"Failed Payment" - but nobody knows?

"Failed Payment" - but nobody knows?

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Discussion

Dizeee

Original Poster:

18,168 posts

205 months

Thursday 7th September 2017
quotequote all
I have found myself in a very simple but weird situation - that I can't fathom. This has been going on now for 16 days.

On the 20 August I paid off a balloon on a car lease and cancelled the ongoing direct debit. Payment was 4.5k - paid over the phone using my Visa debit card, authorised, everyone happy, didn't think any more about it. The money left my account within a few minutes of paying.

5 days later, the money comes back to my account. Odd, but no problem, I call up the bank to clarify status and they tell me that the car company has "not claimed the money" within the allocated time period. So I call the car company who tell me payment has been received, and they have no further interest with me. But, money is still in my account. So I have now transferred it into a sideline account I have, to keep it seperate and available as something is clearly not right and it is going to need to go to the car company.

Fast forward to now, 16 days later, and after copious calls to both bank and car company, nothing has changed. The sum is still sat in my sideline account. Car company says they have been paid and have sent out numerous confirmation letters ( auto done when I call them each time ) stating they have no further interest in me. Bank just says money has not been claimed and even, would you believe, intimated that "lucky me I might get a free car".

So for the time being I am stumped. I have the money and will keep hold of it for when I eventually need to pay, but car company won't take payment and have no interest as records are all closed on their system - and bank says to call car company. Am I misssing something?

The only thing that has happened other than the above, is that later on in the same day I made the transaction to the car company, and hours after it had successfully been authorised and gone through, I had to report my card missing as I lost my wallet. I had a new card issued days later. But despite this, and having asked the bank, the payment was not cancelled or questionned as far as anyone knows.




rog007

5,748 posts

223 months

Thursday 7th September 2017
quotequote all
Send the car company a cheque?

As you intimate, they will have to be paid with real money at some point.


Dizeee

Original Poster:

18,168 posts

205 months

Thursday 7th September 2017
quotequote all
Thats what I am wondering though. If I simply do nothing, whats the chances of the noticing that my payment, amongst the many thousands of payments they will be receiving, has failed?

Something similar happened to me a long time ago where had I not have been honest about a credit to my account, I would have been £600 better off thanks to a bank error, where two different departments refunded me twice for the same thing.

Knowing how complex things can often be, I am already suspecting this may go unnoticed. I have already made copious efforts to pay, there will come a point when I desist.

Ahbefive

11,657 posts

171 months

Thursday 7th September 2017
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Leave it in the account for a long time, maybe 6 months to a year. If still nothing I'd say you can probably keep ot. Congrats.

Butter Face

30,192 posts

159 months

Thursday 7th September 2017
quotequote all
It will be noticed, they'll be in touch for sure.

Magic919

14,126 posts

200 months

Thursday 7th September 2017
quotequote all
It's another one of those 'moral dilemma' threads that is anything but. I'm sure the OP understands the legal position given his background.

foxsasha

1,416 posts

134 months

Thursday 7th September 2017
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I had an argument with the HMRC last week where they were insisting I'd paid nearly £3k more than I'd actually paid. Took a while before they finally realised they'd allocated one payment twice. You just know that, if I hadn't pushed the point to resolution, then at some point down the line they'd realise and their default position would be I owed them money, all my fault, payment overdue, legal action threatened etc.

768

13,601 posts

95 months

Thursday 7th September 2017
quotequote all
Sounds like you've done your bit. Just keep the money available and wait.

anonymous-user

53 months

Thursday 7th September 2017
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If the last contact in the chain is a letter from them saying all is well, I would sit tight for now


MrBarry123

6,025 posts

120 months

Thursday 7th September 2017
quotequote all
768 said:
Sounds like you've done your bit. Just keep the money available and wait.
This.

TwistingMyMelon

6,385 posts

204 months

Thursday 7th September 2017
quotequote all
Just keep the money aside for a few months, record all conversations/emails/letters and get on with life

I had similar a few years ago, was only a grand, kept asking the company to take the money they didnt, I ended up better off

Zetec-S

5,832 posts

92 months

Thursday 7th September 2017
quotequote all
At some point the company will notice. It might be next week, it might be next year. The more time goes by the less likely they are to chase you for it, but it's no guarantee. If they really won't take your money then keep all correspondence, and put the money aside somewhere and forget about it for a few years.

If you do, it might be worth contacting them again in 12 months time and get them to put something in writing again.

DocJock

8,341 posts

239 months

Thursday 7th September 2017
quotequote all
MrBarry123 said:
768 said:
Sounds like you've done your bit. Just keep the money available and wait.
This.
I agree.

You have informed them of their error and they have declined to rectify it. Let them do the legwork from now on.

KevinCamaroSS

11,555 posts

279 months

Thursday 7th September 2017
quotequote all
DocJock said:
MrBarry123 said:
768 said:
Sounds like you've done your bit. Just keep the money available and wait.
This.
I agree.

You have informed them of their error and they have declined to rectify it. Let them do the legwork from now on.
I also agree with all the above.

maffski

1,866 posts

158 months

Thursday 7th September 2017
quotequote all
Sounds like the payment was authorised but never settled on their side. Chances are they won't notice until they reconcile their records with the their bank and CS staff are unlikely to have any access to this side of things so will only be able to see that on their system you've paid it off.

It may well be that the business simply has a policy of writing these costs off. Much smaller scale but one place I worked at we never challenged charge backs on cards, once we had worked out the time required it was just cheaper to absorb the cost.

Calling them back, writing letters, etc. won't work as it simply won't fit into their processes. Just hang onto the money and wait to see if they figure it out.

LordHaveMurci

12,034 posts

168 months

Thursday 7th September 2017
quotequote all
Zetec-S said:
At some point the company will notice. It might be next week, it might be next year. The more time goes by the less likely they are to chase you for it, but it's no guarantee. If they really won't take your money then keep all correspondence, and put the money aside somewhere and forget about it for a few years.

If you do, it might be worth contacting them again in 12 months time and get them to put something in writing again.
They may notice, they may not.

I'm in the 'sit on it' camp like so many other posters, you've done more than most people would have already.

Ean218

1,959 posts

249 months

Thursday 7th September 2017
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Chuck it into premium bonds, you may get lucky, plus you can cash it back out if they do demand it back.

Dizeee

Original Poster:

18,168 posts

205 months

Thursday 7th September 2017
quotequote all
Cheers, yes absolutely I intend to have it kept to one side, I certainly can't spend it as firstly I don't see it as my money and secondly I wouldn't be able to afford to cover the cost if in 5 months they asked for it.

I mainly wonder why and how this has happened. I understand that the computer will have the box ticked about balance being paid, but if they have to physically claim it from my bank then presumably the department who are responsible for this will still have a box which is unticked.

But my instinct tells me by the time this is picked up, just as has been written above, the fine details will be locked away in electronic data and the company may chalk it up to natural losses. That would present me with a further dilemma, as if that were to happen, I am not convinced I am legally culpable. I have gone to repeated effort to settle despite their error, so I am not being dishonest or making misrepresentation.

I will no doubt end up calling them a few months down the line and once again informing them the money is sat in one of my accounts.

Zoon

6,654 posts

120 months

Thursday 7th September 2017
quotequote all
Dizeee said:
Cheers, yes absolutely I intend to have it kept to one side, I certainly can't spend it as firstly I don't see it as my money and secondly I wouldn't be able to afford to cover the cost if in 5 months they asked for it.

I mainly wonder why and how this has happened. I understand that the computer will have the box ticked about balance being paid, but if they have to physically claim it from my bank then presumably the department who are responsible for this will still have a box which is unticked.

But my instinct tells me by the time this is picked up, just as has been written above, the fine details will be locked away in electronic data and the company may chalk it up to natural losses. That would present me with a further dilemma, as if that were to happen, I am not convinced I am legally culpable. I have gone to repeated effort to settle despite their error, so I am not being dishonest or making misrepresentation.

I will no doubt end up calling them a few months down the line and once again informing them the money is sat in one of my accounts.
My father-in-law had a new car and they never took the payments from the bank. He assumed they would take a double payment the following month but didn't. 3 years later he sold the car with only ever paying the deposit in the showroom. Nobody ever chased him for money.
It does happen, but pretty sure it's a rare occurrence.

malks222

1,851 posts

138 months

Thursday 7th September 2017
quotequote all
what if your bank have refunded/ cancelled the transaction at your end because you have reported the card as lost? Maybe something happened at that end, eg the card has been reported lost- system thinks its a fraudulent transaction, refund the customer, but not reversed/ cancelled at the other end....

I'd have thought the bank would've been on it a lot quicker. but def just sit on the cash for now.