Using your cards safely & getting help

Have you ever heard of the phrase 'The best things in life don't come for free'?

Often, retailers who use subscription services will state within their terms and conditions that the first payment you make signs you up for an ongoing subscription. Subscription payments tend to be taken weekly, monthly or annually. This is so the retailer can debit your account on the assumption you don’t want to cancel it.   

This is great when you are happy with the service and want the ease and convenience a subscription can offer, but it's important to be aware of what to look out for when considering signing up to a subscription.

Commonly, when you sign up it will be at a reduced price, and when the free trial ends, they’ll charge the full subscription fee. Its also important to read the small print when buying items that are ‘pay delivery only’ free trials. Often this occurs with diet and health products.  

Do you want to cancel a subscription payment?

The quickest way to cancel the subscription is to contact the retailer directly. Normally you can find the contact details needed to do this on their website.

No - we like to make the process of receiving a new card as easy as possible for you.

Therefore, when you cancel your card, any subscription payments you already have set up automatically move over to your new card. This prevents you needing to re-enter new card details whenever you replace your card. 

The same applies for auto-renewal payments including yearly insurance premiums.

We will always do our best to try to stop the subscription against the retailer. However, on rare occasions a payment can still debit your account. For example, this can happen when retailers change their name. If this happens, you can use our easy online form to cancel the payment.

A subscription payment is an agreement between you and a retailer which allows the retailer to automatically take a recurring card payment from you for the service they provide. For example a music streaming service.

A Direct Debit is an instruction from you to your bank which gives a retailer permission to take money from your bank account for a service they are providing you, on a date previously agreed with you. For example a council tax or utility bill payment.

A standing order is an instruction set up by your bank or building society on your behalf which will send money to a specified account on a regular basis. You can specify the amount you wish to pay, how often, for how long, and what reference appears on statements. You can set it up for a specific number of payments or cancel it when you no longer need it. For example to transfer money regularly into your savings account.

A retailer dispute, sometimes referred to as a chargeback, is a way for us to try and recover your money in the event something goes wrong with a card payment. 

Some examples of scenarios where we can help are:

• You paid for flight tickets, but the flight was cancelled by the airline before you expected to travel.
• You ordered a pair of white trainers online, but the trainers you received are red and the wrong size. 
• You paid for a dress, changed your mind and returned the dress, but you have not received a refund. 
• You tried to get cash out of a cash machine, but no cash came out and your account has still been charged. 
• You paid the bill in a restaurant, but you have been charged twice. 

Whilst we do our best to help resolve a dispute, there are some scenarios where we are unable to assist. Some examples of scenarios where we’re not able to assist are:

• You want to dispute a payment, but you have not tried to resolve with the retailer first. 
• You want to dispute a payment, but the payment is still pending on your account. 
• You want to dispute a payment for perishable goods, for example food or flowers.

Paying for things using Google or Apple Pay is quick and easy, but sometimes things don’t go as smoothly as planned. When something goes wrong, we can help.

Paying for things using your credit card is quick and easy, but sometimes things don’t go as smoothly as planned. When something goes wrong, it helps to know your rights. You can explore your consumer rights by visiting the Government website. 

Gov.co.uk consumer rights guide

We know it can be worrying when things don't look quite right, but please know we are here to help. 

There can be a number of explanations when a payment appears on your account that you might not immediately recognise. To help you, we have added the most common retailers here, please explore these before reporting a payment as fraud.

Whether it’s credit card transactions, charges or bank transactions that you don’t recognise, we’ll show you how to spot and report them. 

We’re committed to protecting you and your computer in many ways. Find out more here.

When making card payments, you want to know you are using secure payment services. This means making sure that you:

• Only enter your card details on secure websites
• Always shield your PIN in shops or at cash machines
• Be aware of public Wi-Fi hotspots and the potential risks 
• Be aware of vishing scams (telephone scams)
• Be aware of phishing scams (email scams)
• Be aware of smishing scams (text scams)
• Be aware of ATM fraud and know how to stay safe

See our fraud guides for information about the different types of fraud and tips to keep your data protected.

Whether banking online or using our Mobile Banking app, rest assured you're protected by our Secure Banking Promise: 

• We'll refund any money paid out of your account, as long as you've kept your security information safe
  
  
• We'll protect you 24/7, by monitoring your account and using the latest technology to keep you safe
  
  
• We'll help you protect yourself, with tips on staying secure and free tools for extra protection

Learn more about our secure banking promise.