Payment Error causes large bank charges

[burd246]

Hi

 

I wonder if someone can help me. In April this year I booked my son into a 'holiday club' the cost for a week was £105.25. I handed my card over and the receptionist keyed in the amout, but instead of £105.25, she put in £1052.23, realising her error she had to do a credit. This of course is where the trouble started. When she reversed the amout what in fact happened is the amount was credited to my account. So she debited my account for £105.25 the right amount, credited my account with £1052.23 for the incorrect amount. But the problem is it took nearly three months to realised the mistake they had made and take back The £1052.23 that they had credited in error. They have admitted the mistake but say it's not their fault it took the bank three months to take amount back.

 

As this was a large sum of money I put the amount into a holding account assuming that someone would be in touch to tell me the mistake had been made and take the amount back. But no they just took the amount and I was then faced with bank charges of £305.41. My bank say it wasn't there fault it was the sports club error, they say it was banks fault it took three months to realise the amount. But in the meantime I've been left with a hefty bill of charges and no-one seems to acknowledge whos responsible. The sports club have offered some free sessions as compensation but I don't think that's good enough. Have I got a case against the sports club who caused the error to deal with. Sorry this is a long post but any advice would be great.

[groovycaz]

I thought if an error made by debit card was cancelled, it should have showed within 3-5 days, this has happened to me before and it certainly didnt take 3 months

 

were the bank aware the holiday company would be claiming back this money, as you put it in a holding account, if so i would blame the bank

 

if the holiday company made a mistake and realised 3 months later, if they did not contact you requesting a repayment but simply used your card details to reclaim the cash i would complain to the holiday company..Gc

Edited October 12, 2008 by groovycaz
poor spelling

[Pussycatmandy]

Hi

 

I wonder if someone can help me. In April this year I booked my son into a 'holiday club' the cost for a week was £105.25. I handed my card over and the receptionist keyed in the amout, but instead of £105.25, she put in £1052.23, realising her error she had to do a credit. This of course is where the trouble started. When she reversed the amout what in fact happened is the amount was credited to my account. So she debited my account for £105.25 the right amount, credited my account with £1052.23 for the incorrect amount. But the problem is it took nearly three months to realised the mistake they had made and take back The £1052.23 that they had credited in error. They have admitted the mistake but say it's not their fault it took the bank three months to take amount back.

 

As this was a large sum of money I put the amount into a holding account assuming that someone would be in touch to tell me the mistake had been made and take the amount back. But no they just took the amount and I was then faced with bank charges of £305.41. My bank say it wasn't there fault it was the sports club error, they say it was banks fault it took three months to realise the amount. But in the meantime I've been left with a hefty bill of charges and no-one seems to acknowledge whos responsible. The sports club have offered some free sessions as compensation but I don't think that's good enough. Have I got a case against the sports club who caused the error to deal with. Sorry this is a long post but any advice would be great.

 

Which part of the UK do you live in and which bank are you dealing with?

[peterlucas]

Seeing that bank charges are unlawful anyway, you can just reclaim them in the normal way, see here http://www.consumeractiongroup.co.uk/forum/bank-templates-library/ . This could take a while as your claim will be postponed due to the test case. The other option is to claim against the bank for negligence in taking three months to take the amount back.

[burd246]

Hi Pussycat

 

I live in England West Sussex. I'm going to do the bank charges claim, but feel that the company that made the error are some way culpable for their error. They say it's not their fault it's my banks fault. But in fact it's down to the card merchant and the machine that the company use.

[Pussycatmandy]

Hiya

I am a Scottish solicitor and would firstly have advised you to enlist the help of the CAB to recover the funds from either the sports centre or the bank. Depending on the amount of charges which your bank has hit you for it might be wise to go down that route. Your local CAB, (which is a free service advertised in telephone directories/web), have a pool of duty solicitors who should be able to point you in the right direction. If the solicitor offers to deal with the matter through their place of work remember to ask for a fee quote and their terms and conditions of business.

 

Cheers,

Pussycat