A warning - most unhappy experience

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camerassassin

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Flew home from holiday yesterday and somehow lost my wallet with Bank cards , Driving licence [ photo and paper ] in it during part of the journey. No money in the house

Bank cards now all cancelled and replacements ordered , Driving licence ordered up

NOW for the warning

1) Driving licence - online payment can only be made by Debit card / Credit card - so as all cards gone - that becomes a problem - had to ask someone [ relative ] to permit me to use their card for this and as it was not my card I did it by phone.

2) Whilst I was away my car needed an accident repair - all organised with my Insurance and the Main Dealer. Body shop accident repairs are done in another branch about 20 miles away . Repair organised , yes I am to pay the Insurance Excess and the car will be delivered today [ i.e. day after return ] I am a Blue badge holder.
I have just been phoned that the car is ready BUT they know I've a problem [ Service receptionist in my Dealer is aware of it and had passed it on to them ] they do not take Cheques [ fair enough ] and if I wish to do it by Bank transfer it will take up to 5 Days !!

Needless to say I spluttered - seems they would have to wait for the Finance Dept to tell them the transfer had gone through - no they could not phone them and asks them to tell them immediately it had gone through - that's not the way it works !!

Again had to phone my relative to ask if I could use their debit card again - I NEED money and I could do with some fresh food and I need my car to go and get same . I can only walk about 200 yards without being in pretty severe discomfort.

All is now done thankfully. So rang my own dealer Service receptionist - and her silence said it all. Their policy is to do thing by Bank transfer - she then phoned Finance and asks for them to watch for it going through and 'bell' her when it does. She says the longest it has ever taken is 1 hour. She is blazing mad and is taking it higher - as she says it should not happen to anyone - blue badge holder or not. I commented that I hoped the car would be here in time for me to get to the Bank today [ I owe a neighbour my taxi far home from the Airport last night ] She is phoning the Body Shop to try and speed up getting the car back to me.

My relative has just been notified by her bank that I have dropped money in.

Moral - make sure you leave a peace of plastic at home !
 
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Speak to the bank, get an emergency advance from your account in cash.
Or have very good friends/a partner to spend their money whilst you wait

Haven't you any internet banking? I can make payments over the phone, supermarket shopping on line?
 
I need my car to GET to the bank - I can have as much as I want once I get there.

Internet banking doesn't help when you need cash !!
 
Sorry to hear of your problems. Partly for this reason I never have all my cards with me at any one time.
 
chphotos said:
With some internet banking you need s card to put in to a card reader.
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Yeah I have HSBC with it's little calculator, but they also have a phone app with separate authentication that doesnt use it.
Internet baking and fast bank transfer will take two hours. Any dealer will be able to do this - saying 5 days is ridiculous. When we bought our car (almost £20K) we did it via bank transfer and it went through in 20 mins. Only issue we had was the bank insisted the payment was initiated in a half hour window.

Some banks have an emergency number they can give to to withdraw cash vis a long pin number.

Plus the OP said he needed food. So thats either rely on friends or try to get a internet based home delivery slot. otherwise takeaway delivery tonight.

Getting out and about should be no issue. Speak to a local taxi firm, explain the issue, get them to drive to the bank, get out cash, drive to garage, get car, pay everyone.
 
I know the 5 days was ridiculous - that's why I was enraged - and it's two branches of the Same National Company !!

The only reason I'm not naming and shaming them is that the branch I deal with [ sales and Servicing etc - not major crash repairs ] are so very very helpful .

At 3pm my doorbell rang - and my car was home - beautifully Valeted , absolutely immaculate in and out , new matching number plates back and front . I phoned the Service reception at the branch I deal with - and was told that I didn't really want to know what she had said to them about the absurdity of the situation.

Normally I don't have all my cards on my person - this time as I was packing for my return I just popped my UK wallet in my pocket as I knew I wasn't spending any more money .

I have a feeling they were glad to get rid of my car - the delivery driver told me that they were furious when they discovered that the wrong front bumper had been delivered - so they had to order up a new one :)
 
If you speak to your bank they can probably arrange an emergency code that will let you take cash out of an atm without a card. Up to about £300 I think.
 
Bank is virtually as near as the nearest ATM - I'd need the car for both :) I've taken enough out that I should be OK till I get new cards - my fuel tank is just over half way so I ought to be OK - I've 100 miles to do on Sunday - so really not worried about it.

From now I'll always see that a piece of plastic is left at home - I was just stunned at the inability to renew a lost/stolen/strayed Driving licence without a Debit / Credit card
 
Having had my card 'done' a couple of times in the past I now keep 'emergency' cash in the house, enough to last me a week/ten days, not enough to pay garage bills etc mind you.
 
don't bank with them, however I have heard that a rather large bank, Rhymes with Clarklays, can issue a new card there and then in a big branch, subject to ID etc...
 
How else did you think you might pay for a new driving licence online?
 
camerassassin said:
I was just stunned at the inability to renew a lost/stolen/strayed Driving licence without a Debit / Credit card
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That's incorrect, you can pay for a replacement licence with cash, cheque or postal order as well.
 
Dave1 said:
That's incorrect, you can pay for a replacement licence with cash, cheque or postal order as well.
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Not online.
The opening line states online :)
 
ecoleman said:
What was the rush to get a new drivers licence? Surely you could have waited until your cards came through.
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I was sort of thinking this - cannot remember the last time I was asked to actually present my licence to anyone. Perhaps some people are regularly pulled over by the police?
 
A few days without a driving licence is more or less OK - but I know that it was not likely to be fast . I prefer to have the darn thing in my possession.

As to how else I expected to pay - bank transfer of course ! Or am I the only per on who thinks of such things ?
 
viv1969 said:
Not online.
The opening line states online :)
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Well that makes sense then, it's quite hard to push a cheque or postal order through a laptop screen :rolleyes:.

Though he doesn't actually mention online anywhere in the post I answered ;).
 
camerassassin said:
As to how else I expected to pay - bank transfer of course ! Or am I the only per on who thinks of such things ?
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Other than the security implications of allowing payments simply by account number and sort code?

Or do you expect the DVLA to go to the expense of an entire new payment system that could somehow track incoming bank transfers made from someone's Internet banking to them and pair it with an application? How much do you want to add to your yearly car tax and drivers licence costs to fund another government computer system?
 
OK folks who think I'm mad

Just learn from my experience - and good luck if you lose everything as I did and have to try and replace things when you live alone and your nearest family are 400 miles away.

I thought I was usually pretty safe and secure and fairly savvy - clearly in your eyes I'm an idiot
 
Dave1 said:
Well that makes sense then, it's quite hard to push a cheque or postal order through a laptop screen :rolleyes:.

Though he doesn't actually mention online anywhere in the post I answered ;).
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Ah...but if you'd read the OP you'd have seen it.
As my old boss used to say....attention to detail lol :) ;)
 
Dave1 said:
Other than the security implications of allowing payments simply by account number and sort code?

Or do you expect the DVLA to go to the expense of an entire new payment system that could somehow track incoming bank transfers made from someone's Internet banking to them and pair it with an application? How much do you want to add to your yearly car tax and drivers licence costs to fund another government computer system?
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what is insecure about using just account number and sort code? this is the way bacs has always worked.
 
camerassassin said:
OK folks who think I'm mad

Just learn from my experience - and good luck if you lose everything as I did and have to try and replace things when you live alone and your nearest family are 400 miles away.

I thought I was usually pretty safe and secure and fairly savvy - clearly in your eyes I'm an idiot
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Nope but a little lateral thinking or suggestions might help as sometimes your so close to the problem you don't think of something that seems obvious to others. All the banks seem to work slightly differently in situations like this.
 
boliston said:
what is insecure about using just account number and sort code? this is the way bacs has always worked.
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It's extremely insecure as an online payment method, (as opposed to using it to make transfers from within your secure online banking). You are confusing making an online transfer to an individual with making an online payment to a company or organisation.

Every cheque you give out has you sort code and account number on it, if someone wants to do a BT to you, you need to give them your account and sort code so it's pretty easy for someone else to have those details (would you be happy to do that if the person could then start paying for things online with those details?).

Its one of the reasons the CVV number was introduced to cards for online transactions.
 
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Dave1 said:
It's extremely insecure as an online payment method, (as opposed to using it to make transfers from within your secure online banking). You are confusing making an online transfer to an individual with making an online payment to a company or organisation.

Every cheque you give out has you sort code and account number on it, if someone wants to do a BT to you, you need to give them your account and sort code so it's pretty easy for someone else to have those details (would you be happy to do that if the person could then start paying for things online with those details?).

Its one of the reasons the CVV number was introduced to cards for online transactions.
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people can only pay INTO your bank if they know your sort code and account number - there is no way they can *take* monies using just sort code and account number!
 
boliston said:
people can only pay INTO your bank if they know your sort code and account number - there is no way they can *take* monies using just sort code and account number!
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Didnt Jeremy Clarkson once say similar? And ended giving large amounts to charity on a direct debt shortly after?
 
I must admit I am amazed sometimes when I see people get out there wallets and how much stuff they carry about in there daily lifes.
umpteen credit and bank cards bulging wallets with every card known to man.

I have two debit cards and one credit card, plastic driver licence counterpart, AA card, Morrisons match and more card and some cash.
 
Mr Bump said:
I must admit I am amazed sometimes when I see people get out there wallets and how much stuff they carry about in there daily lifes.
umpteen credit and bank cards bulging wallets with every card known to man.

I have two debit cards and one credit card, plastic driver licence counterpart, AA card, Morrisons match and more card and some cash.
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But really, so long as these people are happy with the contents of their wallets/purses/handbags/manbags/pockets, who cares?
And who know's what other people require to go about their everyday lives?
 
viv1969 said:
But really, so long as these people are happy with the contents of their wallets/purses/handbags/manbags/pockets, who cares?
And who know's what other people require to go about their everyday lives?
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Oh I am not saying that but in this day and age to carry so much personal data around with you is carrying a lot of risk.

I work in IT primarily security.
 
boliston said:
people can only pay INTO your bank if they know your sort code and account number - there is no way they can *take* monies using just sort code and account number!
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Exactly, that is how it is now, however the OP was expecting to be able to make a payment to the DVLA via a bank transfer. That is, use sort code and account number to make the payment or expect the DVLA to commission a new computer system that can allow you to pay them via BACS. Not even supermarkets accept BACS payments to pay for groceries, so I'm unsure why the OP would expect a government department to do so.
 
Considering how much Government keeps spending on systems - that don't work I don't see why they can't have a system that would work for ALL departments - passport , tax, DVLA etc etc
 
camerassassin said:
Considering how much Government keeps spending on systems - that don't work I don't see why they can't have a system that would work for ALL departments - passport , tax, DVLA etc etc
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They are supposed to, I think it was called the 'government gateway', problem being that it works as well as most government IT systems ;).

Though even if it was working perfectly I still doubt they would have a BACS option to buy services from the DVLA etc. as its just not what BACS was designed for.
 
its a bit like people who moan about supermarkets not taking cheques.
 
This is why I take the scouts motto 'be prepared quite seriously so I have two accounts with my bank so I have a spare card at home at all times incase I loose my main card again just move some money over in branch or online and I'm up and running again.
 
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