Mumsnet Talk

Wow, they're STILL ignoring me. How rude is that?! They don't seem to have a Twitter or FB page unfortunately. Guess I can see why...

Absolutely - it's one thing if a genuine mistake is made and they are obviously sorry, falling over themselves to put things right and apologise plus put procedures in place so it doesn't happen again.

Completely different when they are so unbothered by it, make you feel like it's a problem of your making and Drag their heels sorting it out. Especially if what has happened is such a big no no when it comes to cc and could cause them to lose their ability to process them.

Have they got twitter and/or Facebook you could embarrass chivvy them on?

Good luck.

Ok - I had emailed last week asking them to clarify what they meant by "refund" and got no reply, so I have sent an email based on Fire's post. If they don't reply to that I'm going to report them to the credit card people, possibly the police and will be revewing on Trip Advisor.

A member of staff using the details to put through with cashback maybe? Glass of wine and £50 cash hoping it wouldn't get noticed.

I would contact the police on 101, as if it has happened to others I think they would be interested, it can't do any harm.

I know people make mistakes but that long after I would be suspicious!

And that long for a refund is ridiculous!

Have you incurred any problems as a result of the money not being there? If so, it's worth letting them know. Or even pointing out that they are lucky that as a result of their actions you didn't suffer from any knock on consequences. In which case you would be demanding a lot more than a simple refund.

I would also point out that their has caused you stress and inconvenience etc etc.

I would also say that they should be paying you back a lot faster than 10 days if that's how long they think it will take for the refund to go through.

OK so interest on £50 isn't going to amount to much for that time but why should they have the benefit of the money for all that time?

I had something similar where an online retailer took money off my card instead of someone else's. This was over a bank holiday weekend and for all I knew someone had got hold of my card details and were using them. So I cancelled my card and told the bank the name of the retailer. When I rang the shop up they had the cheek to say oh you shouldn't have contacted the bank we could get into trouble, should have contacted us first! So they got a short curt answer from me, how do they know that the £60 they took didn't get me overdrawn?

I guess it probably was, I certainly hope so as I don't like to think the worst of people. However, it really shouldn't have happened, and their handling of it has been pretty poor, they just seem like they're not really that bothered about it.

If it was an exact amount, I would have wondered if a staff member had swiped £50 and charged it to the card to cover. As it's an odd amount, I think it was a mistake.

<curses slow typing> Sorry,Ilovesunflowers

Ilovesunflowers,but 3 days after the OP had paid and closed her tab??

Don't you think that the fact they had not disposed of the OP's details 3 days after she had been there is not the same as 'an honest error'? I could,at a push,see how it might happen on the same day if you were very busy but I cannot help but wonder how this could happen.

In another life I took cc details over the phone for various services (not dodgy at all,I promise!) and it was drummed into us the necessity of not keeping the cc details any longer than the day we asked for them.

Thank you everyone for the feedback. I'm glad to hear that everyone else finds it as shocking as I do! Ironically I work in the compliance industry - I haven't thrown that in there as yet but perhaps I should mention that I know a bit about PCI DSS... (Not a lot, though!)

Sorry, barclaycard not Barclays.

As a business owner with credit cats machines. In the last 18months we have all had complete compliance paperwork stating that credit card details are stored in a way the specifically stops this from happening. So I am astounded that the card company have taken such a lax attitude. Definately the initial paperwork we got implied that failure to ensure compliance would result in the removal of the machines - diastema for a pub. Though of course if it is part of a chain compliance maybe completed centrally.
If it is a chain I would write to head office, but I would certainly be kicking harder and using the word compliance.

My DH has a merchant account for his business, and in the terms and conditions it strongly states that not under any circumstances can this be done without losing your merchant account if reported that you have.

They can't have had your pin, so it must have been done under a 'person not present' transaction, meaning it was a very deliberate act of fraud.

I'd strongly suggest reporting them to the police, and check from your receipt who their merchant accountis held with (Barclays etc), and reporting it to them too with your crime ref number.

If they have done it lot you, how many others have they done it to? People like this are the reason merchant fees are so bloody high.

Ah I've just read that it was 3 days after you paid. That's bad. Mine was on the same day with a card that had been left open. Still don't think its a police matter but they definitely need to get this sorted so a strongly worded letter is appropriate. Sorry for misunderstanding the situation.

I did this to someone once. I used to work at a pub. A complete accident. The money was put back on the card quickly. Thank goodness they were understanding and weren't entitled about compensation for a simple mistake. People are only human. If the police had been contacted or they had caused fuss about compensation I would have lost my job. All due to an honest error.
As it sounds unintentional its not a police matter. They have better things to do.

Not exactly £50, something like £54.23.

Thanks GreenEggs. Will let you know how I get on...

I love Fire's response. Very clear and concise. Go with that. I'd be interested in their response. Good luck!

They are part of a franchise and this response is coming from the head office of the pub company. A really big one as well.

Like you say ItsAll - I just don't get how this was done "by accident." I opened a tab, I paid it, the details should then have been destroyed. They really don't seem to be getting the gravity of what they've done.

I will definitely call my credit card people again (to chase up my new card which I'm still without as well!) and see what they say.

Was it exactly £50?

I would also escalate with their card issuer/police. I am slightly suspicious that perhaps this wasn't a genuine mistake (how on earth could it be?), and that they are trying to hide the fact they had a staff member skimming credit cards.

To refund means to "restore what was taken" so yes, they are refunding you.

Other than that, what Fire's letter said.

Yes, they do. Are they a local estabilshment or part of a wider chain / franchise?

(That's a lot of exclamation marks. They deserve them though.)