How do I cancel an online debit card payment?

A question about : How do I cancel an online debit card payment?

How do I cancel an online debit card payment?

A week ago I purchased an item using a Maestro debit card from an online retailer that I thought was based here in the UK but when I got a payment confirmation email it has a German address. Since placing my order I noticed that many of the contact links, etc don't work and they also have the Geotrust symbol on their site but the link on that doesn't work either. I think the site is fairly legit but was disappointed to find that the item will probably be shipped from europe. To be on the safe side I want to cancel my order but the contact links don't work. In fairness to the retailer they haven't taken payment yet and the item hasn't arrived.

Would my bank be able to cancel the payment when it is processed if I ask them to? Should I trust them to do this?
or
should I just cancel my debit card (perhaps say it is lost)? Would this stop any payment from being processed on this card?

I know this might be a simple answer for many but as its a debit card not a credit card payment I am unsure of what to do.

Thanks for any help in advance!

Best answers:

• your bank should be able to cancel, providing the money hasnt gone already.
• If the payment isn't showing on your account at all, you can cancel the card and it will just decline when they try to take the money. However, it is possible that the payment may be 'pending' on your account, in which case you will not be able to stop the payment. A debit card payment is guaranteed so once its in the system, nothing can be done about it.
• I went to the bank yesterday morning 1/12/08 @ 09:30 to cancel an online
  transaction request pending,but they would not do because they did'nt know
  the reciprent,today the money has been taken out,been to the bank this
  morning,and all they say is the recipient has my card details,and can take
  money has they choose,what can I do,regards rikshaw.
• Wait for your item to arrive?
  You may be worrying unnecessarily.
• If I cancel my debit card and then in a few days a company try to get the money will it be declined or would the bank honour it if it has gone out before??
• I am sorry to say this but once the card (credit or debit) has been authorised for use to make the purchase (at the time the order was made) there is nothing that can be done to stop the transaction.
  The bank have no way of blocking the transaction, the only way to stop it is to ask the retailer to cancel.
• Hi, i have came across this from a search on Google.
  It's similar to me and my friends situation.
  He gave me his card details and asked me to buy him and myself 2 tickets to V Festival however i've used a scam site by mistake.
  Do you have any help or advice on how to cancel the purchase of 2011 tickets from V-Festival-2011.com?
  So far no money has been taken from my friends account but we're worried it could be at a later date.
  Is the solution to simply cancel the card imediately and get a new one or is there a way the bank can cancel the transaction? It's been 4 days since the purchase and nothing has been taken out of the account. I received a confirmation e-mail but i've been told it's basicaly a pointless piece of rubbish or a ploy.
  I'm not sure if this helps but as i made the purchase with HIS card but used MY home and phone details the card will not match up to the delivery address. As they do not match up if they go to do anything will it fail or not? They do have the 16 digit card number and 3 digit security code and expirey date as well as my mobile number and address.
  Thanks for any replys.
  Much appreciated.
  Stephen
  unionjackboy@hotmail.com
• You could always try and cancel the card however it may not always be successful.
  Should the transaction be processed they could always contact there bank and do a charge back.
• Reporting the card as lost / stolen should stop any new authorisations being processed on to the card. In my experience, this includes recurring authorisations.
• Hi - my partner thought she had shredded her car insurance cert. had to ring Hastings who can send a duplicate for Ј35 - so she duly paid but wanted to have it e-mailed fffor quickness and not having an e-mail address was going to ring back with my e-mail address. In the meantime I had found her original Insutance cert so while back on the phone, she asked for the payment to be cancelled, but was told it was already in the post in spite of awaiting an e-mail address. What are the chances that she can get her money back. She can ill afford Ј35 when she earns a mere Ј40/day - there should be some way of getting this one off payment cancelled just as you can cancel cheques?
  additional: Incidentally, the transaction took place at about 4pm today and the error discovered about 20 mins later. I e-mailed Hastings about it within a half hour of that and rec'd their automated reply of receipt of e-mail. So they have a record of my concerns within an hour of the transaction.
• Stopping a Visa Debit/ Maestro card does not mean that a retailer cannot debit your account. Debits can and do come through on stopped cards, the bank then makes a decision as to what to do with them. They will contact you if it's a continuous authority payment or the payment was authorised before the card was stopped. If you haven't cancelled a continuous authority payment, it will continue to debit. Banks cannot stop or cancel payments on either of these cards, you need to contact the retailer to ask them to refund it for you.
• They have done the work of getting a new insurance document so can legally charge for it where it sent by email or snail post.
  Can I ask whether she needed it for a car tax renewal? If so renewing online would have been cheaper as they electronically check whether the car is insured and if needs by MOT.
• Hi - and thanks for your replies.
  It was for the purposes of getting her car tax renewed for just a few days so she could then get it a full MOT as part of a trade in deal. She does not have e-mail/internet access.
  It was simply a one-off payment as she already has an on-going annual payment for insurance with them.
  Ј35 seems a bit steep for a duplicate that a fiver or tenner would cover!! - but the fact is the duplicate was no longer needed (a panic error)and I simply cannot believe that it was 'already in the post' after about 20mins.
  As for contacting the retailer, everytime you phone up you speak to someone different who you then have to go through the whole bally rigmorole again with. Its bloody frustrating, time consuming and annoyingly impersonal - but that is how everything is geared these days, 'cos they don't really want to know or help.
  I suspect a strong letter is in order, but who do you write to - they're all a lot of faceless wonders!!
• It may be faceless but that is the price you pay for cheapness. If you want good service, go to a proper broker. You will get the service but expect to pay for it.
• okay - well we have a result. A lovely lass took up the case and looked into it. Unfortunately she could not correspond by e-mail with me directly because of Confidentiality (always the way!). She did finally catch my partner in by telephone and explained what she has done. Seems that the Ј35 was wrongly charged anyway especially in light of the fact that the policy holder was also changing vehicles. I gather the sum has been reimbursed via the card details - so's alls swell that ends swell - and it does pay to be Victor Meldrew!
  cheers
• I bought a skateboard online and the website where i bought it from did not match the website it said on my online banking account. I'm guessing I have been fraud. The transition says that it is still in process but the amount has already been fully deducted. Is it possible that the so called company can take more money?
• I bought a skateboard online and the website where i bought it from did not match the website it said on my online banking account. I'm guessing I have been fraud. The transition says that it is still in process but the amount has already been fully deducted. Is it possible that the so called company can take more money?