GoCardless for big expense?

RainbowLaura

We have chosen a wedding venue and went to pay the deposit, but were told that credit card is not an option as they use a payment method called GoCardless. Obviously quite concerned about what this would mean for our rights if the company were to go bust etc. as we would usually use a credit card for such a large expense. Does anyone have experience of this? Would it be a deal breaker for you?

LinLui

No way. It protects them for everything and you for nothing. There are other venues. 

Peter999_2

It would be a deal breaker for me.   As LinLui says, it is everything in their favour and nothing for you.   Don't forget you are the customer and can find other venues.

The only time I have used GoCardless is for broadband access a month in advance.  There is no way I'd pay such a large amount using it and have no protection if anything goes wrong.

eskbanker

RainbowLaura said:

We have chosen a wedding venue and went to pay the deposit, but were told that credit card is not an option as they use a payment method called GoCardless. Obviously quite concerned about what this would mean for our rights if the company were to go bust etc. as we would usually use a credit card for such a large expense. Does anyone have experience of this? Would it be a deal breaker for you?

Even if they only took a penny by credit card, this would protect you for the whole amount (assuming <£30K), so worth asking if that's an option?

LinLui

eskbanker said:

RainbowLaura said:

We have chosen a wedding venue and went to pay the deposit, but were told that credit card is not an option as they use a payment method called GoCardless. Obviously quite concerned about what this would mean for our rights if the company were to go bust etc. as we would usually use a credit card for such a large expense. Does anyone have experience of this? Would it be a deal breaker for you?

Even if they only took a penny by credit card, this would protect you for the whole amount (assuming <£30K), so worth asking if that's an option?

No cards accepted. They do everything by direct bank transfer. 

eskbanker

LinLui said:

eskbanker said:

RainbowLaura said:

We have chosen a wedding venue and went to pay the deposit, but were told that credit card is not an option as they use a payment method called GoCardless. Obviously quite concerned about what this would mean for our rights if the company were to go bust etc. as we would usually use a credit card for such a large expense. Does anyone have experience of this? Would it be a deal breaker for you?

Even if they only took a penny by credit card, this would protect you for the whole amount (assuming <£30K), so worth asking if that's an option?

No cards accepted. They do everything by direct bank transfer. 

I'm just considering the possibility that they're like many car dealerships, who won't take large payments by credit card but may be amenable to smaller ones.  You're probably right that it's not an option and that they're exclusively GoCardless, but no harm in OP verifying that.

Aylesbury_Duck

Look elsewhere.  We did for a house project when one potential contractor wouldn't accept a credit card deposit.

unforeseen

I would think that for a wedding then what you could claim through cc would be limited as a lot of the items would be under £100 such as food (x covers at £60 each for example) 

sheramber

Is that not what wedding insurance os for?

eskbanker

unforeseen said:

I would think that for a wedding then what you could claim through cc would be limited as a lot of the items would be under £100 such as food (x covers at £60 each for example) 

This subject has come up in section 75 threads before and the usual view seems to be that something obviously bundled together as a single purchase qualifies, even if technically some individual items are priced below £100, the typical example being a kitchen replacement where it's the price of the whole job that's measured, rather than each individual line item, i.e. itemising to a low level on invoicing doesn't affect s75 eligibility for an evidently collective purchase.  I believe that FOS have endorsed this interpretation but don't have case references to hand....

RainbowLaura

sheramber said:

Is that not what wedding insurance os for?

Thank you all, it seems I am right to have serious reservations!

The wedding insurance was one of the reasons I was still considering it. I just feel a bit anxious about the possibility of them finding a reason not to pay out, or having to wait a long time for a resolution, whereas the protection offered by a credit card purchase is pretty rock solid. I'm wondering if insurance might even refuse to pay out because it could be seen as reckless to make such a large transaction without adequate protection 🤔