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CRT licence payments problems


jonesthenuke

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I have set up direct debits to pay both our boat licence and mooring fee by annual direct debits. This should be easy for both parties. For two years in a row this has failed to work. I have checked that the DDs are both in place with my bank, but CRT say they attempted to get the payment but failed.

 

This year the problem has been compounded since one payment was due in June, but they only told me (with an overdue notice) in mid November. During trying to resolve this they now say the other payment also failed and have not advised me of that either.

 

Having contacted CRT, the story I get is confused, to say the least. They say the payment was declined because the debit card I used to pay with last year (because the DD approach failed) expired during the intervening year. This confuses me as the DD should be independent of the debit card.

 

I have now set up another DD, but CRT accounts department are unable to provide me with any assurance that this will work next year.

 

Does anyone else have this problem? Am I missing something in asking CRT to use direct debits (which they offer with each renewal notice)?

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2 minutes ago, jonesthenuke said:

Does anyone else have this problem? Am I missing something in asking CRT to use direct debits (which they offer with each renewal notice)?

No, I don't because I hesitate to trust C&RTs systems. - I phone up and pay by card annually.

 

It seems to me that the C&RT computer system is very flakey and always on the edge of collapse - be it logging boat movements, taking money, or issuing licences.

 

Example : Last year I phoned and paid (2 weeks early) for my licence, the licence was backdated to the start of the month and was only issued as an 11 month licence.

So instead of  getting a new licence commencing 1st June and expiring 31st May (2018) I actually got one starting 1st May and expiring 31st March, and lost the early payment reduction.

 

It was all amicably sorted out and corrected, but it took several phone calls and was an unnecessary 'stress' in what should be a simple process.

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The only problem I have had is their payment run sometimes misses my dd so they take mid way through the following month.  I monitor my balance on my phone app and if money not taken a couple of days before the month end I phone them to confirm it’s not my problem, they seem relaxed about this and have never tried to take away the prompt payment discount.

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1 hour ago, jonesthenuke said:

I have set up direct debits to pay both our boat licence and mooring fee by annual direct debits. This should be easy for both parties. For two years in a row this has failed to work. I have checked that the DDs are both in place with my bank, but CRT say they attempted to get the payment but failed.

 

This year the problem has been compounded since one payment was due in June, but they only told me (with an overdue notice) in mid November. During trying to resolve this they now say the other payment also failed and have not advised me of that either.

 

Having contacted CRT, the story I get is confused, to say the least. They say the payment was declined because the debit card I used to pay with last year (because the DD approach failed) expired during the intervening year. This confuses me as the DD should be independent of the debit card.

 

I have now set up another DD, but CRT accounts department are unable to provide me with any assurance that this will work next year.

 

Does anyone else have this problem? Am I missing something in asking CRT to use direct debits (which they offer with each renewal notice)?

I've had similar "problems" with other companies, such as Insurance companies, Paypal and Club membership, and my Bank told me that although the DD is linked to the account it is also linked to the date on the card, so has to be "renewed" when a new card is issued, by notifying the recipient of those details. I note that in most instances the recipient has notified me that the card has expired or is about to.

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I use the site to pay via credit card, get instant notification and invoice.   I’m a credit card tart and always use 0% purchase cards so if I wanted I could spread the payment over the 26+ months you can get these days whilst benefiting from earning interest as well due to the rest been in ma savings account.

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10 minutes ago, Alan de Enfield said:

Which bank are you with ?

Most of them :D, but Tescos seem to have some good rates at the mo.    I usually just use https://www.moneysavingexpert.com/ to find the latest 0% purchase cards.   For instant access savings I tend to use Tesco, TSB, Nationwide as these at the mo have good current account rates.   Nationwide, Halfiax, Lloyds have decent monthly saving rates.  Tescsos have a half a decent general online savings rate.   Most of these rates only last a year, so you need to keep renewing them.

Edited by Robbo
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When I first licenced my boat when i first got it in early june (around the 7th i believe) they tried to pin a £150 'late payment' charge on me for paying 'late', after a bit of arguing over the phone, about why would i licence a boat i don't yet own, (the sale could afterall not go through, unlikely, but...) i'm licencing it within hours of taking ownership of the boat, so it's not a late payment, im licencing as soon as the insurance has been sorted) the lady on the phone agreed to waive the fee for me! 

 

Not an argument i should have had to have!

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4 hours ago, Graham Davis said:

I've had similar "problems" with other companies, such as Insurance companies, Paypal and Club membership, and my Bank told me that although the DD is linked to the account it is also linked to the date on the card, so has to be "renewed" when a new card is issued, by notifying the recipient of those details. I note that in most instances the recipient has notified me that the card has expired or is about to.

I don't think payments by card are actually Direct Debits. They are recurring card payments. A direct debit is linked to the account only and if you use online banking should appear in your regular payments as a DD ... recurring card payments (which I try not to use but online apps like Netflix insist on them) are not shown as regular payments on my system.

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3 hours ago, KevMc said:

I don't think payments by card are actually Direct Debits. They are recurring card payments. A direct debit is linked to the account only and if you use online banking should appear in your regular payments as a DD ... recurring card payments (which I try not to use but online apps like Netflix insist on them) are not shown as regular payments on my system.

Having looked back at the correspondence for one of them, you are correct. In that case it is obviously linked to the card number.
Perhaps that is what CaRT actually set up and the OP has misunderstood?

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3 hours ago, Graham Davis said:

 

Having looked back at the correspondence for one of them, you are correct. In that case it is obviously linked to the card number.
Perhaps that is what CaRT actually set up and the OP has misunderstood?

 Well that is a good question but I filled in Direct Debit forms and my bank shows them as Direct Debits.

 

I think it's CRT who seem to be trying a card payment rather than a direct debit. Personally I think that is completely inappropriate as I have given them no mandate to charge my card.

I have today received confirmation from CRT that the licence renewal was also overdue, so they missed the renewals for both mooring and licence when both had valid direct debits.

 

In a commercial world companies like this go out of business. I wonder if there is such a thing as a Darwin Award for businesses?

 

Edited by jonesthenuke
typos!
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1 hour ago, KevMc said:

Ratners?

He hasn't done too badly after Ratners.  He set up a health club which he sold in 2001 for around £4,000,000 and now has Gerald online and collaborates in an Indian manufacturing company.   So buying from him.people seem to be still b

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Having had the payments issues they have now cancelled my boat licence without any explanation!

Quote:-

 

Dear Mr XXXXX

Your licence refund request for XXXXXXXXXXX (YYYYYY) has been processed and we have cancelled the licence on 01 November 2018 but unfortunately you are not entitled to any refund. This is in accordance with the terms and conditions of your contract which we quote below. etc.

 

I am looking forward to the explanation when I ring them tomorrow.

 

 

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On 19/11/2018 at 21:15, jonesthenuke said:

Having had the payments issues they have now cancelled my boat licence without any explanation!

Quote:-

 

Dear Mr XXXXX

Your licence refund request for XXXXXXXXXXX (YYYYYY) has been processed and we have cancelled the licence on 01 November 2018 but unfortunately you are not entitled to any refund. This is in accordance with the terms and conditions of your contract which we quote below. etc.

 

I am looking forward to the explanation when I ring them tomorrow.

 

 

What did they say?  It seems they have somehow interpreted your attempts to sort out payment as a request for a refund on the licence and assumed you didn't want one any more.

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43 minutes ago, Arthur Marshall said:

What did they say?  It seems they have somehow interpreted your attempts to sort out payment as a request for a refund on the licence and assumed you didn't want one any more.

On the phone line, CRT could offer no explanation but passed it on to licensing. They sent me an email saying that they had to cancel my licence so that they could set up a new licence/payment request against my direct debit (the one they already had).  Frankly this seems daft as what I am doing is retrospectively paying the full amount for the licence.

 

CRT do not seem to grasp that their email was misleading. 

 

I was tempted to reply, but I think the individuals are probably doing the best they can (though I am not clear on the limitations being CRT's processes or the staff they employ - or both!)

 

 

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12 minutes ago, jonesthenuke said:

On the phone line, CRT could offer no explanation but passed it on to licensing. They sent me an email saying that they had to cancel my licence so that they could set up a new licence/payment request against my direct debit (the one they already had).  Frankly this seems daft as what I am doing is retrospectively paying the full amount for the licence.

Sounds like computer automated email/stuff.

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i think you probably right - the staff are doing their best after a fairly monumental cock-up with their IT system, which has always seemed unreliable.  I've never trusted their DD system since back in the BW days when they went a year without collecting anything, then tried to collect the whole lot in one go, which led to an outbreak of expletives at the breakfast table before I calmed down and got on the phone... when, give them their due, they sorted it out, wrote off half of it and collected the rest over a period.  Now, I pay online, in one go, and make sure I get the licence email before the due date.

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