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

Yes it's their error, but you KNOW you've bought the item(s). You know you owe the money. You can't plead ignorance. So pay it. FWIW not quite the same thing, but we had an insurance policy one year that we paid for monthly. For whatever reason, the payments didn't go out and we didn't notice. When renewal time came, you can bet they did notice and expected us to pay the whole lot there and then, otherwise we wouldn't have been covered for that year just gone.

If you decide to wait and see, don't be surprised if it does eventually catch up with you months from now and you are required to pay a lump sum there and then. It's interest free so you shouldn't need to worry about that being added on. But you agreed to the contract to buy the item(s), so you will pay for it/them eventually, one way or another.

This. Just make sure that your credit score isn’t affected.

but am also thinking here that you’ll be wondering for a long time when it will catch up with you

So, you’re happy to thieve, just not be a big time thief? It’s either one or the other, surely? Or is your virtue ambiguous?

DO NOTHING, you gave them all the correct information . See what happens .

Surely intent is part of the equation? In the carrier bag example, it’s an honest mistake.

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

Has not occurred to you that the money they lose on this item will, along with other theft costs, be added back into the prices that other customers pay?

Exactly. She agreed to the purchase and the monthly payments. If they don't discover the issue soon, chances are something might trigger when the 36 months are up, as the direct debit will end. Except nothing will have been paid - if they then demand all the cash in one hit and the OP can't pay...

Err, yes, that's what justify means.

It would take less than 5 minutes to compose an email/contact form. Not long enough to invoice them for your time.

She has 'owned that she's stealing' 🤦‍♀️ Did you bother to read the post before you clutched your pearls?

I would call them, morals aside… I mean how large are we talking here. You have 36mths interest free, what if in another few mths they process the item and you don’t have long enough to pay it back b4 you start getting charged interest

OP signed up with the INTENT on paying!!

They have failed to set things up on their end.

So if OP is chasing this up, do you think the creditor is going to pay her for her time?

I don’t believe for a second that anyone wouldn’t have the same question. It’s not like she can turn around and walk in the shop and say hey you forgot to charge me. And at the same time who wants to spend who knows how much time dealing with their mistake?

its a binary situation: she invests her time fixing their mistake. Or she doesn’t.

Bank error in your favour. Collect £200 (or whatever the amount was in this case).

@RachelSTG A smaller company might have an email or contact form, and the information actually might end up going to the right person. Have you actually tried fixing this type of thing with a bigger company? I've tried it with Amazon recently. Yes, you can access their web chat, but it takes an hour to connect, and once you do, no one can actually fix the issue.

I currently work for a large electrical retailer in head office and it wouldn't go unnoticed with them, slow to fix yes but they'll get there eventually. Read the terms of the repayment plan again but I think it states that you as the person who took out the loan has to ensure monthly repayments are made.

You could get to 34 months before they notice and they make you repay the whole thing within 2 months or start racking up interest.

Also don't forget the impact to your credit score if you're not making your monthly payments.

I would wait and see. Obviously I'd pay when the bill arrived, but not before.

You’re 100% right that it is stealing I’m afraid and there are many cases of people genuinely going to prison for theft in circumstances similar to this.
you know what they say, if something seems too good to be true then it probably is.
Also, I wouldn’t wager that just because the online portal that you can view as a customer shows £0 payment due etc, that the version of the system that the company views shows the same. In my time working in credit management I’ve seen multiple instances where the customers version on their portal doesn’t show all of the information that actually exists. Not at all ideal I know.
The best thing to do would to be to face into this now before it becomes a monster with serious consequences and just call the company and get the situation resolved. It’s a bugger as a lovely freebie would be brilliant, but sadly I don’t think this one is worth it in the long run.

Definitely keep the money to one side if you’re not going to flag it up. You’ll either have to pay up or have a bit of money saved. But this could go on for years so you’re going to have to take that into consideration. I was once paid for a couple of weeks work (I hadn’t done) after I’d left a casual job. I informed the agency twice and kept the extra to one side. I kept it for a couple of years, nothing was ever done about it so I kept it with no conscience. I’d done my bit.

The thing is you’re basing the morals on not having seen the 0 but you have seen it. Anyway I have loads of glitches like this on credit for stores etc, it always corrects itself so I wouldn’t get too excited.

You’re trying wildly to justify what’s essentially theft if you don’t pay for it. And no, 99% of people wouldn’t keep a random £1m deposited in their bank account. They’d freak out, contact their bank to find out wtf is going on and let the bank handle it because the vast majority aren’t thief’s.

You will be liable to interest on any unpaid balance. It might currently say 0 but if they pick up on this not paid (&they very easily could) then the finance cost will be extortionate. Just pay up.

A mistake on their part that she may not have noticed isn't fraud. There has to be provable intent.

I’m not the poster you are asking but is happened to me , you get the delivery and then it comes again. One was an Etsy seller, I emailed and he was really grateful and sent me a refund of an amount to cover me posting the duplicate back.

Also what’s with the teenage comments, ‘hur dur I only steal off da big companies’. Number 1 you don’t know which company op is on about, number 2 you’re just as bad as the morals of the capitalist faux enemy you’re talking about then. Who cares that will impact families when people are made redundant. Teenage shite. Go and live in Venezuela.

She hasn't though. Her "end" is payment and she's fully aware it's not been taken. It may be their mistake but mistakes happen and that doesn't take her responsibility away.