Can a company just debit my bank account for payments without notifying me?

[alday69]

I had a payday loan with a company and before I could repay it I lost my job, I emailed the company explaining my personal circumstances had changed and I would not be able to repay it in full as my only source of income was going to be benefits for time being, I offered to repay it in instalments and asked them to try and come to some agreement but they have never bothered to reply to me and now I find they are debiting my account for small amounts on different days to recoup there monies. This is swallowing up all benefits that are going into my account and leaving me nothing to live on what can I do?

 

The account this company are taking money from was a account I opened to get my benefits paid into not the account I had registered with them to take the repayments from but stupidly I paid to a fee to extend my loan from this account as my other bank account that was registered with them was overdrawn and they have obviously kept my details on file and are now debiting this account not my original one. The company that is doing this is the moneyshop, dirty underhanded tactics from a supposed responsible lender yea right!!!!

 

Also the standing order I had signed does not refer to this account but another account which has now been frozen until I can sort my finances out or return to work

[rebel11]

Hi ald

 

Welcome to CAG

The guys will advise as soon as they are available.

 

They can only take money out of the account that the Standing Order relates too. I would get on to your bank and explain the situation to them, see if they can recall the monies. Also you need to stop them taking any further monies from that account.

[alday69]

Thanks Rebel I contacted my bank yesterday and spoke to a Contact Centre Advisor and she said that as I had given the company my card details that they could go ahead and debit my account when they wanted and for whatever amount even though they have given me no notification of the transaction being made. Stupid I know giving them my details to make an interest payment at the time but surely they are not allowed to keep your details on file if the account is not related the original loan. I have waited almost 6 weeks for any benefits money from the gov and then the first payment I received has been completely swallowed up by them leaving me nothing what so ever to live on.

[rebel11]

Hi ald

 

Right, you've given them the card details for one transaction only. When you gave them the card details for that transaction, you quoted the three digit code on the back of the card. By taking the payment you are complaining about they have used your card without your permission, as you did not authorise the three digit

security code (CVV Code) at the time of the latest transaction. You need to report the matter to the banks fraud department.

 

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Card_security_code

[alday69]

Thanks Rebel I was thinking that this could be the case but I wasnt sure as you said the card details I gave them was for a one time transaction not for them to continusely just debit my card whenever they feel like it. They havnt just made one debit on the card they have made four debits in the past 3 days which I only found out about yesterday. First thing tomorrow I am going straight up to my local branch to sort this out, I just find it amazing that a company would stoop to such lengths to recover their money even after me writing to them explaining my current financial and personal circumstances. Yes I owe them money which I have never denied or tried to shirk responsibility for and have offered to repay in a sensible arrangement while in my current financial situation yet they continue to ignore this surely they have a duty of care to their customers and as a responsible lender they cannot act like this.

Edited February 20, 2011 by alday69

[rebel11]

Talk to the Fraud Department. Lets see what they say, best to ask for a supervisor. Write down what your going to say before you ring them so they understand your complaint. Take the name of Supervisor and his boss, so they know you mean business.

[alday69]

Yea I will do Rebel thanks for your advice never again will I use a payday loan company, seems the simple answer is if you've not got it dont bloody spend it live within your means as me old granny used to say

[rebel11]

Your granny was wise indeed.

 

Yea I will do Rebel thanks for your advice never again will I use a payday loan company, seems the simple answer is if you've not got it dont bloody spend it live within your means as me old granny used to say

[alday69]

Hi Rebel just a quick update I went into my bank today and spoke to their fraud department but they say they wont get involved in this dispute because the moneyshop are another financial organisation and as they dont know what agreements were in place they wont action my complaint. They only thing they have done is put a stop on my debit card and I have had to close my bank account and open a new one.

[PriorityOne]

Regardless of what procedures may be place at another financial organisation, no company is allowed to hang to the 3-digit authorisation code on the back of your card..... you really need to consider making this an offficail complaint with Payday Loans.... and escalate it with the FOS if/when you get no joy with it. It sounds as if your bank just didn't know what to do and offered cack advice in the hope you'd go away.

 

[alday69]

I did try and argue the toss with them priorityone but I was getting no where, I will be contacting the fos tomorrow as when I spoke to the moneyshop the person I was dealing with was extremely arrogant and rude and actually gave me a big sigh when I was explaining my situation to her (as if to say heard it all before I dont give a Sh*t pay your debts), I am not a violent person but had she been in front of me a would have been seriously tempted to slap her RUDE RUDE RUDE!!! All they could say was when do you plan to pay the remainder of your balance and that I would be charged morre £25 admin fees.

[PriorityOne]

There's little point in talking on the 'phone or in person. If you need to make a complaint, it has to be in writing. If you make an official complaint with Payday Loans, then they'll have to sit up and take notice because they will not want the FOS snooping around re. these unauthorised payments.

Edited February 21, 2011 by PriorityOne
typo

[alday69]

I will fire off a compliant to them tomorrow priorityone and if they dont come back to me with something decent, then I fully intend to take this further, thanks for the advice, does it matter if the complaint is in email form or should it be in a letter.

[alday69]

Also I am dealing with 3 other payday loan companies priorityone and 1 has responded 2 I am yet to hear back from, wagedayadvance who has responded are saying that they want proof of my unemployment, do I have to send a copy of my benefits letter to them which contains sensitive information with regards to my benefits, payment details etc or should they accept what I have told them without proof.

[PriorityOne]

I will fire off a compliant to them tomorrow priorityone and if they dont come back to me with something decent, then I fully intend to take this further, thanks for the advice, does it matter if the complaint is in email form or should it be in a letter.

 

Much better in a letter.... and sent by rec. delivery.

 

Also I am dealing with 3 other payday loan companies priorityone and 1 has responded 2 I am yet to hear back from, wagedayadvance who has responded are saying that they want proof of my unemployment, do I have to send a copy of my benefits letter to them which contains sensitive information with regards to my benefits, payment details etc or should they accept what I have told them without proof.

 

No... you don't have to send this.

 

[alday69]

thanks buddy glad a found this site been a great help and has eased my worries greatly

[rebel11]

Hi al

 

Which bank is it?

[donnahaywood]

The Money Shop did the same thing to me. They took £350 off a cancelled Halifax debit card. The bank wouldn't refund the money as I had given the card details, in writing, to the Money Shop when I first took out the loan. I wrote a letter of complaint to Halifax as I'd cancelled the card on their advice but they still let money be taken. Didn't do much good, I just got a letter back essentially saying that they had to let the money be taken as I had a written contract with the Money Shop. I wrote a letter of complaint to the Money Shop and also complained to the Financial Ombudsmen about them. The FOS were great and wrote a letter to them as well and I really think that this played a part in The Money Shop refunding the money to me. I've also made an officail complaint to the FOS about Halifax too. I would suggest setting up another bank account and not giving your new bank details or card details to the companies you owe money to.

[dulwich1980]

Hi there - when you say cancelled card, did you report it as lost/stolen or did you just phone the bank to ask that it be cancelled?

[alday69]

Hi Rebel my account was with Barclays Bank but the original account I had my loan agreement with the moneyshop was for the Bank of Scotland and this account was the one I was using to make any rollover payments, reloans with them in my time as a customer with them until my last rollover payment which very stupidly I made with my new a/c because my BOS account was overdrawn, originally I tried to make the payment using my BOS account but as I said it was overdrawn, then with permission a was going to use a relatives card for my last rollover payment but the moneyshop told me that they could only accept payment from a card with my name on it. There this story starts stupid yes I know(i dont know where my brain was at that day) but I didnt figure on them being able to hold my card details on file especially my cvv number as I said I figured it was for a one time payment only and now 2 months later they have debited this card again without my permission on 2 seperate days on the 17th Feb for £25 and then on the 19th for 3 payments of £25-£25-£50. Donna I am in process of doing what you have did to see if anything can be done and in reply to you Dulwich after the Barclays fraud department told me they wouldnt get involved yesterday except to put a stop on my card not try and recover any monies I had to close my account as I was in the branch I done this in person but also I might add that they wouldnt close my account immediately as the payments were still pending to the moneyshop on my card and only when the payments cleared will they close it.

[rebel11]

Hi ald

 

Write a Formal Letter of Complaint, mark the letter as such, Bob Diamond is the Chief Executive. Explain whats happened, explain that fraudulent payments have been debited from your account. Explain about the codes. And the Fraud department are doing nothing even though they have been informed.

 

[email protected]

[alday69]

Hi thanks again rebel on top of all that I have just received this email from wagedayadvance:

 

 

 

Wage Day Advance

 

 

 

Unit 7, Acorn Business Park, Skipton, BD23 2UE

 

Tel : 0872 107 7777 Fax : 0844 443 2322

 

 

 

22 February 2011

 

 

 

Re Your Wageday Advance

 

 

 

Agree No : xxxxxx

 

Amount Outstanding : xxxxxxx

 

 

 

 

Dear xxxxxxxx

 

 

Wage Day Advance Ltd has sent you several letters providing you with opportunities to repay your

 

loan or make suitable arrangements for repayment. The debt currently remains outstanding.

 

 

 

Unless the above debt is repaid, or a reasonable arrangement for repayment is agreed WITHIN SEVEN

 

DAYS OF THE ABOVE DATE, we will pursue the matter by issuing a summons against you in the

 

County Court, WITHOUT ANY FURTHER NOTICE.

 

 

 

The issue of a summons will generate EXPENSES, COURT COSTS AND INTEREST. Once a

 

judgement has been obtained we will ask the court to issue an ATTACHMENT OF EARNINGS

 

ORDER which will compel your employer to deduct payments from your wages AND/OR WE WILL

 

INSTRUCT BAILIFFS TO SEIZE GOODS TO THE VALUE OF THE DEBT. Both of these actions

 

will incur more court costs to add to the debt.

 

 

 

TO AVOID THIS ACTION YOU MUST CONTACT WAGE DAY ADVANCE LTD ON 01756

 

707306 WITHIN THE NEXT SEVEN DAYS.

 

 

 

Please be advised that until you contact us your file will be processed in the usual manner, as laid out

 

in your signed agreement.

 

 

 

If you have spoken to us within the last twenty four hours, and / or have come to an arrangement with us

 

via email, then please disregard this letter.

 

 

 

*** Please Note, Default charges will apply ***

 

 

 

Yours sincerely

 

 

 

 

 

Wage Day Advance Ltd

[dx100uk]

yea pigs will fly too

and get reclaiming too!

 

any of these charges are unlawful

 

dx

[alday69]

Another email I have received today from swift sterling:

 

Alan Scott,

 

[33010633

 

As you have chosen not to repay your loan I have made a decision on your account

that you no longer have any say over.

 

Your file has been passed to our 3rd party collectors who operate door to door

collections. I have emailed them the following address:

 

**************************************

 

Please note they will have full control of your account and I will be no longer

contacting you by phone. If this address is incorrect a search can be done as

stated in the terms and conditions

 

They will be in touch shortly.

 

 

 

 

Sincerely,

 

Mark Harrington

Account Manager

08000 124 089 Ext 6019

[Erica11 - Swift]

Please contact Swift Sterling on 08000 124 080. A member of staff will be able to address any queries you may have.