Security of card details

[twilightstruggle]

Hey there.

This is a bit of an aibu regarding money. We've recently bought a new build house and are currently moving towards completion. The customer service has been generally atrocious. Phone calls not being returned, forms we've filled in being lost, being stood up for meetings etc, so I'm already fairly cross with them.

We have to pay for our 'options' (carpets, tiles etc) before completion and I phoned up yesterday to do this. Dutifully gave my card details only for our sales manager to say she would ring me back to confirm its gone through. She subsequently doesn't phone back which DH and I joke is fairly typical. I check my emails this morning and I have one from her sent yesterday saying as she wasn't able to get hold of a card machine she is going to put the payment through today and let me know. Which presumably means my card details are scribbled somewhere... Is this bad (it feels very insecure, not least because she's lost our paperwork in the past) or has she pushed me to the point that I'm being totally unreasonable? Has she technically done something wrong? Is it against any kind of commercial laws?

Boring thread I know - apologies!

People who take card payments have to abide by PCIDSS regulations for security of the card details they are entrusted with processing

Basically if they have written them on a piece of paper and left them lying around they will have broken these regs

PCIDSS stands for payment card industry data security standards and certification lasts a year at a time

Every year you have to fill in a risk questionnaire with regards to the details you process, who has access to the date etc and written copies should be stored securely

This is in your case to prevent card details being picked up off someone's desk during a break in which if they had had happen last night would have compromised your card details

I'd be making a big complaint about it. Perhaps it will mean you get some money back or something to make you feel better about your poor treatment. Unless she is meaning to call you again but hasn't made that clear?

Thanks cheerup and McBear for your responses.

I do really want to complain as it has been one thing after another - I guess that's the reason behind my post (wanting to know what tangible thing I was complaining for if you see what I mean). I'm a bit passive and not terribly good at complaining but really I'm getting so frustrated.

I e-mailed her this morning to say I really wasn't happy and could she please put the payment through asap, and contact me when it went through and reassure me that the details had been destroyed. She hasn't replied all day, or got in touch as she'd originally said she would do. Unfortunately I've got out of work late and been unable to catch her. I've checked my bank and the money hasn't been taken. Its especially frustrating because I wouldn't normally keep a large sum in my current account anyway.

I'm going to google and see what experiences other customers have of complaining. I guess I'm anxious because this company have a large sum of our money as a deposit and we're not due to complete until December - I guess I have an irrational fear that she can mess it up for us and we could lose our money (ridiculous I know). Also I speak to her and she just seems to pacify me and I end up apologising for being a pain - grrrr. Must grow a backbone!

Not ridiculous at all, I'd have the same worry and I'm certain others would.

Is that the norm with new builds? That's a very long time for someone to have a lot of your money. I'd be on edge to.

Did this get resolved?