Talk Talk Mistake - I'm Paying For It!

[Belfin]

Hi All,

 

On 26th May this year I called my broadband/phone service provider, Talk Talk, to inform them that I would be leaving them and moving to BT at the end of the month. 

My contract with Talk Talk had officially ended back in October 2019 and I was just paying them on a monthly basis for continued service.

 

I was advised that I did not need to do anything, as arrangements would be made on my behalf to keep my existing number etc between Talk Talk and BT. 

I began my contract with BT on 1st June. 

I cancelled my bank payment arrangements to Talk Talk and set up new ones for BT.

 

I then received a bill from Talk Talk for June's monthly charges, which I ignored as I was no longer a customer, I owed them nothing, and they were not providing me with any kind of service.

 

I then received a second bill from Talk Talk for July's monthly charges.

I called Talk Talk to explain their error but they insisted that I was still a customer using their services. 

This was despite me proving that I have been a BT customer for the past two months and paying BT for services that Talk Talk are claiming to be theirs.

 

Talk Talk then took £60.39 from my bank account on 2nd August, despite having no authority or consent from me to do so. 

I complained to my bank and they explained that utility companies hold on to customers payment details (despite GDPR) and this practice is common. 

I have now instructed my bank to refuse any further payments to Talk Talk, by any means!.

 

I phoned Talk Talk to complain and insist they repaid my money immediately as it had been obtained fraudulently and they are not providing any service to me anymore.  The adviser couldn't help much, but promised me a call from a manager later in the week.  The call never materialised.

 

I called Talk Talk myself today, and after nearly four hours of phone calls, being put on hold, transferred, being made promises and making more calls, I have got nowhere. One manager did offer a token £30 payment which I obviously turned down. 

33I eventually hung up after being put on hold for over 20 minutes during a call lasting over an hour.

 

These people are ignorant at best and impossible to deal with.

Please could someone advise me on how to get my £60.39 back from these people?

 

[CraigMcK]

On the basis it was a direct debit from the bank. Why did you not use the DD guarantee and insist the bank refunds the money. 
 

 

Edited August 14, 2020 by CraigMcK
Typo

[Belfin]

All Talk Talk Direct debits/standing orders, etc were all cancelled correctly and set up for BT.

Talk Talk took the money from my debit card details which they had retained.

I have now blocked this too. I just want my money back!

[dx100uk]

its called continuous payment authority

which both your bank and TT should know about!!

 

simply ask you bank for a chargeback

they should not refuse you.

 

then also get them to cancel the CPA too.

 

 

 

 

 

[Belfin]

Yes, it's been cancelled. On what grounds can I ask for a chargeback?

[dx100uk]

eh?

no valid contract!

 

is the BT coming out the same bank AC?
 

[Belfin]

Only asking because I want to get my facts right before I approach the bank!

Yes, BT is coming out of the same account.

[dx100uk]

then there is your proof to them

why would you pay for BB twice!!

 

for my notes:

GENERAL NOTES ON CHARGEBACK & Continuous Payment Authority & BACS 
 .....
 We have been telling people to put a letter into their bank instructing them 
not to make any payments under any circumstances to these companies
 .
http://whatconsumer.co.uk/visa-debit-chargeback/- it works!
usually this should be done using the number on your debit card
 .
 banks MUST follow written intructions from their customers !
.
CANCELLING YOUR DEBIT CARD DOES NOT STOP CPA'S
 .
 This fsa guide has now been updated:
 .
http://www.fsa.gov.uk/static/pubs/consumer_info/know_your_rights_guide.pdf
http://www.fca.org.uk/news/continuous-payment-authorities-your-right-to-cancel
https://www.fca.org.uk/consumers/unauthorised-payments-account
 .
 Here's the text:
 .
 Cancelling a regular
 card payment:
 .
 When you give your credit or debit card details to a company and authorise them to take regular payments from your account, 
 such as for a gym membership or magazine subscription,
 it is known as a ‘recurring transaction’ or ‘continuous payment authority’.
 .
These are often confused with direct debits, but do not offer the same guarantee if the amount or date of the payment changes.
 .
 In most cases, regular payments can be cancelled by telling the company taking the payments. 
 .
 However, 
 you have the right to cancel them directly with your bank or card issuer by telling it that you have stopped permission for the payments. 
 Your bank or card issuer must then stop them – it has no right to insist that you agree this first with the company taking the payments.
 .
 Be aware, though, that you will still be responsible for paying any money that you owe.
and that CANCELLING YOUR CARD WILL NOT STOP THE CPA
 .
 ..
 .
 New june 2013
 .
 Regulator orders Banks and mutuals to review complaints about not cancelling recurring payments from November 2009.
 .
 Consumers who have set up a regular payment from their account will now be able to successfully cancel that arrangement 
 by contacting their card provider, the Financial Conduct Authority said.
 .
 The FCA has been examining how easy it is for customers to cancel Continuous Payment Authorities (CPAs) 
 due either to payday lendersicon or for other regular payments such as subscriptions or gymicon memberships.
 .
 CPAs, which are also commonly called recurring transactions or recurring payments, 
 are relatively easy to set up but can be hard to cancel, causing problems for consumers trying to manage their finances,the FCA said.
 .
 Now, following the FCA review of how the largest high street banks and mutuals process requests to cancel CPAs, they have agreed that they will ensure that when 
 a customer asks for a recurring payment to end, that will be sufficient to cancel the arrangement. They have also confirmed that should a payment go through by 
 mistake following cancellation by a customer the customer will be refunded immediately.
 .
 In addition to securing this commitment, the largest banks and mutuals have agreed to review every individual complaint they have received about the non-
 cancellation of a CPA and to pay redress where payments have continued to be made despite the customer cancelling the arrangement. This applies to all complaints 
 since November 2009 when the Financial Services Authority, the FCA’s predecessor, began regulating banking conduct.
 .
 Clive Adamson, the FCA’s director of supervision, said: “It’s important that consumers are confident that banks are meeting their everyday banking needs. Today 
 customers can be confident that when they ask for a Continuous Payment Authority to be cancelled – it will be cancelled - and that it can be done easily. 
 .
“We recognise that historically this is an area where some customers have struggled but the banks and mutuals have responded positively to our work on this issue. 
 From now on we expect them to be getting this right. In addition, they have committed to review past complaints.”
.
 .
 Also mentioned your displeasure that as whomever took your money had obviously attempted this many times 
 probably activating your banks own anti fraud software - nobody had the decency to inform my you this was going on.?

.
 .In the FSA's own words:
 .
 ..
 What should I do about a payment from my account that I didn’t authorise?
 .
 Your bank must refund an unauthorised transaction. 
 Money can only be taken from your account if you have authorised the transaction 
 or if your bank can prove you were at fault – 
.
see below.
 Contact your bank immediately if you notice an unauthorised payment from your account.
.
 If you are sure you did not authorise the payment, you can claim a refund. 
.
 However, your bank does not have to refund you if you do not tell it about the payment until 13 months
 or more after the date it left your account.
 .
 Your bank must refund an unauthorised transaction
 .
 ------------------
 .
 Your bank may only refuse a refund for an unauthorised transaction if:
 .
 ? it can prove you authorised the transaction 
– though your bank cannot simply say that use of your password, 
 card and PIN proves you authorised a payment; or
.
 ? it can prove you are at fault because you acted fraudulently, 
 or because you deliberately, 
 or with gross negligence, failed to protect the details of your card, PIN or password in a way that allowed the transaction
 .
 -----------------------
 .
 How quickly must my bank refund me for an unauthorised transaction?
 .
 The bank must make the refund immediately unless it has evidence that one of the above reasons applies. 

 Your bank may ask you to answer some questions and fill out a form confirming what has happened, 
 but it cannot delay your refund while it waits for you to return the form.

 If the bank has evidence that one of the above reasons for refusing a refund applies, 
 it may investigate before making a refund 
 but must look into it as quickly as possible. 

 If your bank rejects your claim for a refund it should explain why.
 If the transaction was on a credit card, the refund may not happen immediately. 

 But the card issuer cannot charge interest or ask for repayment of the amount unless it can prove you are liable to pay
 

 

 

 

[Belfin]

Many thanks for the advice above dx100uk . I have followed your advice and the chargeback is currently in the hands of my bank (paperwork sent back to them last wednesday).

 

Cheers!