Stemologica - me too - help **REFUNDED BY BANK**

[Meredithcamel]

Hi,

 

 

I have had exactly the same problem as everyone else

 

 

- and need a refund of over £200!!!.

 

 

Well done for getting a refund so efficiently.

 

 

Which phone number did you use to phone the company?

 

 

What address to send the stuff back?

 

 

It has a Canada address on the box, but did you send it there or to a UK address?

[dx100uk]

Returns Stemologica

Swift Park

Old Leicester Road

Rugby

CV21 1DZ

[Meredithcamel]

Thanks for the address. Much appreciated!

[dx100uk]

yes sorry

 

 

the forum was having issues before

 

 

don't forget you card company can also be involved...

 

 

GENERAL NOTES ON CHARGEBACK & Continuous Payment Authority & BACS

.....

We have been telling people to put a letter into their bank instructing them

not to make any payments under any circumstances to these companies

.

http://whatconsumer.co.uk/visa-debit-chargeback/- it works!

.

banks MUST follow written intructions from their customers !

.

This fsa guideicon has now been updated:

.

http://www.fsa.gov.uk/pubs/consumer_...ghts_guide.pdf

.

Here's the text:

.

Cancelling a regular

card payment:

.

When you give your credit or debit card details to a company and authorise them to take regular payments from your account,

such as for a gym membership or magazine subscription,

it is known as a ‘recurring transaction’ or ‘continuous payment authority’.

.

These are often confused with direct debits, but do not offer the same guarantee if the amount or date of the payment changes.

.

In most cases, regular payments can be cancelled by telling the company taking the payments.

.

However,

you have the right to cancel them directly with your bank or card issuer by telling it that you have stopped permission for the payments.

Your bank or card issuer must then stop them – it has no right to insist that you agree this first with the company taking the payments.

.

Be aware, though, that you will still be responsible for paying any money that you owe.

and that CANELLING YOUR CARD WILL NOT STOP THE CPA

.

see:

http://www.consumeractiongroup.co.uk...-Viewing)-nbsp

.

http://www.fsa.gov.uk/pages/consumer...ng/index.shtml

.

http://www.theguardian.com/money/201...?newsfeed=true

..

.

New june 2013

.

Regulator orders Banks and mutuals to review complaints about not cancelling recurring payments from November 2009.

.

Consumers who have set up a regular payment from their account will now be able to successfully cancel that arrangement

by contacting their card provider, the Financial Conduct Authority said.

.

The FCA has been examining how easy it is for customers to cancel Continuous Payment Authorities (CPAs)

due either to payday lendersicon or for other regular payments such as subscriptions or gymicon memberships.

.

CPAs, which are also commonly called recurring transactions or recurring payments,

are relatively easy to set up but can be hard to cancel, causing problems for consumers trying to manage their finances,the FCA said.

.

Now, following the FCA review of how the largest high street banks and mutuals process requests to cancel CPAs, they have agreed that they will ensure that when

a customer asks for a recurring payment to end, that will be sufficient to cancel the arrangement. They have also confirmed that should a payment go through by

mistake following cancellation by a customer the customer will be refunded immediately.

.

In addition to securing this commitment, the largest banks and mutuals have agreed to review every individual complaint they have received about the non-

cancellation of a CPA and to pay redress where payments have continued to be made despite the customer cancelling the arrangement. This applies to all complaints

since November 2009 when the Financial Services Authority, the FCA’s predecessor, began regulating banking conduct.

.

Clive Adamson, the FCA’s director of supervision, said: “It’s important that consumers are confident that banks are meeting their everyday banking needs. Today

customers can be confident that when they ask for a Continuous Payment Authority to be cancelled – it will be cancelled - and that it can be done easily.

.

“We recognise that historically this is an area where some customers have struggled but the banks and mutuals have responded positively to our work on this issue.

From now on we expect them to be getting this right. In addition, they have committed to review past complaints.”

.

http://www.ftadviser.com/2013/06/28/...J/article.html

.

Also mentioned your displeasure that as whomever took your money had obviously attempted this many times

probably activating your banks own anti fraud software - nobody had the decency to inform my you this was going on.?

.In the FSA's own words:

.

..

What should I do about a payment from my account that I didn’t authorise?

.

Your bank must refund an unauthorised transaction.

Money can only be taken from your account if you have authorised the transaction

or if your bank can prove you were at fault –

see below.

Contact your bank immediately if you notice an unauthorised payment from your account.

If you are sure you did not authorise the payment, you can claim a refund.

However, your bank does not have to refund you if you do not tell it about the payment until 13 months

or more after the date it left your account.

.

Your bank must refund an unauthorised transaction

.

------------------

.

Your bank may only refuse a refund for an unauthorised transaction if:

.

? it can prove you authorised the transaction

– though your bank cannot simply say that use of your password,

card and PIN proves you authorised a payment; or

? it can prove you are at fault because you acted fraudulently,

or because you deliberately,

or with gross negligence, failed to protect the details of your card, PIN or password in a way that allowed the transaction

.

-----------------------

.

How quickly must my bank refund me for an unauthorised transaction?

.

The bank must make the refund immediately unless it has evidence that one of the above reasons applies.

Your bank may ask you to answer some questions and fill out a form confirming what has happened,

but it cannot delay your refund while it waits for you to return the form.

If the bank has evidence that one of the above reasons for refusing a refund applies,

it may investigate before making a refund

but must look into it as quickly as possible.

If your bank rejects your claim for a refund it should explain why.

If the transaction was on a credit card, the refund may not happen immediately.

But the card issuer cannot charge interesticon or ask for repayment of the amount unless it can prove you are liable to pay

[/b]

These are your statutory rights under FSA regulations. They are not guidance.

.

if you did it by your banking portal:

.

then follow this:

.

http://www.consumeractiongroup.co.uk...73#post4534173

[Meredithcamel]

This is really helpful thanks. I will let you know how I get on.

[Meredithcamel]

Returns Stemologica

Swift Park

Old Leicester Road

Rugby

CV21 1DZ

 

 

This is an update after contacting Stemologica via email. They said they were only willing to refund the last package sent (worth £69.95). They would not refund any of the other unopened packages (worth £97.95 x2). Unfortunately the card details they have were cancelled by our bank as soon as we realised what was happening, and they are not willing to reimburse any other way. Our bank (Nat West) are currently looking into it for us, and may give us the money back themselves (?). Do you have any advice on how to proceed?

[dx100uk]

make natwest aware they will not refund?

 

 

 

 

dx

[Meredithcamel]

make natwest aware they will not refund?

 

 

 

 

dx

 

Hi, yes that's my next move.

 

 

Interesting though - my local branch have put the case in the hands of 'Visa debit disputes',

and don't seem interested in any updates I have.

 

 

I went in with a letter - putting in writing all the things you advised me to

(about stopping continuous payments - I even made photocopies of the emails I had received from Stemologica

- and they didn't want any of it!

 

 

I posted it through their letter box anyway.

 

 

I need to obtain a way of contacting the Visa debit people direct, if that's how it is done.

 

 

I think they said they will contact me on Monday now, so I will sort it out then hopefully.

 

 

The saga continues.

 

 

How does Stemoligica continue to do business like this?

 

 

There must be laws against this kind of practice?

 

Meredith

[dx100uk]

that might be the reason then

 

 

you need to ring the number on the debit card

 

 

and demand a chargeback.

[Meredithcamel]

Hi, the bank have refunded my account today!

 

 

Thanks for the encouragement to persist.

 

 

Obviously I am very pleased, but I am still quite annoyed that Stemologica will probably continue to do what they do.

 

 

They do not seem to be particularly upset by the complaints I have made.

 

 

Is anything happening to challenge them properly?

[Bazooka Boo]

If you have cancelled the CPA with the bank then there should be no further issues, however changing your debit card might be a better move.

 

You can always report the outfit to Action Fraud/TS for all the good it will do TBH....

[Meredithcamel]

Hi, yes I have already cancelled the 'continuous payment' and cancelled my card,

 

 

what I meant was - that Stemologica will continue to operate dodgey business practice and catch others out in the same way.

 

 

As far as I am aware the bank have reimbursed me but Stemologica have also kept the money.

 

 

So as far as they are concerned they have won.

 

 

Yes I could report them, but it sounds as if it won't do much good.

[Bazooka Boo]

No the bank will chase them for the money, at least they should do?

 

Whilst your individual complaint may not do anything, as a collective it will go to add weight to the hundreds if not thousands of others who have already made a complaint and this may then spur those who claim to police this industry into taking some action, it's worth a go.