HELP DCA Taken money from my account!

[***inca***]

Barclaycard have passed my CC debt onto Credit Solutions.

 

I made a late payment to CSL a month or so ago, they told me as my payment was late I had broken my agreement with them and that my payment per month was now going up to £50 from £37 per month.

 

I told them I couldn't afford it and that I was on job Seekers Allowance, they said that was all they could do I made my last payment of £37 and then came on here to moan (I pay over the phone by card normally).

 

I CCA'd them and Barclaycard sent me a copy of my initial application form, no sign of a CCA.

 

I then waited to hear from them again as to be honest i couldn't afford to post a dispute letter at the time!

 

Well, I just checked my bank account and the **edit ** have taken £50 out of my account today!!!!!!

 

They are not meant to hold my card details, let alone take a payment without me being on the phone giving them my card details!

 

Is there anything I can do, this is theft surely?

 

I am now £4.52 overdrawn

Edited April 20, 2009 by citizenB
removed swear word :)

[Agent Mulder]

Did you set up a direct debit arrangement with the DCA?

[cerberusalert]

Get in touch with your bank and tell them that monies have been illegally taken by CSL using your card details. If you do not get a satisfactory answer from them contact the DCA in question and tell them in no uncertain terms that unless the monies are replaced (along with payment for bank charges incurred), you will report the matter to the police.

[***inca***]

No DD agreement with them, I simply used to ring up on the 25th of each month and pay using my Solo card (I used to read out all the details over the phone) and they would take the £37 from it.

 

I did not authorise the payment of £50 as I hadn't rung them to make the payment! They have stored my card details without permission and taken a payment without my permission!

 

I am so bloody angry, I am seething!

[***inca***]

My bank are saying it was done online using my signature??!!!

[Goldlady]

We had the same problem with LTSB who used OHs EXPIRED debit card to pay a company connected with them. Once someone has your debit card details they can use them as they wish, even after it has expired as we found out.

 

Only way out is to report the card lost and get another one IMO.

[cerberusalert]

Does the alleged debt have any connection with your present bank group?

[sosumi]

Cancel that card NOW Inca, as Goldlady said.

Do it now, really!!

[sosumi]

This has to be fraud, surely?? Or theft?

[Pinky69]

Once you have this sorted out, report the theft to the OFT. And I would change your bank if I were you - they are as bad as the DCA.

[sosumi]

Tell the bank, in no uncertain terms, that this was an unauthorised transaction and dispute it right now.

[sosumi]

Don't let the bank wriggle out of this Inca. They are responsible for safeguarding your money. If someone has taken money from your account which has left you overdrawn, the bank might well charge you for it. So get on to them now. They have allowed an illegal transaction. Give them HEL*L!!!

[***inca***]

Jeez, you don't need this at 10pm on a bloomin' Monday night do you!

 

The bank (HSBC - nothing to do with my CC debt) have cancelled my old card and ordered me a new one.

 

They said the payment was put through online using MY SIGNATURE!!

 

They have raised a dispute with their fraud department and have said the money will be back in my account in 7 days.

 

What do you suggest I do now? This is theft, surely?? I can't believe they have done it to be completely honest, my gob is totally smacked!

 

I am about to SAR CSL/Barclaycard for a real copy of my CCA as they sent me utter crap, hence why I haven't made a payment. I think I will send them a dispute and then the SAR??

[jed2004]

Oh my god i would be raging surely the bank can do something as my ex once paid for something online and a month later the same company charged his debit card £68 he couldn't get through to them to see what the hell was going on so he phoned the bank and the bank took it quite seriously and i would think that would be the same with any sort of company! taking money without your autherisation!! How can someone just do that without your permission is shocking!!! It's like theft taking money from you debit card is like stealing money from your bank!! If the bank didn't listen over the phone i would right down to my branch first thing going crazy!!! Hope you get this sorted as it's just not on!!!

[Goldlady]

In our situation LTSB told us that once you have given someone your debit card details they can use it as they wish and the bank can't stop it. Our big argument was that the account was frozen and if OH had tried to use the card it would have been rejected as the card had expired, but they paid one of their subsidiaries in that situation. Ongoing argument - they owe us 2k we owe them 1k;)

[***inca***]

What a nightmare Goldlady.

 

I can't believe they were able to use an expired card in your case.

 

I just hope I do get my money back, £50 may not seem a huge amount, but as I have only got my JSA coming in it's a massive amount to me at the moment.

 

I am not too sure what to do about CSL though, how dare they just take it...and using my signature too!

[cerberusalert]

Report the incident to the police they won't do anything probably but what you want is a crime number. Then make a complaint to the OFT and the FSA including the crime number.

[blueboy987]

I'm not sure how things work with Solo cards, but in general if you dispute a card holder not present transaction then your bank have to refund your money immediately and then contact the company that charged it. So you get your money back and then they investigate.

 

Not sure what they are talking about when they say it was done online with your signature, there is no such thing. The only equivalent of an online signature is if you use one of the verified systems but if you gave the card details over the phone that isn't the case here. I'd imagine they don't have your pin number, but even if they did it was still a card holder not present transaction.

[sosumi]

This was a criminal act, Inca. I think HSBC know it and you'll get your money back, but the crime was still committed.

Who exactly told you it was done online with your signature? Did you get the name of the person who told you this?

[blueboy987]

In our situation LTSB told us that once you have given someone your debit card details they can use it as they wish and the bank can't stop it. Our big argument was that the account was frozen and if OH had tried to use the card it would have been rejected as the card had expired, but they paid one of their subsidiaries in that situation. Ongoing argument - they owe us 2k we owe them 1k;)

 

That is just complete rubbish. If it were true if you used the card to purchase something over the internet the company could just keep charging whatever they wanted, which isn't the case.

 

All banks seem to play by their own rules when it comes to money being transferred internally. If you have a loan or credit card with them, when they take the monthly payment out they won't stop it if it leaves you overdrawn which they would if the money was going to anyone else.

[Goldlady]

Thanks Blueboy, but try telling the bank that. In our case it was a payment to Greenflag who were linked to LTSB at the time, we had a letter saying our breakdown cover had expired and then when OH paid some money into his LTSB account under an arrangement to repay the overdraft at £100 a month they paid the lot to Greenflag and then defaulted OH for not sticking to the arrangement!!!!!!!!!! The battle goes on but we have made God knows how many complaints to LTSB and they are adamant they were in the right:mad:

[sosumi]

The Press Association: One in four victim of card fraud

One in four victim of card fraud

 

5 days ago

One in four Britons have been the victim of credit or debit card fraud, research has shown.

Around 26% of people have now had their card used fraudulently, up from 21% when the same research was carried out 12 months ago, according to life assistance group CPP.

On average, fraudulent transactions totalled around £650, but 6% of people reported losses of more than £2,000.

But despite the large sums of money involved, 42% of card fraud victims did not spot the rogue transactions themselves, and only found out about them when they were alerted by their bank.

Nearly four out of 10 victims had their card used online, while 21% had it cloned when using a cash machine or chip and Pin device, with others losing money after their card was lost or stolen.

London remained the country's credit and debit card fraud hot spot, with 38% of people living in the capital having been hit by the problem, a 10% jump on the number of people who had been affected last year.

It was closely followed by Cardiff at 34%, Manchester at 29% and Brighton at 27%, where there was a 15% jump in the proportion of people hit during the year.

Kerry D'Souza, card fraud expert at CPP, said: "The dramatic increase in card fraud shows no sign of abating which isn't surprising given the desperate measures some people will resort to during the recession.

"Fraudsters are becoming increasingly sophisticated, especially when it comes to online transactions which are a particular cause for concern.

"Cardholders need to remain vigilant with their cards and take the necessary steps to protect themselves - from checking statements more frequently to keeping sight of their card when paying for transactions. It might seem like simple steps but they will go a long way in preventing fraud."

 

[***inca***]

That's terrible Sosumi...

 

I don't know what the answer is really.

 

Cash machines tend to be just as bad by the looks of them, so how exactly are we meant to pay for anything?!

 

I guess I could just go into my bank everytime I want money can't I. Seems a bit of an old fashioned way of doing things though.

 

With regard to tonight's episode I am going to complain to OFT about CSL and see what they say. I hope I don't have to wait too long for my cash, and in all honesty if I do have to pay this Barclaycard debt I really do not want to have to deal with CSL, but what can I do if that is who BC have refered it to?!

[hillards]

I would never give one of these companies my card details, full stop. They have rather selective hearing, and when you say they can take x amount, they will do, then x+y a few days later and so on, until your account is empty.

 

How can you prove you didn't authorise the transaction? They will say you gave them the details and said it was OK to take more than normal as you agreed to a higher amount. The bank wouldn't think much about it if you've paid them before.

 

This is yet another reason why nothing should be agreed in a phone call, always in writing. Make darned sure that card is not useable any more and, as they've failed to supply a valid CCA, write and tell them to get lost. They do not have an enforceable agreement so you do not have to pay them anything more.

 

Which is cheaper - sending a default letter like http://www.consumeractiongroup.co.uk/forum/debt-collection-industry/170674-reply-cca.html#post1840880 or letting them take money without even asking?

 

Hopefully, your bank will sort out a full refund and not charge you for the overdrawn amount.

[blueboy987]

Thanks Blueboy, but try telling the bank that. In our case it was a payment to Greenflag who were linked to LTSB at the time, we had a letter saying our breakdown cover had expired and then when OH paid some money into his LTSB account under an arrangement to repay the overdraft at £100 a month they paid the lot to Greenflag and then defaulted OH for not sticking to the arrangement!!!!!!!!!! The battle goes on but we have made God knows how many complaints to LTSB and they are adamant they were in the right:mad:

 

I've had a number of head banging arguments with my bank over that behaviour and never got anywhere. As I said, when the money is being transferred internally a different set of rules applies.

 

I did a quick check and it looks like charge back rules are different for Solo cards compared to credit cards, with them only being performed when fraud is involved. Whether or not this is fraud is open to debate, but they didn't have your permission and as it didn't involve the provision of goods I'd have thought it will go through ok.