Iosefa has a credit card. In early July 2024, he contacted the card issuer via their online live chat service to cancel the direct debit payment he used to pay off his credit card. About three weeks later, $7,500 was deducted from Iosefa’s bank account by the card issuer via direct debit.
Iosefa complained that the card issuer should have cancelled his direct debit payment when he asked them to. He said that they had no authority to deduct the money from his account and it had put him in an extremely stressful situation because he had a mortgage payment due. Iosefa said that the card issuers customer service was poor, and their employee had been rude to him when he called to try and resolve the issue.
The card issuer apologised for the oversight and agreed that should have cancelled the direct debit when Iosefa made his request. They were willing to work with Iosefa to resolve his complaint.
Review
It was clear that Iosefa had asked for his direct debit to be cancelled in early July 2024, but the card issuer had not done so. When listening to the phone calls between Iosefa and the card issuer, we could see that Iosefa had been trying to get his money returned but had been unsuccessful.
The card issuer returned Iosefa’s $7,500 during our investigation and offered Iosefa a $1,250 credit to his account to recognise the stress and inconvenience that the situation had caused him. Our view was that the card issuer’s offer was a reasonable settlement offer.
Resolution
Iosefa accepted the card issuer’s offer, and we closed our file.
Insights for participants
Human errors or oversights are not uncommon. However, it is important that participants ensure that their staff receive appropriate training, and their systems are kept up to date, to minimise the risk of oversights occurring.
When an oversight occurs, it’s important to put it right for the client as soon as possible.
