Not a PlusNet customer but have been charged

lisa789

Hello, this is my first post so apologies if this isn’t under the right heading etc.

I am writing this as I need advice on how to manage and escalate an issues with PlusNet.

My issue: I have started to look through my dads financials (he has been diagnosed with dementia). On reviewing his credit card statement I see that he has been paying/charged by PlusNet a monthly sum of approx £30.

I have spoken to PlusNet (both their mobile and broadband depts) and as I expected they do not have a record of either my father / mother as ever being a customer. We even went back to check if previous property had ever been linked to PlusNet account. I therefore enquired how there could be a direct debit/standing order every month when there is no trace of him (name, house number & postcode)in their system. The customer service members couldn’t explain and suggested I email via their generic email and ask for this to be escalated to their Billings Team to investigate further to ensure it wasn’t a fraudulent transaction.  My dads credit card statement has a line item with PlusNet and their customer service number.

I have written an email and yet to receive any response from the PlusNet generic email system, which states they will get in touch within 24hrs!

I have cancelled this and raised this as an issue with his credit card provider. However, this has been going on for year(s) and I’d like to personally establish with PlusNet if they are deducting the money and then raise a complaint with them. 

Can anyone provide advice on how I could proceed - either previous dealings with PlusNet Billing Team or should I let his credit card provider raise this issues??

Thanks in advance, Lisa

iniltous

Who is the current broadband provider ?, do you know when that provider service started ?
Presumably a CPA was set up , do these need to be cancelled by the card holder ?or is it like direct debit and the company stops taking funds once the service has been ceased ?

Chances are Plusnet were the legitimate provider of broadband for a period , after someone stops being a customer, their info should be deleted ( GDPR insists data isn’t kept for any longer than necessary ) that may explain why no record of your parents or address remains.
All you can do is ask PN to investigate, and possibly  ask the credit card company when the CPA  was invoked , obviously the first 12/24 months may have been a minimum term and legitimate 

ladruid

If it is a credit card charge, contact the credit card company and inform them there are fraudulent charges against the card. As you are not a customer of Plusnet, then the credit card company should have to take it on as a fraudulent transaction.

Couple of links to read up on chargeback or section 75.
https://www.moneysavingexpert.com/reclaim/visa-mastercard-chargeback/
https://www.ukfinance.org.uk/our-expertise/cards/chargeback-and-section-75

Swipe

I agree, let the card company deal with it and reverse the transactions. Plusnet customer services will just try to palm you off but it will go straight to someone important in billing when the card co gets involved.

DullGreyGuy

lisa789 said:
I therefore enquired how there could be a direct debit/standing order every month when there is no trace of him (name, house number & postcode)in their system. 

Standing Order - a push payment setup by a customer from a current account (or some savings)
Direct Debit - a pull payment setup by a business from a customer's current account (or occasionally a savings)
Continuous Payment Authority - a pull payment setup by a business from a customer's credit card

You say its on his credit card statement and therefore it must be a CPA not an SO or a DD.

To setup a CPA a merchant must put through a normal fully authorised payment first and then can take all subsequent payments under the CPA which has much lighter checks - they only need the card number not the other details like expiry or CVV.

If you really want to get to the bottom of it you'd need someone in Plus.Net to search which account is paying using his card number. There is a reasonable prospect that it'll turn out to be a friend/family member who he offered to help out not realising/remembering its an ongoing commitment. In the insurance business we get this all the time when a parent pays for their kids first year of car insurance, for example, and then are shocked in 12 months time when the policy autorenews and they've paid for the next year too.

The credit card company will take the report of it being unauthorised and investigate but they wont have the ability or interest to really get to the bottom of whats happened. The real issue is that at present no one really knows, or at least not anyone who's been engaged so far.

sevenhills

Has another family member or a cleaner/carer used your dad's bank details for their own account?
 Cancel the payments and forget it, unless there are other discrepancies.

Jonboy_1984

Plusnet manage(d) the John Lewis Broadband offering, which is just finishing being wound down.

km1500

definitely agree that your credit card should be the first port of call

 you are lucky that it is a credit card and not for example a debit card as your protections are much stronger with credit

tell them they are fraudulent transactions and you want them refunded