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

Character is what you do when nobody's watching. Do you really want to be somebody who steals things?

I'd get in touch with them. At some point, it's pretty much inevitable that you'll have to pay what you owe, ao you might as well get started. Plus, if it's discovered that you were aware of the current situation and did nothing, that could have worse consequences for you.

Well I guess the real question here is are you prepared to pay the real cost, which will come at the expense of your self-esteem, if you contradict a core value of yours that stealing is wrong. Or maybe a handy little defence called rationalisation will come in and magic that uncomfortable truth away. Like someone else on another thread currently saying a coffee is 'overpriced' which makes it OK for someone to steal a bag of crisps.

You have the item in your house and you had assumed you had paid for it. You have now found out that you haven't paid for it. You need to sort it out. You may get away with it for a while but it will come back and bite you.

I doubt it will go unnoticed for long OP so you should keep the money aside and be prepared to pay for the next 6 years.

It’s definitely fraud and deeply dishonest. Stop trying to justify it.

But the OP Might not have realised that the payments weren't being taken for ages, if ever. It depends on the amount involved - if a standing order of £300 per month wasn't being taken from my account then I would notice it, but I doubt that I'd realise if I had an extra £50 each month.

I wonder if your item requires a warranty, if that is valid?

I too received a 'freebie' once. The original was damaged. The company sent men to collect it. They delivered another at the same time.
I wasn't home, a relative took new delivery. Except I hadn't asked for a replacement. And I'd been refunded.
Still using the item 30+ years later.

I’d double check – could be 6 years after either the first payment or the last payment was due.

Are you sure it’s not just one of those deals where you pay nothing for the first X months? Which is why it’s still showing as pending, and will turn into a transaction in the month where the first payment falls due? Check all the T&Cs you signed up to, to be sure what you’re dealing with. If you should have been paying, then in your shoes I’d get in touch, because I am honest, and also wouldn’t want my credit rating damaged if I needed credit in future.

I'd set the money aside every month just in case then cotton on to their error, then wait and see what happens. In situations like this my motto is 'it's not my job to do their job for them.'

Are you sure it’s not just one of those deals where you pay nothing for the first X months?

I also wondered that.

Also as you say, it does say pending-not paid in full!

Years ago a DD failed to come out of my account. Phoned the company but was told it was OK. I worked in finance and felt something was wrong. Phoned again and got a very helpful woman who investigated it and eventually received a letter to say the payment would be taken out of my account on a certain date. It never was and I gave up at that stage.

Curry's for instance make it clear that in relation to the 36 month interest free deal "Late fees/charges may apply to missed payments and impact your credit file."

If you don't tell them ASAP, you're likely to get a nasty surprise. They're not stupid you know & they have the upper hand. It will come back to bite you.

I agree. Not sure why individuals have to act in a moral way towards big companies who treat their customers (and employees) very badly.

But make sure you have the money somewhere safe so you can provide it if and when they ask for it.

Meh… it’s interesting how the relationship with large corporations is adversarial rather than cooperative. But not surprising when so many themselves break the social contract (which is what morals relate to). Things like artificially inflating the prices of inexpensive items (phone chargers, for example) and making generic versions incompatible, profiteering, unethical marketing, privacy violations, built-in obsolescence, etc, etc. – just a few examples.

Ultimately, you need to ask yourself: what would Martin Lewis say?

I don't think you're obliged to correct their mistake for them, noble as that would be, but I don't think you can count on them not rectifying it. The charge is shown as pending, not absent or settled, so it does seem likely they'll clock it eventually.

@Charliecatpaws it's not fraud. It's theft. It's an ongoing misappropriation of goods. Your definition of fraud would involve a statement, not an omission. (Am a lawyer)

It's on a store card so nothing to do with the direct debit or the bank, the direct debit won't be collected if there is nothing to pay, it will probably just appear on the store card at some point and you just have to pay that off in the 36 months.

I agree. Would it go along the lines of 'unjust enrichment' or does that normally apply to when a sum of money gets deposited into a bank account when it shouldn't have been? (Like the million £ example upthread).

How much was it?

@Abi86 Ok fair point, if that's how it would be viewed then I would probably mention it at my next shop and offer the 20p. No big deal. What I meant was I wouldn't go out of my way (as in drive to the shop specifically) to pay back the 20p.

This!!!

Jesus. These self righteous posters are hilarious. Must be exhausting being them. 😂

Do nothing. But be prepared to pay if it comes up.

Its definitely not stealing.

You set up a direct debit and they failed to do their part.

I would just leave it as it is but be prepared it might come to light one day.

It will probably just appear at some stage if it says pending on the store card statement