) in. Those are commercial activities made in the hope of a financial return, and a donation to a church isn’t that, in the same way fundraising for a cancer charity isn’t.
I still think it’s poor behaviour from Lloyds.

Asghar

Susiepet said:

which is the category Lloyds puts IMC ( invest my community) in. Those are commercial activities made in the hope of a financial return, and a donation to a church isn’t that, in the same way fundraising for a cancer charity isn’t.

I still think it’s poor behaviour from Lloyds.

It is "Just Giving" who Lloyds now seem to treat as cash transactions, not your charity. The money is then passed on to them.Your thread title is misleading, plus, totally agree with "born_again".

Thrugelmir

Just Giving take a cut of donations given. That's hardly charitable. More a business. 

Direct contributions provide the most benefit to the charity you wish to support. . 

Grabs39

As above, Just Giving are very expensive for your Church (although there's possibly an argument to be made that it can save the treasurer work and that they might get more donations by accepting card).

I have my Church's bank account saved as a payee in my online banking and make a faster payment for my offering on payday.  My name's the reference so the treasurer can easily see it and apply for Gift Aid.  Much easier than using Just Giving or entering card details for me.

I'll keep an eye on Just Giving though as I do use it sometimes to give to other charities and always use my credit card - thanks for the heads up!

emmajones1976

Thrugelmir said:

Just Giving take a cut of donations given. That's hardly charitable. More a business. 

Direct contributions provide the most benefit to the charity you wish to support. . 

In any case, the Gift Aid offsets Just Giving's fee.