Regular Payments off a Credit Card Discussion

1246729

Comments

  • tobit
    tobit Posts: 34 Forumite
    Well, thank goodness for Martin's site. I've been scratching my head for some months as to how to get out of my annual payment to Symantec now that I no longer have a PC. I cannot find anywhere on the Symantec site where I can actually contact them to cancel my CPA - which I thought at the time was a DD ??? - nor an address where I can write. I phoned Sainsbury's Bank - the CPA is on my Visa card - who told me to write, and then wrote back saying they could do nothing. I was getting to the stage when I thought I was doomed to paying Symantec thirty odd pounds a year for life!
    Nice to save.
  • wallet_2
    wallet_2 Posts: 103 Forumite
    does anyone know if cpa can be used for - council tax, bt phone bill, powergen, water rates nationwide mortgage
  • TonyB
    TonyB Posts: 172 Forumite
    ???.Right, Ive just read thro this item & would like to summarise my understanding for some one to confirm as right or wrong.

    1/ A retailer using your card details for a CPA does not have to tell the card co. anything other than that they require money, almost as if it was a one off purchase.
    In theory then anyone to whom you have given your card details can at seemingly any time make a further request for money & it would remain your responsibility to prove they should not have been paid. I understand from one of my cards that even if proven, recovery claims would be against the retailer & not the card co.

    2/ If this is so, does that mean that the info given for a one off purchase could be used by a retailer to make further demands for payments?

    3/ Presumably when using a d/d on your bank a/c you are protected by bank undertakings?

    4/ Is there any upper limit above which the card co. would not pay out, or again in theory would a request for up to your credit limit be paid out?

    5/ As a born synic I am really referring to an item I read somewhere fairly recently which detailed a new type of scam where criminals planted employees in positions where customer info could be collected & acted upon!!!!

    6/ As I am having a devil of a job convincing some 'aquaintances' that this situation exists, where in the T&Cs are CPAs refered to?

    That will do for now as the Pubs are open!!!

    Happy New Year to all.
  • TonyB
    TonyB Posts: 172 Forumite
    Thanks for quick response Reaper, I think I'm getting there!!!

    What really is the difference between giving your card details to someone, for example 1899 or 18866,so that they can collect money monthly & a CPA?
    Am I to understand that a CPA is a signed document sent to service provider & from them to the credit card co? If so why is it necessary when either system seemms to work?

    Well it's that time again so I'll toddle off to pay some more tax over the bar!!!! :-/
  • Reaper
    Reaper Posts: 7,277
    First Anniversary First Post Photogenic
    Forumite
    What really is the difference between giving your card details to someone, for example 1899 or 18866,so that they can collect money monthly & a CPA?
    While I'm not sure what the 1899 application screen looks like if you have authorised them to collect payments whenever they want then you have set up a CPA!

    It should be clear on the screen/form whether you are permiting a one-off payment or continuing payments.
  • ahhhhhh now I'm quite scared :o
    I just registered my visa debit details with 18866 cus I thought Martin wuz cleva! and it seemed like I'd found a way to get back at BT for all their **** but now I'm thinking of loosing(ahem!) my card.

    Is their ANyone out there with anything positive to say about the 18866 people, like they're not criminals, or something...
  • klondyke
    klondyke Posts: 463 Forumite
    ahhhhhh now I'm quite scared :o
    I just registered my visa debit details with 18866 cus I thought Martin wuz cleva! and it seemed like I'd found a way to get back at BT for all their **** but now I'm thinking of loosing(ahem!) my card.

    Is their ANyone out there with anything positive to say about the 18866 people, like they're not criminals, or something...

    Haven't the energy to search for it, but the point has been made elsewhere on the site that 18866 and 1899 payments ARE collected by CPA, so some MSEs have reservations, but so far nobody seems to have had a problem with them.

    There's always tomorrow, of course, but the main thing about CPA is to be aware of possible pitfalls, but if you know you are dealing with a reputable company, you should be ok.
  • Is it not the case with 1899 etc, that even though someone has signed up with them, once they stop using their prefix, surely they cannot make any further charges, or am I missing the whole point? (Especially when they are supposed to email your bill to you prior to taking payment).
  • Reaper
    Reaper Posts: 7,277
    First Anniversary First Post Photogenic
    Forumite
    Hi coburn and welcome to the forums (I seem to be saying that a lot this month, lots of new members).

    You are right that this company should not be charging you and nobody has had any problems with them. There is just some understandable concern about CPAs as they are effectively blank cheques which are hard to stop.

    Image an inefficient company who collect a monthly subscription off your credit card but fail to act on your instructions to cancel. Each month the money keeps being charged to your credit card and there is nothing you or the credit card company can do about it.

    Or image a company who just decides to take money off your card they are not entitled to. Apparently !!!!!! sites do this sometimes and then people discover they can not cancel the CPA to stop them doing it again.

    So the lesson is to only set up CPAs with companies you trust. I set up one with 18866 and am not worried about.
  • If you have a continuous card payment set up and as long as you are not still under a 12 month contract, for example to an internet provider or a mobile phone company here is what you need to do to stop the payment. This is what is advised by most banks and card providers so they can help you.

    1. As long as no contract is in place write a letter (inc date) to the company requsting that you want the continuous card payment to stop, making a copy of your letter to keep for your records, and send by registered post so you can see when it was recieved.

    IMPORTANT: MAKE SURE YOU REQUEST A WRITTEN ACKNOWLEDGEMENT THAT THEY ARE NO LONGER GOING TO TAKE MONEY VIA YOUR CONTINUOUS CARD PAYMENT.

    2. Once you have recieved a letter from the company confirming they will take no more money the bank/card provider can then step in if any more money is taken as you have written confirmation from the company that they will no longer do so. They cant do anything before you have recieved acknowledgement back saying your payments will no longer be taken because you have agreed payment this way in the first place.
    3. Make sure you send it recorded or special delivery and keep copies of all correspondance for you records as you will need to show these to your bank/card provider if the company you are paying are not being of any help in acknowledging your request and so they can step in straight away if you have recieved confirmation back.
    This means you shouldnt need to cancel your card to stop further payment. As someone said earlier in the post quite a few companies only go off the first 12 digits of the card. This is so when your card is reissued, whether lost, stolen, damaged or just time for a new one, and the last 2,3, or 4 numbers change it means you dont have to start contacting each company to give your new card number meaning no future payments are missed. This is good when you are happy paying but not when wanting to cancel.

    PLEASE NOTE:If you are under a contract and have commited to pay for a certain length of time such as the usual 12 months this will not work, it will only work if you are under no contract or the contract you had with them has expired.


    Hope this helps, please let me know if it does

    Cheers :beer:
This discussion has been closed.
Meet your Ambassadors

Categories

  • All Categories
  • 342.4K Banking & Borrowing
  • 249.9K Reduce Debt & Boost Income
  • 449.4K Spending & Discounts
  • 234.6K Work, Benefits & Business
  • 607K Mortgages, Homes & Bills
  • 172.8K Life & Family
  • 247.4K Travel & Transport
  • 1.5M Hobbies & Leisure
  • 15.8K Discuss & Feedback
  • 15.1K Coronavirus Support Boards