Maybe he was,maybe he wasn't

[DaveA1]

Just had a Telephone call from a very personable sounding man offering me three months subscription, at a pound a month, of any combination of Haymarket publications, sounded good until he asked me for bank details, that was the end of our conversation, no way was I going to give that sort of information to somebody over the phone, who I don't know from Adam..
For Lizzie P. If he was a Haymarket employee, then can you ask Haymarket not to ever cold call me again.
If it was a scam (apologies to Lizzie P)) then everybody be aware that it's happening and it's very easy to be sucked in, I almost was

 

[Kiveton]

Well done for ringing off, Dave.

 

[Brasso530]

I must admit dave,I was a little sceptical about being asked for bank details,but as he explained you can't do anything with someone's bank account number and sort code other than give THEM money,Your bank checks with you as to your request to deal with said company.
Anyway,just had my 3rd issue for £3. All good.

 

[Craigyoung]

Genuine. I signed up for it a few years ago but cancelled after i got the mags but now have the number blocked as they're a bit off a pain ! ! As someone said to me , " you actually gave your proper phone number out to them at sometime !! "

 

[Martin24]

Genuine. I signed up for it a few years ago but cancelled after i got the mags but now have the number blocked as they're a bit off a pain ! ! As someone said to me , " you actually gave your proper phone number out to them at sometime !! "

my home phone number is 00000 000000

 

[otherclive]

Every time you set up a direct debit you give your account and sort code numbers, and as said above your bank will notify you the debit has been set up.

 

[DaveA1]

Thanks All
Think I'll stick to not giving any details at all to anyone on the phone
'

 

[DrZhivago]

Every time you set up a direct debit you give your account and sort code numbers

That's one of several reasons why I don't like direct debits.

and as said above your bank will notify you the debit has been set up.

That's if the Post Office don't lose it (it happens around here) or, if by email, I don't notice that it went in the spam filter. Despite continuous nagging from HSBC I have never given them my email address because I know that they would bombard it with spam while at the same time I would have to keep the channel open because they would also send important notifications that way. By forcing them to send me important notifications by post it moderates how much junk they send (there is still some I must admit).

 

[otherclive]

Every time you set up a direct debit you give your account and sort code numbers

That's one of several reasons why I don't like direct debits.

and as said above your bank will notify you the debit has been set up.

That's if the Post Office don't lose it (it happens around here) or, if by email, I don't notice that it went in the spam filter. Despite continuous nagging from HSBC I have never given them my email address because I know that they would bombard it with spam while at the same time I would have to keep the channel open because they would also send important notifications that way. By forcing them to send me important notifications by post it moderates how much junk they send (there is still some I must admit).

Clearly some banks aren’t so good as others in their service. I’m with Natwest and they don’t send any marketing by emails or by post. The only communications are related to when I set up a new payee, notification of statement or details of changes to procedures.

 

[LizziePope]

Just had a Telephone call from a very personable sounding man offering me three months subscription, at a pound a month, of any combination of Haymarket publications, sounded good until he asked me for bank details, that was the end of our conversation, no way was I going to give that sort of information to somebody over the phone, who I don't know from Adam..
For Lizzie P. If he was a Haymarket employee, then can you ask Haymarket not to ever cold call me again.
If it was a scam (apologies to Lizzie P)) then everybody be aware that it's happening and it's very easy to be sucked in, I almost was

Thanks, Dave, for letting me know about this. I will make some enquiries. Just so I know, are you or have you ever been a subscription holder?

 

[DaveA1]

Hi Lizzie
Yes I have subscribed for a number of years, I have, intentionally let it slip this year, didn't use a DD, think I've got one more issue left.

 

[panther1]

No offence meant to you Dave but I'm guessing you or of a certain age that thinks bad things will happen if you give your bank details to anyone,

It won't, there is nothing ANYONE can do with them other than put money INTO your account
I export commercial vehicles all over the world & will happily give my bank details to anyone that asks for an invoice!

My dad is the same & still insists in sending cheques out to pay for things (ironically with all his bank details on!)

 

[DaveA1]

]No offence meant to you Dave[/b] but I'm guessing you or of a certain age that thinks bad things will happen if you give your bank details to anyone,

It won't, there is nothing ANYONE can do with them other than put money INTO your account
I export commercial vehicles all over the world & will happily give my bank details to anyone that asks for an invoice!

My dad is the same & still insists in sending cheques out to pay for things (ironically with all his bank details on!)

None taken Panther. As it was the lad was genuine, but there are so many incidents of people being sucked in to scams that I'm very suspicious of anybody who cold call, even if I have or haven't tick a box, whichever question was asked, at some time in the past . If I buy van or car spares, I nearly always go to my local stealer of motor factor and buy them over the counter. He was asking to set up a DD to pay a pound a month.

 

[StuBob57]

"but as he explained you can't do anything with someone's bank account number and sort code other than give THEM money"

Jeremy Clarkson thought that too, he was proved wrong, they can remove money from your account by knowing the account details ... not sure how, but they can!

 

[otherclive]

"but as he explained you can't do anything with someone's bank account number and sort code other than give THEM money"

Jeremy Clarkson thought that too, he was proved wrong, they can remove money from your account by knowing the account details ... not sure how, but they can!

Yes one of my son in laws lost money via PayPal linking to his account and someone managed to get a big chunk taken out. However he had given Paypal authority to link into his account and it was several years ago. Since then paypals procedures have changed.

 

[DrZhivago]

It won't, there is nothing ANYONE can do with them other than put money INTO your account

... and remove money from it by Direct Debit [DD].

I have paid for things using a debit card and it seems to be treated by the "merchant" as a green flag to take money from my account by DD whenever they like ever after. House insurance is an example. Two years ago I paid for house insurance over the phone giving my bank card (also known as a "Debit Card") details. I did so because paying by credit card would have incurred a 2% surcharge. The following year, while looking round for a possible better deal, I was taken aback* to discover that the insurance company had already taken a further year's premium (higher of course) by means of the DD mechanism.

Now I thought using Debit Card was simply a way of paying something directly to a merchant, without a credit card company intermediary getting a cut of it, but it seems to have become regarded as an impicit initiation of a DD agreement. There was a time when a DD agreement required the completion of a signed form, but that seems to have gone out of the window. I seem to be in a minority in raising even an eyebrow to the free and easy way that merchants use or misuse DD, and the pressure we are put under to go along with it (like the 2% surcharge I mentioned); most people just seem to mutter the mantra "For peace of mind" that is rammed down our throats, as if it is not the merchants' peace of mind rather than their customers'.

Talking of generations, it seems that the younger one has allowed the distinction between a "Direct Debit" and a Debit card payment to have become blurred, and are happy to have their money batted around between bankers and other middlemen, each knocking a bit off along the way. This is because, as my daughter puts it, they "haven't got the time to think about it and it's all boring anyway".

* So why was I not warned of the upcoming DD payment that the DD guarantee says you must get? Well maybe it went in my spam filter. Maybe it was lost in the post (as often around here). The on-line bank cannot show upcoming DDs because they are unpredictable - that is their point. So do those count as an "error" that the DD guarntee is supposed to compensate for? My error? The postman's error? My spam filter's error? Who knows?

 

[otherclive]

Many organisations when you renew offer automatic payment from your original card, whether it be debit or credit. It’s nit a direct debit though. But I cannot recall any of mine not having notified me in writing what the premium will be and what card it will be taken from. This then allows me to look around and if necessary tell the organisation if I don’t wish to renew with them before payment is taken.

When I look at my current account I can see all DD and the likely date for requesting payment, which will vary a bit depending on the requester submitting the debit request. But whilst I don’t use mobile banking apps I must say our banking works very smoothly and having the facility on line to set up new payees with the encryption machine works well.

 

[DrZhivago]

Many organisations when you renew offer automatic payment from your original card, whether it be debit or credit. It’s nit a direct debit though.

I didn't realise it was not DD - even worse then if it does not have the "Direct Debit Guarantee".

When I look at my current account I can see all DD and the likely date for requesting payment, which will vary a bit depending on the requester submitting the debit request.

The variation is part of the problem. If your house insurer has put the price up by £25 say, it can plunge you into the red and then the bank can whack you with an overdraft fee. That is if you overlooked or forget the DD prior notification you are supposed to get, or if the postman lost it, or it went in your spam filter.

Yes, my online banking can tell me what DDs I have, but not how much the next ones will be. They could if it were a standing order, but service companies don't like those because they get more inertia against raising the price.

 

[Dustydog]

Lizzie
I received this via email today. Very tempting but a bit of a kick for a long tem subscriber hmy:
Seems their sensitivity filter is missing
And before someone says it , no I am not cancelling and restarting. Too much hassle :evil:
https://www.themagazineshop.com/jan184e/

 

[otherclive]

Lizzie
I received this via email today. Very tempting but a bit of a kick for a long tem subscriber hmy:
Seems their sensitivity filter is missing
And before someone says it , no I am not cancelling and restarting. Too much hassle :evil:
https://www.themagazineshop.com/jan184e/

Crikey £1 per month I might even start a regular subscription again. Although since December I have cancelled my daily paper subs as I’ve got s pile of books that I’m behind in reading.
But looking deeper the £1 per issue doesn’t last very long. Back to planA and buy off the cuff when passing a magazine stand.

 

[panther1]

"but as he explained you can't do anything with someone's bank account number and sort code other than give THEM money"

Jeremy Clarkson thought that too, he was proved wrong, they can remove money from your account by knowing the account details ... not sure how, but they can!

That was a DD charge to a charity (& I suspect a publicity stunt)
Scammers don't get access to funds from the Direct Debit scheme & if they did you would have the DD guarantee on your side,
I give my bank details to Russians, Albanians, Nigerians, Kenyans even the Welsh! & if it was possible one of them would of done it! ;-)

 

[Gafferbill]

My experience is that direct debits can be set up on a bank a/c without the holders authority.......all that is needed is the sort code and a/c number.

I used to police my late mother's bank a/c via internet banking checking for any unauthorised activity.
I twice found fraudulent direct debits had been set up by organisations unknown to my mother.
The direct debits were immediately cancelled and the money refunded by the bank after I visited the local branch and made a claim.
I suspect the elderly are targeted with this type of activity.

This BBC article shows the weakness in the system

 

[colin-yorkshire]

I never set up DD's or give bank details over the phone. and for good reason a while ago I got a cold call from the gas board. your payments are changing they said we need to check your account and bank details.
can you give me your account number and DD instructions.
er NO I said. sorry I don't give that information over the phone. well we really need it to proceed.
so I replied well in that case all I can say is they were correct last month and this month so they must be correct for next month. yes they said but we still have to check.
ok then try this. if you have my number and address in front of you on the screen there must be the details on there that you require. you tell me what you have and I will either confirm or deny them. at which point the line went dead.
guess I just avoided a scammer. sounded very professional they did. you have to be very careful with your details over the phone and internet.

 

[Raywood]

Not had that scam but I have had "we are from Microsoft, your computer is running slowly and we will fix it for you". I just say we have an Apple which stops them dead in their tracks. My sister however just regards it as a bit of fun and sees how long she can keep them on line before they rumble they are being duped. I think 25 minutes is her best so far.
I agree that a firm with your bank details already would not need to ask for them and that is a clear indication of a fishing scam.
The other thing that annoys me is people with a strong indian or similar accent ringing and trying to tell me their name is David or something totally wrong. I then point out they have lied to me from the start so there is no way I am going to deal with someone who starts by telling me a lie. Frankly I cannot see why they do not use their real name in which case I might listen to them, even though I never buy anything from a cold caller..

 

[KeefySher]

Not had that scam but I have had "we are from Microsoft, your computer is running slowly and we will fix it for you". I just say we have an Apple which stops them dead in their tracks. My sister however just regards it as a bit of fun and sees how long she can keep them on line before they rumble they are being duped. I think 25 minutes is her best so far.
I agree that a firm with your bank details already would not need to ask for them and that is a clear indication of a fishing scam.
The other thing that annoys me is people with a strong indian or similar accent ringing and trying to tell me their name is David or something totally wrong. I then point out they have lied to me from the start so there is no way I am going to deal with someone who starts by telling me a lie. Frankly I cannot see why they do not use their real name in which case I might listen to them, even though I never buy anything from a cold caller..

My record is 47 minutes on the "windows security' scam calls. I start by saying I can see my table top from my window, we had a dining table in the conservatory that can be seen from the kitchen, through the window!! I'll let them run and run. When I get bored I then unleash a torrent of abuse about their parentage, scammers and trying to con people and sign off wishing them a long and painful death!!. I occasionally mention I only run Macs.

When a certain double glazing company call, I describe the bodge job on my neighbours house with soffits and cladding that is not square and level, windows that don't lock, and ask if they would buy such poor workmanship as they are trying to sell me.

The 'energy' people who knock on my front door to sell me solar panels. I'll ask if they have a compass, or depending on the time of day to find the sun in the sky. If they don't cotton on, I explain they are stood on the north side of my house, if they walked a few yards around the corner they would see the south facing roof full of 14 solar panels!! Or the telesales who have looked on google maps and seen the roof is panel free. Google is out of date, by nearly 6 years. But google says, so it must be right, innit??