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Money Issues

Former MemberFormer Member Posts: 1,876,323 The Mix Honorary Guru
I have just this minute realised how much of a freaking mess I am in, and I don't know what to do about it.

From the beginning, last year when I lived in my student house we paid all of our bills online through one company. Never had any trouble the whole way through the year up until I left the house at the end of my course.

They are still taking money from my account, bills that I shouldn't be paying because I'm not even living there and my bills account had been closed which was confirmed through an email. I moved out in June and my last payment should have been at the end of July but since then they have been taking more and more money, without telling me and without giving me a reason, just taking it when they feel like it.

I have been to the bank about it to try and stop the payments but they said it's not possible to stop them but they will "investigate" it, so I relaxed a bit thinking that it was being sorted. Since then they have taken more money from me in August and now today as I've just checked my bank account online and seen that they have taken quite a big chunk of money (DOUBLE what they took in august!!!) which I shouldn't be paying and which I can't even afford to pay.

Soo now I'm in deeeep shit. My usual money isn't coming through for some reason and I don't know why, which means I have zero money.
I can't pay the bills I need to be paying to my friend and I can't pay my friend any rent to stay in her house because my money has been stopped for no bloody reason, she has already said she needs this money and if I can't pay then she is going to have to ask me to move, this stupid f**king company are taking money from me which I don't have, the bank are demanding payments because I'm in my overdraft and have now reached the limit because of these stupid idiots taking money.

And now I'm panicking because I don't know where the hell to start, Who do I speak to? Am I going to have to ring up loads of people to get this sorted (as that's a wholee other issue) How can I sort this out because now I just want to hide from it all. I'm no good with all this stuff and I am really starting to see how people who are in a financial crisis can go crazy, because I am really starting to lose it. HELP! Please :(

Comments

  • Former MemberFormer Member Posts: 1,876,323 The Mix Honorary Guru
    I think you know what you need to do. You need to call a lot of people. You need to speak to your bank, and you need to talk to this company.
  • Former MemberFormer Member Posts: 1,876,323 The Mix Honorary Guru
    Glide by any chance? Ring them. Also the bank can cancel a continuous payment authority at any time, they just don't like to, so tell them to.

    I'm off work on sick at minute but if you PM me the details I should be able to do something in a few weeks.
  • Former MemberFormer Member Posts: 1,876,323 The Mix Honorary Guru
    You're right, I was being silly. I just saw they took a lot of money and had an early morning freak out!

    Yes, it is Glide! Have you dealt with these before? I really didn't think they would be this bad, didn't have any trouble with them until now. They keep trying to tell me these are valid payments but I don't really see how. Pain in the arse :yeees:
  • Former MemberFormer Member Posts: 1,876,323 The Mix Honorary Guru
    The problem with Glide is the continuous payment authority (CPA). If it were a direct debit or a standing order you could just cancel it at the bank. The problem is a CPA is on your debit card and the banks- wrongly- think that if you have consented to pay by debit card then they cannot interfere with this. They're wrong but the law is quite complex about this and I'd have more luck explaining the law to my cat than many bank call centre staff.

    If you're really worried if you report your debit card lost or stolen then the CPA should cease as the details will change. But that's a pain in the arse too and it doesn't always work.

    CPA is the same tool that Wonga and the like use to collect payday loans from bank accounts.
  • Former MemberFormer Member Posts: 1,876,323 The Mix Honorary Guru
    hmmm7 wrote: »
    Pain in the arse :yeees:

    How's your arse pain doing champion?
  • Former MemberFormer Member Posts: 1,876,323 The Mix Honorary Guru
    Fiend_85 wrote: »
    How's your arse pain doing champion?

    Think this Glide need some arse kicking ;)

    Got a bit further with the bank who have said they will refund it, but they also said if Glide can prove it was a valid payment they will take it from me again. And Glide seem to think I owe them this money when really, I owe them sweet F.A having paid all of my bills on time and in full when I needed to.

    I did think about just closing my bank account altogether, but I don't think that would work either as I owe the bank now obviously.
  • Former MemberFormer Member Posts: 1,876,323 The Mix Honorary Guru
    .

    If you're really worried if you report your debit card lost or stolen then the CPA should cease as the details will change. But that's a pain in the arse too and it doesn't always work.

    The issue with this is companies can apply to Visa for the new card details. If a card was lost and had legitimate pending transactions, these would still need to be paid. That's the logic behind it, how legal that is I don't know. The bank should always be filling in a form if the customer disputes a payment and offering a refund, which sadly doesn't always happen. It's shocking how little training banks provide their staff with.

    Hmmm7, have you written a letter to this Glide company to say the date you've moved out, or received any communication other than the e-mail? Also, have the utility companies been informed, final reads given etc? I would be printing out that e-mail confirming the account has been closed and attaching it to a letter asking them to refund everything you've overpaid and telling them to cancel the payment immediately. Give them a timescale of 14 days to sort it or at least acknowledge the letter, otherwise tell them they'll be hearing from your solicitor. Even if you don't intend to use one it usual makes a company take notice.

    Hope you manage to sort it soon
  • Former MemberFormer Member Posts: 1,876,323 The Mix Honorary Guru
    I recieved an email in June saying that my account was closed and asking for final meter readings, (still have this email too), I had already left the house at that point so couldn't get back in as I had handed my keys back. But my housemate had said she had sorted it, gave them the readings they needed so thought that would be the end of it.

    I emailed them a few weeks ago asking what these payments where for, and they said one of them was a final payment (last one should have been july, even though I moved out in June) , and apparently a £56 charge for "late payment" when none of my payments have been late and I have the bank statements to prove that.

    And it still doesn't explain why they took a random £115 from my account this week, not explaining what it's for, it just seems like they are making up a number now and deciding that's how much they're gonna take.

    None of my other housemates who lived in the student house are having trouble with them which is what I don't understand, I have never missed a payment with them or even paid late, it's always been on time!

    I've said I want a refund but they're not listening, the bank have refunded one of the payments (the july one) but not the rest of them. Even though I have to keep ringing them up to tell them about new payments that are being taken out, and they won't cancel it before it comes out, they said it's not possible which sounds like bollocks, I didn't realise it was legal for a company to carry on taking random sums of money out of your bank account.

    Need to ring them up again at the beginning of the week and ask them what the hell is going on, or maybe the letter would be a better idea? Suppose then I could print out all of the bank statements and emails to prove that what they're saying is bullshit.
  • Former MemberFormer Member Posts: 1,876,323 The Mix Honorary Guru
    Hey there hmmm7,

    Just wondering how you're getting on with this? Did you contact (by phone or in writing) the bank again? If so, what did they say?

    If you're not getting anywhere with this, and you've gone down all avenues you can think of, it might be an idea to get some professional advice from the Citizen's Advice Bureau. They'll be able to tell you exactly what your rights are and what next steps to take. You can find your nearest office here - http://www.adviceguide.org.uk/england/about_this_site/get_advice.htm

    :)
  • Former MemberFormer Member Posts: 1,876,323 The Mix Honorary Guru
    I got in touch with the bank again, who have refunded some of it which is progress at least, but not all of the amount that has been taken. Doesn't seem like the bills company are going to stop taking money anytime soon either, I emailed them again asking what the payments are for but they've just stopped replying to me now so I think I will go to citizens advice and see if they can help! :)
  • Former MemberFormer Member Posts: 1,876,323 The Mix Honorary Guru
    Another approach is to find out if there's a regulator for the bills company.

    Either way, lodge a formal complaint.
  • Former MemberFormer Member Posts: 1,876,323 The Mix Honorary Guru
    Are they controlled by the financial services authority?
  • Former MemberFormer Member Posts: 1,876,323 The Mix Honorary Guru
    Not sure what that means/how I find out, this is their website though - http://www.glide.uk.com/
  • Former MemberFormer Member Posts: 1,876,323 The Mix Honorary Guru
    I can't see a regulator on their website, but I'll keep looking. In the mean time, have you followed their complaints proceedure here?
  • Former MemberFormer Member Posts: 1,876,323 The Mix Honorary Guru
    The regulator is different for each of the services they supply, as there are different regulators for gas, electricity and water suppliers. As Glide well know.

    They're such a dodgy company, absolutely horrendous to deal with. The continuous payment authority not even being the worst of it. They make Wonga look honest.
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