[drummerjohn]

I had a Sky Credit Card up until Dec 08. I cleared off the debt and closed the accoun which Sky confirmed to me in writing.

I have just recieved a Sky statment (the first one in three months) showing a charge to my account by ID Protection of £60.

Spoke to Sky and they said it must be a subscription. I was bemused. Yes, I had a subscription but surely Sky shouldn't allow companies to charge a CLOSED account.

They told me I have to pay it and cancel the subscription.

I wrote to Sky and they sent me a letter confirming I have to pay.

I have written to the FSO in hope they will intervene.

Am I going mad - how can a closed account be charged - it makes no sense.

[PoochJD]

Hi,

If you still have a legitimate, dated letter from Sky to you, stating the account is closed, then I would suggest to you that you LET Sky take you to court (at their time and expense), and then when it goes to court, you can show the court the letter, and Sky will look very, very stupid, and also you can then start-up a counter-claim for say £100, for the cost involved to you, to attend the court, the time off work you lost, and any other expenses!

I've done this with a council before, who claimed I owed them money, but to which I had a letter stating all payments had been paid and received in full. When they took me to court, the court judge laughed at the council representative, and I was offered £50 in compensation, for them wasting my time and effort! The council was also reprimanded for wasting the court's time too!


Pooch

[gavan]

Originally Posted by drummerjohn

I had a Sky Credit Card up until Dec 08. I cleared off the debt and closed the accoun which Sky confirmed to me in writing.

I have just recieved a Sky statment (the first one in three months) showing a charge to my account by ID Protection of £60.

Spoke to Sky and they said it must be a subscription. I was bemused. Yes, I had a subscription but surely Sky shouldn't allow companies to charge a CLOSED account.

They told me I have to pay it and cancel the subscription.

I wrote to Sky and they sent me a letter confirming I have to pay.

I have written to the FSO in hope they will intervene.

Am I going mad - how can a closed account be charged - it makes no sense.

You can't really 'close' a credit card for good. If you have authorised a continuous payment on it (sort of like a direct debit to a bank account) then the company who issued the card will honour it and charge you.

It's up to you to make sure these payments are cancelled or changed to a valid card/account.

There are endless problems with companies who continue to charge a card on a continuous payment authorisation even after the customer has said they want to cancel a service/subscription so never, ever use a credit card for this. Go with a direct debit instead, where you have a lot more control.

[FZR400RRSP]

Originally Posted by gavan

You can't really 'close' a credit card for good.

I don't know what you mean by this, as it's perfectly possible to close a credit card for good.
I've done it loads of times.
Move the balance to another card, close the account that is now at zero.
They will try and convince you to keep it open "for emergencies" and crap like that, but you just stick to your guns and tell them you want it closed.
If you don't close the accounts, your credit rating can be affected.
Because 'the system' will show you already have 'open' credit of £xxxx, even though you're not actually using it.
So better to close the account, than have it still open but sitting at zero.

[gavan]

Originally Posted by bowfer

I don't know what you mean by this, as it's perfectly possible to close a credit card for good.
I've done it loads of times.
Move the balance to another card, close the account that is now at zero.
They will try and convince you to keep it open "for emergencies" and crap like that, but you just stick to your guns and tell them you want it closed.
If you don't close the accounts, your credit rating can be affected.
Because 'the system' will show you already have 'open' credit of £xxxx, even though you're not actually using it.
So better to close the account, than have it still open but sitting at zero.

Why you should never set up continuous payment on a credit card:

BBC NEWS | Programmes | Moneybox | Warning over credit trap


Interesting thread on expired cards being charged:

Moneysupermarket.com - Expired Credit/Debit cards can still be charged

EDIT: Another one, card charged 2 1/2 years after it was closed:

http://www.moneysupermarket.com/comm...ccou-9373.aspx


Bottom line - it's possible to get the money back once it's been charged but it will take a lot of time and effort.

[FZR400RRSP]

I never set up any direct debits on a credit card, so I'm fine there.
My account is closed, it stays closed!

[drummerjohn]

Thanks for you input guys.

I am going to go for the "I have no knowledge of this charge" and make them work for it. It will get refuted with ID Protection and they will have to prove that I entered into some sort of subscription or continual payment.

[prking]

Originally Posted by bowfer

I don't know what you mean by this, as it's perfectly possible to close a credit card for good.
I've done it loads of times.
Move the balance to another card, close the account that is now at zero.
They will try and convince you to keep it open "for emergencies" and crap like that, but you just stick to your guns and tell them you want it closed.
If you don't close the accounts, your credit rating can be affected.
Because 'the system' will show you already have 'open' credit of £xxxx, even though you're not actually using it.
So better to close the account, than have it still open but sitting at zero.

Poor advice.

I would advise anyone to seek proper financial advice, rather than follow this sort of innacurate post.