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

But I don’t have a debt because they haven’t charged me.
I can’t make a payment because the charge is still pending and therefore my current balance is £0…..

I'd do it but be prepared to pay at some point.

@VidalSass It's not righteousness, it's just some people cannot comprehend such dishonesty and theft (me included).

So you would be one of those people who refused to celebrate the coronation of the king until the Kohinoor diamond is returned, or doesn’t own a mobile phone because of the theft of land and human rights in the associated mining industries.
i applaud you.

@VidalSass Sorry it may be because it's late and I'm genuinely half asleep but I don't understand what any of that has to do with you not paying for goods.

Simply acknowledging the sacrifices you must make every day to uphold and embody your moral superiority

It's not moral superiority and I believe the only reason you are saying that is perhaps because you feel guilty and are projecting that guilt onto me to ease your conscience.

I would just sort out the payments if I was me and make sure all is ok.

You've bought it, you agreed to pay. You're not paying. You'll be liable as and when they sort it out. They will probably sort it out sooner or later. So why spend years putting the money aside and looking over your shoulder? You owe them and you know that, which is why you're asking about it on MN.

I do get that people have different approaches to this kind of issue. But personally nowadays I prefer keeping my life as simple as possible, and as part of that I like to settle debts and generally not try and pull fast ones so I don't have to worry about the consequences. And all my friends are like that (now that we're all grown-ups and not shoplifting, idiot teens), and everything is a lot easier as a consequence. I trust them and they trust me. Life is good.

So personally I would absolutely get in touch with them and sort it out. That sort of approach makes like pleasant for me. But it's not everyone's bag, I do get that. I would recommend it though.

I get that for some people a line is being crossed but at the same time there's a lot of us who have no trouble at all with this, and there's not a scintilla of guilt, and yes, that includes acknowledging that it's stealing.

The world is unfair, the people who are the biggest thieves are running things, at the expense of the rest of us. Every now and then we get the opportunity to take a little back.

It is pending on the credit/store card, I'm sure when it goes on there fully, OP will pay as the card will then be able to collect her DD which I guess is for the minimum payment which at the moment is £0. As it has only been 4 months there is plenty of time for it to appear.

Though I will say that OP has probably added to the furore on the thread by going on about theft, being annihilated and lots of other stuff for something that she has set up to pay and is on a credit card as pending, so basically waiting for the merchant to finish the transaction. So much drama about a pending payment.

Fuck em!!

Don't look a gift horse in the face!
Cover yourself by paying the total amount into a separate account incase it comes to light....ignore the immoral brigade....their talking from a hypothetical point, in reality most would do same as you....

It's not righteousness, it's just having morals and sticking with them. It's ok to lack morals, well, not ok but it's going to happen.

But don't try to justify that. You want a quick win that will benefit you regardless of the impact. It's as simple as that. Own your decisions. Don't try to make posters feel bad for promoting morality, it's what we should all be doing.

Years ago I bought a coat from Wallis's. It wasn't cheap back then. They harassed me into taking out a store card so I'd get 10% off (I hate debt but I was young and didn't like to keep saying no). Anyway, the bill never came. I had the money in my account for 2 years because I was terrified of getting chased but the bill never came. I like to think of myself as an honest person but it was technically their fault. Do what other posters are suggesting and keep the money aside and wait and see. Ps my coat was eventually passed down to someone in need so the company contributed to a good deed 😊

First honest comment! Bloody hell! I don't advocat stealing, but OP hasn't cancelled DD so I think "scummy, dishonest and cheap" is harsh and uncalled for. I would agree with leaving payment in the account just in case, the payment is pending so could be processed any day without warning - DD's depend on repayment plan. Is the OP sure they didn't agree to bnpl with 3/6/12 months deferred or DFP ( Deferred Payment Credit (DPC), also known as unregulated Buy Now Pay Later (BNPL)1, is a form of short-term, interest-free credit, commonly offered at the online checkout of retailers by a third-party credit provider) after which the term is 36 months with typical interest applied? Has OP fully read the agreement they signed? It's unlikely that this will not be picked up especially as the DD is on hold/pending. Cancelling DD would be admitting intent to defraud. The card and debt could be on credit record depending on what retailer was used or if third party (Next Card appears on credit report) There are free services that show report. Perhaps check them. Ultimately, it's their choice and what they can live with, but double check the agreement. I wouldn't call, but if it is due to be taken in 6 months, make sure you at least have that amount. Enjoy the tech, when they ask: pay . If it's an error and Should have paid all along have that money ready and pay. Refuse extra fees as they didn't take payment, op neither defaulted or withheld and if they've taken advice, have the payments in the bank. If they can no longer afford the repayments, speak with Citizens Advice or a debt advice agency, or the retailer - most will help you and it will stop interest on debt. Do not use card again.

On another note, I'd like to address the moral high ground: there really is no need to be so nasty to make a point or voice an opinion. It does not make you a better person. It just makes you mean. You have no idea how words like "scummy" could effect someone else. You don't know this person. For all you know they could be post natal and struggling, they could be going through a divorce or grieving or anything. You should choose how you respond and the words you use more carefully and if you can't make your point without resorting to name-calling then perhaps say nothing and quietly judge them in private.
OP: Good luck
Be kind

To be honest I'd be more worried about when it does eventually get sorted. It will likely get noticed at some point. Id be worried about the impact on your credit rating if you end up with an unpaid debt. My point being, by the time the company notices it could have a big bigger, negative impact on you than them.

Phone them and tell them- they will realise eventually!!

I won't comment on what you should do but if you decide to ride the wave I'd stick the monthly payments you would have paid in a savings account so that when they spot the error, and inevitably they will, it doesn't hit your cash flow.

@VidalSass So you are happy to teach your kids that theft is acceptable in self-defined circumstances. Especially if it's from a big company
I am sure that burglars can justify thieving, murderes can justify murder, peadophiles can justify theirxactions. But I can guarentee that if any of these impacted your life, you'd be calling for the death penalty and how disgusting breaking the law is

The DD isn’t pending, the authorisation for the original card transaction is pending and hasn’t been posted to the store card account. As the store card account shows a zero balance the amount to be claimed by direct debit as the minimum payment is also zero.
Given the OP states the issue is with the transaction posting in the first place and not the operation of the repayment mechanism there’s an astonishing number of posts focusing on the wrong thing.
Given the auth is still pending i.e. the funds remain reserved and not part of your available balance I’d expect the transaction may still eventually post. You might have a maximum time for a transaction to post in your t and c for the credit account. I suspect if you do contact the customer services concerned they will struggle to intervene to get the transaction to post given the nature of the automation around cards schemes handling millions of transaction per day.

Sticky wicket here.

When you think of what rich b... ds get away with this is low level.

why would she have to tell them?

i have just reread these post

absolutely ridiculous