# 02 mobile took 2 lots of money from my credit card??? how to get it back?



## NOAH (1 Jun 2006)

A warning to all but where do I stand?  

I ordered a contract phone from o2 website on 30 April and paid by cc, I got an email acknowledgment immediately.  On  2nd May I got an email saying my order was rejected.  I spoke to cs on 3 May and it was explained that my credit rating was underscored and I was told to apply again. I did and order was accepted. I paid by cc.

Imagine my surprise today when I got my cc statement and found 02 had taken 2 payments from my cc, one on 1st of May and another on 3rd of May. When my 1st order was rejected it would have made sense to credit back but this did not happen. I just rang 02 and was told, we cant find 1st order, so luckily I had kept email with order number. I then had to fax my cc statement to show the 2 amounts,  with a copy of the email. I was then told I will recieve a refund by cheque within 2 weeks. That means they will have had my money for going on 8 weeks.  Is this not theft or do I just accept it as another 02 cock up.  My gut feeling is that they  are not going to break their back to  give me the refund and I am tied into a 12 month contract anyway.

It sure leaves a bad taste in the mouth and does not say a lot for 02 cs.

noah


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## rkeane (1 Jun 2006)

ring your cc company and tell them not to pay out for one of them.


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## elcato (1 Jun 2006)

> That means they will have had my money for going on 8 weeks. Is this not theft or do I just accept it as another 02 cock up.


They actually dont get paid from the CC company for 2 months so its not really in their interest to do this. Its a mistake on their behalf but hardly a hanging offence. They have acknowledged this and will refund accordingly. The reason for possibly waiting the 2 weeks is to make sure they have got the 2 payments acknowledged by the CC comapny in the first place. It does seem excessive all the rigmorall you had to go thru' to cancel their mistake though.


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## zag (1 Jun 2006)

elcato - are you sure about the payment terms ?  Last time (over 10 years ago) I was dealing with credit card transactions from the merchants point of view they got the credit on the same day.  Maybe allow a day or two for value dates and so on, but it certainly appeared on the bank statement on the day it was lodged.

z


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## elcato (1 Jun 2006)

While I cant be certain and have no experience from a merchant point of view I'm fairly sure the whole idea of them is that the bank can offer 50 days credit cos they dont actually pay out the money to the merchant until a certain period of similar timeframe. Are you saying, say Arnotts take a sale on my CC for €50 for a pair of jeans, they actually are credited this sale the next day in their (Arnotts) bank account ?


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## zag (1 Jun 2006)

elcato - yup that's what happens.  The banks make their money by charging the retailer a % of the transaction and also by charging the customer interest on late payments and overdue balances.  The % charge ranges downwards from about 4% depending on your expected turnover.  There may also be a standing charge or facility fee to the merchant just to be a merchant - I'm not sure if this is the case.  The real money is in the commission.

In recent years with all this technology stuff the picture is a ittle bit less clear bit it is still broadly the same.  What happens now is that the swipe machine connects to a middle man who is neither the bank nor the merchant and it then gets passed on to the bank.  There may be some extra delay in the crediting process involved here, but I'm not sure.  It's still pretty much the same as taking cash from the merchants point of view (except for the % commission).

z


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## elcato (1 Jun 2006)

OK - didn't know that but I thought the % actually went to Visa or Amex etc which is the middle man or am I way off the mark ?


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## zag (1 Jun 2006)

Assume you are a shop and your current account is with BOI.  You would become a merchant by applying to BOI Merchant Services (but you could apply to AIB Merchant Services for example) and getting a merchant number.

In the old days, along with your cash and cheque lodgements at the end of the day you would include your credit card vouchers with a summary slip with your merchant number on it.  Next day the sum of cash, cheques and credit cards would be in your account for you to spend.

I can't remember whether the % commission appeared as a bank charge or whether it was invoiced, but basically you would pay BOI Merchant Services the agreed % commission.  They meanwhile might pay over a further % of that to Mastercard and Visa worldwide for their ability to be in the Mastercard and Visa schemes.

z


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## NOAH (1 Jun 2006)

Just to note, I rang the cc company before I rang 02 and they confirmed that both payments had been made. They said that I should go back to 02 and if I did not get a credit then they would intervene.

My point is, if I had not checked my cc statement 02 would have done nothing. Now that is bad. Also if they can take money from CC instantly they should have the facility to put it back instantly or not offer it at all. What if I had keyed in 1169!!  And I got charged interest this month as I did not pay off the correct amount last month!!! woe is me.  I think I will give up on this internet thing.

thanks for replies but surely a company should a) apologise, b) put it right instantly, c)make a token gesture to show goodwill 

instead of saying, we cant find order, god help me if i did not have email and cc statement, and oh we will send u a cheque in the next few weeks. I then have to toddle off to bank to pay it in, wait for it to clear etc etc all because of the incompetence of 02.  Oh to rub it in, because it is a new contract phone, i cant phone uk or use it for roaming, until i have paid 3 monthly bills!!!  or I pay 125 euro in advance even though I have set up a dd!! I read the t&c and saw nothing that led me to believe roaming would be blocked or calling the uk for that matter.

I have 11 months left and I wonder will I still be with 02, I doubt it. And I have 3 phones with the swines plus my wife's.


no


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## aonfocaleile (2 Jun 2006)

You'll only get a good will gesture if you look for it - Last time I had a problem with O2, I sent a stinker of a letter to someone senior in the Irish end of things - I got a response saying although it wasn't technically they're fault, they were crediting my account as a goodwill gesture. It was only €20, but it was money I wouldn't have had if I hadn't complained in writing.


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## NOAH (2 Jun 2006)

Thanks for reply.

I know, its tough, but I am just beginning to realise how risky it is doing anything on their website. I have bad knees and hips so cant stand in queues for any length of time and found using the  internet a great idea eg banking, shopping etc etc. However, 02 have destroyed my confidence, I set up a facility whereby I can top up phones uisng my cc but I have now noticed that when I tried to top up on 31st May it came back and said unsuccessful please try again but I can check my BOI cc online and lo and behold 02 have still taken the money!  The thing is I have just realised that I have no way of contesting it.  I will contact cc company and see what they say.  O2 have re-designed their website to make it faster, safer, easier to use but it falls down on all three. Its a disaster.

I am going to write but CS person would not give me A) name of supervisor, b) name of manage of CS  or C) name of finace director, so where can I go from there?

All a very poor show.

noah


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## RainyDay (2 Jun 2006)

Try their  email address. See  for details of their complaints procedure. See [broken link removed] for details of their management team.

With such website errors, it is always a good idea to keep screenshots of the actual error pages.


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## NOAH (4 Jun 2006)

thanks for links,  i keep kicking myself for not keeping screenshots but methinks I will be more wary and prepared from now on.

noah


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## NOAH (18 Jul 2006)

*02 came good big time on my credit card difficulty.*

I have to give credit where it is due and I can honestly say 02 came good on this one, got all my monies sorted, got a godwill payment and a credit for wrongly booked calls. Got emails and phone calls in fact I was well .. impressed.

Well done 02.

A happy customer.

noah


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