I’ve been working in the tech sector for over a decade, exploring various platforms and systems. Recently, I noticed some services I thought I had canceled are still billing me occasionally. Most of the time, contacting them resolves the issue easily.
However, there are instances with big tech companies like Google, who don’t respond to payment trace requests to identify the origin of charges. This becomes problematic because I often create temporary accounts for personal projects or helping friends and family.
I’ve minimised such practices now, only using accounts for my own benefit. Still, I wonder how to identify Continuous Payment Authorities (CPAs) for both debit and credit cards when some banks lack subscription options in their mobile/online banking platforms.
Most charges are legitimate, and I accept responsibility for not canceling some services on time. I’m reluctant to dispute unless the company deliberately obstructs cancellation.
Additionally, it’s frustrating that even after reporting lost/stolen cards like AMEX and Halifax, the old card numbers can still be used.
Just to note I’d be interested in a better solution than having them on a seperate spreadsheet, HSBC shows these as subscriptions in the balance after bills section meaning they are a little easier to keep a track of.
Monzo does do this too, but I agree these can be really hard to cancel. You can reach out to Monzo in-app and get them to block the payment but you’ll need to ensure you don’t owe them any money of course.
No advice on how to trace them as such, but all banks are required to cancel them at their end of the customer requires. (Note this won’t absolve you of any contractual obligations to pay the originating company, if you’ve signed up to a minimum service or term.)
Banks, on the whole, sometimes don’t know they have this responsibility, and will try to palm you back to the company, but they’re getting better.
Re: your last point, some merchants make use of Network Tokens or Account Updater services (products made available to them via their Payment Service Provider). These products provide the merchant with the updated card details (sourced from the customer’s issuing bank via the card schemes), in such instances where the original card expired / was lost. So are you sure that it’s the original card details that are getting used or is it possible that the merchant is getting hold of your new card details without your go-ahead?
It’s possible it’s all tokenised and they’re pulling in the new card information. Having said that, the one time I did manage to cancel a years old account it was still charging a card number that was 3 or more years old with a new card since and then a lost wallet and consequently another new card.
The main thing here is that I’m not disputing the charges are almost certainly me. However, of the times I’ve spoken to companies like AMEX they say that the existing card details will still work and if I see anything I don’t recognise I raise it as a disputed transaction.
Just seems mad that I have to lean on disputing transactions to put some of these things to bed for good. None of them are contracts, it is mostly an auto-renewal type thing if they’re able to take payment it’ll renew. If they can’t, it’ll cancel the service off. Let’s say I fancy a change and move away from AMEX, having things still theoretically able to charge the card strikes me as concerning as charges could still come through during an account closure.
Google is definitely impossible though, with them I’ve clearly bought a domain name in some random account and that’s what keeps charging me but I can’t figure out what domain (so it won’t be important at all) and I equally can’t figure out which account. I’m just stuck, if I dispute it with AMEX they’ll likely block Google, but I also use Google’s paid for services for my own live day to day projects and business email so if they block Google outright it’ll potentially cause backlash with other accounts or prevent payments being taken.
Never chargeback Google, find other avenues of remedy. You can find (via Google search!) customers of their store who’ve been let down - orders not arriving, returns not refunded etc. They chargeback and Google kill their account, wiping maybe their lifelong family photo archive, documents, business records and emails. Horror show.
It’s the same with all tech companies. If they don’t feel like they’ve done anything wrong and you wrong them, they just obliterate very bit of data they hold on you. Apple, Google, Sony, Valve, all the same.