I know it’s stealing….but…..

[VidalSass]

Im going to be Annihilated here……

i took out a store card to pay for a large tech purchase, interest free, over 36months. This was four months ago

I set up a direct debit straight away for the monthly payment and then cut up the card.

I checked my account and noted direct debit not come out, so I logged on to the store card account and the charge is still ‘pending’ - therefore minimum payment is 0 as the charge has not been processed by the merchant.

would I be unreasonable to just ignore it and therefore avoid the repayments? Surely it would eventually just be cancelled? Although it’s already sat there for four months….

i don’t want to call the merchant as obviously they will then just process the charge…..

im worries that eventually it would just be charged but a part of me is excited at the thought that an error may have occurred resulting in me getting free stuff. I know it’s technically stealing but it’s a huge company (probably not paying corporation tax in the uk) and I’m not exactly rolling in it

AIBU - should call the merchant to process the charge and start paying it back

NBU - technically it’s stealing but fuck the man and ride the freebie wave

Poor morals. Just call them and ask them to pay. Livelihoods and society depend on people being honest.

Imagine your daughter sets up a business in the future, and someone does this to her, causing her significant loss.

Would it still seem so hilariously funny?

Not to worry!

Are you sure you even should be paying at this point? Is it maybe one of those "pay nothing for X months" deals? So it's pending now, but after X months, your balance will update and payments will go out?

This. You´d probably have to wait on hold, get connected through various departements etc. I would not do that.

I don´t get paid to train their employees and or optimise their payment process.

I would however put some money aside and dispute any possible late or admin fees.

Imagine it was Elon Musk who'd accidentally forgot to charge you the price of a television, causing him no significant loss whatsoever, would it still seem such a big deal?

@VidalSass have you actually received the item or was it on preorder? It's entirely possible there is just an authorisarion pending on your card that the merchant has failed to capture because it's not been shipped or whatever, though most of them time the authorisations don't last longer than 30 days (but it depends on the various banks/processors involved in the transaction). You can't use the money that is being held by the Auth either.

It is unusual for an authorisation on a card not to be captured or voided by a merchant, though technically not impossible.

The problem for you is more if they capture it in a few months time, you have less time on your interest free credit card to pay it off if you are trying to spread the cost.

@VidalSass I do think the mistake will eventually be noticed & you will have to pay the money but I don't think its your responsibility to go telling them. I would sit tight & if they contact you play dumb, say you will have to check with your bank to make sure the dds never came out seeing as it was all set up correctly at your end. I don't think you will get any thanks from them for notifying them & it's extra hassle on you.

It’s theft and I’m disgusted by how many folk that think it’s ok.

I agree.

We have a similar issue with our tv and internet provider - its one of the big companies. We signed a new contract with them in August last year but it seemed to take them ages. They said we needed a new router and this was eventually sent in October. Then I got an email from them with notification of the new charges - £82 with discounts totalling £82, therefore £0 fixed until March 2025.

I've said nothing. Checked the online account and no bills have been issued since October. Putting the money aside so if they do come back to us, we are ready but also made damn sure I kept a copy of the email and contract.

Downside to this is that we wanted to change our package but are too scared to in case they realise their mistake. 😂🥴

It's not stealing. Stealing is intentionally taking something without paying. You had every intention to pay. This is their mistake. Wait for them to realise and figure it out. If they dint notice it they can't be missing the money that bad

You're stealing.

It may be a big company, but if they suffer thefts, they raise their prices to compensate. So everyone else has to pay more.

So you're stealing from all the other customers. You're stealing from the rest of us.

It could be theft it could be fraud, either way its dishonest. Live with it if you can but it may come back to haunt you big style.

Please don't ignore it it will come back and bite you on the arse. As others have said you will be charged for missing the payments.

If the OP doesn't do anything to sort out the problem, she is intentionally stealing.

So am I.

@JohnMytton I am pretty sure it is actually fraud under the Fraud Act 2006 - see section 3 b (i) and (ii): the monies are owed to the store card (CC) company, not the merchant of the item that has been acquired as the merchant will, in effect, have sold on the debt - ie the CC company settles with the merchant; you then have a financial agreement with the CC company to repay them for the loan they have provided to pay for associated goods.

3 Fraud by failing to disclose informationA person is in breach of this section if he—
(a)dishonestly fails to disclose to another person information which he is under a legal duty to disclose, and

(b)intends, by failing to disclose the information—

(i)to make a gain for himself or another, or

(ii)to cause loss to another or to expose another to a risk of loss.

OP, if they chose not to contact her CC company regarding the admin error/debt, they are knowingly acting with the intention to deprive them of their capital stake and the interest incurred thereupon.

Further, OP should note the consequences:

3)A person who is guilty of fraud is liable—

(a)on summary conviction, to imprisonment for a term not exceeding [F1the general limit in a magistrates’ court]or to a fine not exceeding the statutory maximum (or to both);

(b)on conviction on indictment, to imprisonment for a term not exceeding 10 years or to a fine (or to both).

OP, call the CC company and get it sorted while you can still afford the back payments. It just isn’t worth it.

Absolutely they will. My morals align with yours in the first comment you posted 👍🏼

This. They’re all saints😊

This won’t happen.

So many people on here are cap-doffingly fearful of any perceived authority and I find it fascinating.

OP has done her part. The retailer hasn’t. She’s fine.

I had a local family garden company send me two of something when I only ordered and paid for 1. I could have sold it on and had people ask but I couldn’t live with myself and let them know and they collected it.

People who don’t understand law shouldn’t google, copy and paste.

Although I guess determining that the OP noticed is another matter.

I would sit tight OP, but expect a bill in the future!

As an aside, due to the sort of comments you have been getting, it’s probably worth asking someone else rather than AIBU, because Mumsnet are really weird on this sort of stuff. I remember once a large company accidentally added a pair of children’s leggings in with my order (that I didn’t request, want, or have any use for) and I made a post asking if I would be unreasonable to just advertise them as free on a community fb group thinking it might help out a local parent and save me the bother of returning them (I honestly couldn’t be fucked to go in store or to the post office - I really value my time) or having them clutter up my house for all eternity (I have no children and DID NOT WANT OR NEED OR ASK FOR A PAIR OF CHILDRENS LEGGINGS) but I felt a bit guilty chucking them in the bin/sending them to landfill when they were perfectly wearable.

Oh lord. Mumsnet lost their shit. I was practically made out to be a crimelord fraudster.

Reader, I gave them away anyway. 😂