I have just found about this practice as my expired debit card has been charged. The extremely discourteous Lloyds TSB employee told me that it was acceptable for the bank to allow transactions to take place on an expired card. When I asked what the point was of having an expiry date on a card and why they change the last two digits of the card number on a new card, he said it was for "security". Where's the "security" though when they break their own rules? At this point the "charming" Lloyds TSB employee slammed the phone down on me. Lloyds TSB have now lost two customers as my husband was equally unimpressed with their attitude towards me. Fortunately the company that took the subscription have cancelled it and said they will refund the money.

I was branch-based and worked in a few of their branches. I guess it has all changed now!

Cat

I work for RBS but we deal with all the groups cards.

which dept did u used to work in?

Rob

Robjs, you work for NatWest? Or did you come in on the RBS side?

I used to work for them, too.

Cat

On the credit card side of things, where i work, our cards(RBS, tesco, Natwest, Mint, Airmiles) can not be charged if the account is closed/card expired. A lot of people seem to think that subscription payments are direct debits off a credit card for some reason...but you are usually covered for anything that you do not authorise on a credit card. Speak to retail disputes/chargebacks at your card issuers customer services, im sure they will be the same as RBS and help you out with the unauthorised payments.

Nice turn of phrase you have Landshark. Nefarious indeed.

As it stands at present, the best idea is to avoid continuous authorities like the plague. You can almost always use direct debit in the same circumstances, and will be protected by the DD agreement.

But you are right - it shouldn't be possible. Any attempt to debit a closed account should be bounced back - I can't imagine this would be hard to implement!!

Cat

Errrmmm ... maybe I missed something here ...

The card has expired, it is no more, it is gone, it is an EX card!

This is my beef and my anger. LloydsTSB told me that this is a practice that many less honest parasitic organisations adopt (my words, not theirs) such as AOL who are also prone to this practice.

The problem is simple, there appears to be NO WAY to stop this practice as letters, legal letters and demands do nothing.

I have now taken to invoicing those organisations who waste my time as I would any client who does the same; and then pursue these people through the courts for payment (which they invariably fail to make). Although this sometimes gets their attention, it is not usual until the Bailiffs arrive at their front door that they actually start to take things seriously at which point they have no leg to stand upon. Problem is though that even if they pay up at that point, they still take money from the account which they should not be able to do.

This is not merely a case of fraudulent transactions by the parasites concerned, it is also a case of aiding and abetting on the part of the financial industry who should be protecting their client and not pandering to the nefarious activities of faceless organisations.

SHARK!

Hi,

As you point out this practice can become a particularly serious problem when a subscription provider does not respond to a customers request to cancel a regular payment from a credit card. Card issuers call these types of payments 'continuous authorities'. My advice is not to set up any regular payments from a credit card and if a problem occurs then either dispute the transaction with you bank (say it's fraudulent because you didn't authorise it) and then threaten to cancel the card

The bottom line here is that if a card is expired, it is EXACTLY that - useless - try using it in a shop and it is refused, but it is the BANKING industry that is breaking their own rules and then telling us that they are doing us a favour!

I have tried EVERY AVENUE to get this practice stopped and it seems to me that only public shouting will make anyone realise the potential dangers and issues here. I cannot believe I am breaking new ground here.

SH*T
Just seen your post and checked my visa a/c and a very nasty company that I am paying agreed regular monthly payments to for a "not all my fault small debt" have taken extra payments without my consent and now it has left me with virtually nothing to live on till the end of the month when I get paid.
Surely this is illegal
What can I do?
Help!!!
Kevin

I'm sorry to say that, yes, I did know and I agree it is appalling.

Because of this ridiculous situation, i only ever allow companies to debit my bank account, as protected by the direct debit agreements. Something similar ought to be in place to protect credit card users, but there is nothing.

Actually, I have allowed the AA to set up a yearly debit on my credit card - whoops! I hope that they are not one of the unscrupulous ones.

You have my sympathy.

Cat

STUNNED - That's one word for this farce that faces me in the UK Banking Industry!

A little and unknown fact that can cost the innocent consumer a fortune and there's nothing you can do about it.

If you pay for a subscription such as mobile'phone, Internet access etc using a credit or debit card, the supplier can still debit your account - even after the card has expired. This is certainly the case with LloydsTSB and I am advised it is the same with others as well.

What this means is that if you STOP using a service or supplier for whatever reason and they cannot be bothered to stop demanding payments from your account, there is NOTHING you can do about it. It is up to you - the consumer - to have to chase each debit and demand repayment from your bank's card services department and even if you write to them to demand that the action is terminated, they will do nothing.

Outrageous - that's the half of it.

If you then have an unscrupulous service-supplier who refuses to acknowledge letters, solicitor's letters, phone calls or any other form of communication, you are left with no avenue of support except the courts and this is out of the reach of many general consumers.

There must be a way to stop expired credit/debit cards from being used by subscription services. Any ideas? If not why don't you throw this subject to the forums to discuss. I KNOW that the ISP forum would love this as I am advised that AOL and PIPEX are one of the worst offenders for this practice.