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Stop direct debit from (unknown) dating site

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  • 16-05-2015 3:35pm
    #1
    rawn
    Registered Users Posts: 3,093 ✭✭✭


    Hi guys, this is the only forum I could think to put this in, please move it if there is a more appropriate forum.

    My dad used several dating sites up until a few years ago. When he met his current partner over 2 years ago he stopped using them, and shut down his accounts (he thinks - he may have missed some). He's a bit crap technology/finance-wise, and only recently signed up for online banking. He noticed that money has been taken out from companies he didn't recognise. One of them was Webdev Ltd, which apparently owns several different dating sites. The payments seem irregular, for example one was at the beginning of May for €21.45, another was a few days ago €44.22. Does anyone have any advice on how to stop these? Can he just ask the bank to stop the payments? I think he might be charged if he is technically in contract with the sites. The thing is he has no way of knowing what the sites are that he is being charged for to check the T&C's. Any advice would be much appreciated.


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    #2
    GerardKeating
    Registered Users Posts: 7,673 ✭✭✭GerardKeating


    rawn wrote: »
    Hi guys, this is the only forum I could think to put this in, please move it if there is a more appropriate forum.

    My dad used several dating sites up until a few years ago. When he met his current partner over 2 years ago he stopped using them, and shut down his accounts (he thinks - he may have missed some). He's a bit crap technology/finance-wise, and only recently signed up for online banking. He noticed that money has been taken out from companies he didn't recognise. One of them was Webdev Ltd, which apparently owns several different dating sites. The payments seem irregular, for example one was at the beginning of May for €21.45, another was a few days ago €44.22. Does anyone have any advice on how to stop these? Can he just ask the bank to stop the payments? I think he might be charged if he is technically in contract with the sites. The thing is he has no way of knowing what the sites are that he is being charged for to check the T&C's. Any advice would be much appreciated.

    Report all of the "unauthorised" DD to his Bank, this will stop any future DD's and ask for any in the past 2 years to be reversed, the new SEPA rules gives one more rights.


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    #3
    davo10
    Closed Accounts Posts: 6,926 ✭✭✭davo10


    Sites which provide personal services are often discreet and the DD will not reflect the type of service (think how his new partner would feel if she saw "Tina's dating service" on your dad's credit card bill) Your dad needs to contact all the sites to ensure the accounts are closed, he may have missed some, he will have agreed to t&c's which allowed the site to debit his account, if he just stops the dd at the bank, they will be able to contact him regarding payment.


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    #4
    rawn
    Registered Users Posts: 3,093 ✭✭✭rawn


    davo10 wrote: »
    Sites which provide personal services are often discreet and the DD will not reflect the type of service (think how his new partner would feel if she saw "Tina's dating service" on your dad's credit card bill) Your dad needs to contact all the sites to ensure the accounts are closed, he may have missed some, he will have agreed to t&c's which allowed the site to debit his account, if he just stops the dd at the bank, they will be able to contact him regarding payment.

    Yeah he's not disputing that they shouldn't have taken it, it's just that to his memory he closed all his accounts, and since it's been so long it will be hard to remember login names and passwords, plus the email account he used was a vodafone mail account and they're now defunct


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    #5
    davo10
    Closed Accounts Posts: 6,926 ✭✭✭davo10


    rawn wrote: »
    Yeah he's not disputing that they shouldn't have taken it, it's just that to his memory he closed all his accounts, and since it's been so long it will be hard to remember login names and passwords, plus the email account he used was a vodafone mail account and they're now defunct

    In your op you said "he may have missed some". Just type the info you have into Google and into domain registration search and see what comes up. Type what ever names come up into Google etc etc, if you search hard enough you will find what you are looking for.

    I suppose by stopping the DD you can be sure that eventually someone will contact you so you could wait for an email/text/letter to arrive from the site.


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    #6
    uck51js9zml2yt
    Closed Accounts Posts: 18,268 ✭✭✭✭uck51js9zml2yt


    looks like its the Irish times

    http://dating.irishtimes.com/dating-articles-terms-and-conditions


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    #7
    ytpe2r5bxkn0c1
    Closed Accounts Posts: 32,688 ✭✭✭✭ytpe2r5bxkn0c1


    Giana Creamy Machine wrote: »
    looks like its the Irish times

    http://dating.irishtimes.com/dating-articles-terms-and-conditions

    :confused: Why?


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    #8
    uck51js9zml2yt
    Closed Accounts Posts: 18,268 ✭✭✭✭uck51js9zml2yt


    Phoebe Mysterious Banker wrote: »
    :confused: Why?

    Maybe because it says so in the first line.
    Irish times dating site


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    #9
    ytpe2r5bxkn0c1
    Closed Accounts Posts: 32,688 ✭✭✭✭ytpe2r5bxkn0c1


    Giana Creamy Machine wrote: »
    Maybe because it says so in the first line.
    Irish times dating site

    Webdev is hosted by many outlets. IT is only one of them!


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    #10
    MadDog76
    Closed Accounts Posts: 5,162 ✭✭✭MadDog76


    rawn wrote: »
    Hi guys, this is the only forum I could think to put this in, please move it if there is a more appropriate forum.

    My dad used several dating sites up until a few years ago. When he met his current partner over 2 years ago he stopped using them, and shut down his accounts (he thinks - he may have missed some). He's a bit crap technology/finance-wise, and only recently signed up for online banking. He noticed that money has been taken out from companies he didn't recognise. One of them was Webdev Ltd, which apparently owns several different dating sites. The payments seem irregular, for example one was at the beginning of May for €21.45, another was a few days ago €44.22. Does anyone have any advice on how to stop these? Can he just ask the bank to stop the payments? I think he might be charged if he is technically in contract with the sites. The thing is he has no way of knowing what the sites are that he is being charged for to check the T&C's. Any advice would be much appreciated.

    Just cancel the Direct Debits with his bank, if it's been over 2 years since he used the sites then he'll more than likely have fulfilled any minimum term contracts at this stage.


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    #11
    rawn
    Registered Users Posts: 3,093 ✭✭✭rawn


    Went into the bank today, they noted that the payments were all POS so they have cancelled his card so that the payments will bounce. The bank won't refund anything because my dad willingly gave them his details, which is fair enough. We're going to continue trying to contact a few sites to possibly get some money back, it's not very likely but it is worth a shot, as in the one bank statement we were working from it was hundreds of euro.


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    #12
    daheff
    Registered Users Posts: 5,866 ✭✭✭daheff


    GerardKeating wrote: »
    Report all of the "unauthorised" DD to his Bank, this will stop any future DD's and ask for any in the past 2 years to be reversed, the new SEPA rules gives one more rights.


    But none of these are "unauthorised"....unless he can prove he asked these providers to cancel the contracts (and from the sounds of it he cant).

    SEPA gives you the "no questions asked" right of refund of any DDs issued in the last 8 weeks (but you're still liable to the contracting party for these amounts if a valid contract was in place) and a 13 months right of refund in the case of fraud.

    OP, I'm assuming that your dad had to provide a mobile number/contact address when signing up for these sites. I suspect that some will contact him now that payments are bouncing. he can then cancel contracts when they do (but he might still have outstanding amounts due)- and possibly appeal to their better nature to waive some of it - let him tell them he found love through their site....play up how happy he was they helped him ..etc. :)


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    #13
    Fred Swanson
    Closed Accounts Posts: 21,730 ✭✭✭✭Fred Swanson


    This post has been deleted.


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    #14
    rawn
    Registered Users Posts: 3,093 ✭✭✭rawn


    The problem is the email address he used is now defunct, so he can't be contacted, not sure if he gave them a mobile number but we'll find out soon enough. The important thing is that no more payments will go out now that his card is cancelled. We're going to try contacting Webdev and see what they can do, playing up that they helped him meet someone is a good idea :)


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    #15
    davo10
    Closed Accounts Posts: 6,926 ✭✭✭davo10


    rawn wrote: »
    The problem is the email address he used is now defunct, so he can't be contacted, not sure if he gave them a mobile number but we'll find out soon enough. The important thing is that no more payments will go out now that his card is cancelled. We're going to try contacting Webdev and see what they can do, playing up that they helped him meet someone is a good idea :)

    How is the email address defunct? If it's a Vodafone email, just go to the site and log into it using the email address and password.


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    #16
    rawn
    Registered Users Posts: 3,093 ✭✭✭rawn


    davo10 wrote: »
    How is the email address defunct? If it's a Vodafone email, just go to the site and log into it using the email address and password.

    He didn't log in for a while then tried to log on and it said that vodafone mail has been shut down, he must have gotten an email notice but either didn't see it or forgot.


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