Niddy vs Opus Card (ex Citi Gold Card).
Ok, so what is this all about then? Put simply, I was a Citi Gold Card customer for approximately 2 years and in that time never missed a payment or anything, I used the card rarely but kept it due to the fact it was a decent APR and was causing me no real stress; it came with a £2k limit and was a bog-standard credit card, whereby when I had a balance I paid the amount requested via direct debit. Now, the problems arose when Citi sold up to Opus (November 2010) as I always used to have online access with Citi, and I knew that there was a valid direct debit in place, I never thought anything of it. However one day I tried to use my card and it was declined, funny cos I had money available so I rung Citi who said that I was not a customer of theirs and after lots of chasing about I got through to someone at Opus who pretty much told me that a new card etc would be sent soon and nothing would change; at the same time (late November 2010) I checked my online banking at HSBC and noticed a direct debit had been set-up for Opus (Bank of Scotland) and the Citi one had been removed - fine, or so I thought.
Anyway, in January I noticed i'd never heard anything from this new company and after still not receiving a card, I rung up again only to be told I wouldn't get a card and that i'd been notified of this previously - I hadn't and never knew anything about it, so I sent in a formal complaint as i'd also realised that nothing had been taken from my bank since November's payment to Citi; i'd never got a new card and was told I wasn't going to; I was charged late payment fees even though I have a valid DD on file with my bank that Opus neglected to collect from; I have several late payment markers against my name with the CRA's; i'm out of pocket with time and hassle in dealing with this nonsense; i've been refused credit based on those late payment markers thus affecting my ability to obtain credit ergo a direct breach of the first principle of DPA1998 - the list goes on and on and on and on.................
What you're about to read will make you laugh, it'll make you cry with pain when you see the banks mistakes and most importantly it'll show you that big companies do get things wrong no matter how much they claim they are perfect!
The end result, as far as I can see things headed, will be a formal complaint to the FOS with a possible claim for compensation via the courts as I am disgusted at the way i've been treated. I have also advised those dealing with my complaint of this thread and invited them to come and read it, so they can see for themselves just what a balls-up they've made.
Obviously the bad press will come naturally, given time - i'll just start the ball rolling for allaboutFORUMS benefit.
Have fun reading this nonsense - it'll keep you amused for a few hours!
* If you click the headers below, then you'll go to the relevant post in question. Happy reading!
History & Key Developments:
- 08.01.2011 - My original complaint
- 30.03.2011 - Opus Reply to original complaint
- 08.04.2011 - My reply to Opus letter of 30.03.2011
- 20.04.2011 - Opus reply to my letter of 08.04.2011
- 06.05.2011 - My reply to Opus letter of 20.04.2011
- 12.05.2011 - Opus reply to my letter of 06.05.2011
- 18.05.2011 - My reply to Opus letter of 16.05.2011
- 25.05.2011 - Opus reply to my letter of 18.05.2011
- 31.05.2011 - My reply to Opus letter of 25.05.2011
- HSBC - Proof of Live Direct Debit / Last Payment Taken
- HSBC - Proof that my DD was never cancelled
- Copies of Credit Report - Showing Late Payments
- Update 3rd June 2011 - Formal complaint sent to ICO
- Update 9th June 2011 - Formal complaint sent to FOS
More info to follow in due course...
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