It’s way too early in the year to be annoyed by a company, but here goes.
I’ve been with Binge on and off for three years. After I had a mb phone number change, after contacting them, you can’t just change your number. You need a new email address to link the new number to, so people don’t get multiple free new sign up periods. So I did that in March 2023. Whilst looking in my bank account I saw that they took a second $10 payment out in December, so I emailed them and asked how I get that refunded. They wanted a screenshot of the payment, confirmation of my binge email address, mb number and type of card linked to the account, all of which I supplied. They then said they could see the November & December payment but not the second payment in December (even with the screenshot of it) and wanted me to do some sort of “speed test” and then send them the results of that. I may not be very “techy” but I know that has nothing to do with payments because I had to that test when I was with Stan a few years back for a technical issue.
As I don’t make idle threats, I’ve cancelled my subscription but am wondering if anyone has had a similar issue with binge and any advice you may have on how I can get the money back please? $10 may not be much to some but I’m a pensioner and of course it the principal of the situation too. Thankyou.
So many months later, after your change, a duplicate direct debit occurred. But the support people at Binge cannot see it?
Who is your bank handling the direct debit either to your debit or credit card? Maybe they had a processing failure and double debited. Worth contacting them about the double charge.
It is amazing they also did not suggest rebooting your computer with that lame requirement. 
Contact your bank regardless if it was a direct debit to your account or to your credit/debit card and ask what they can do to assist. How they respond will vary on the payment method, but if a phone call gets fobbed off do it in writing via email or their message facility for records. Depending, especially card transactions, there should/could be an option to dispute the duplicate transaction by clicking it on your account display.
Each transaction at your bank has a processing number. That is often displayed in the online banking system or obtainable from their agents. Send both numbers to Binge as well as another copy of your screen shot; escalate using the complaint, not customer service, route. Reinforce they might have two accounts because of your prior history and the second may have done a ‘rogue billing’. It is not expected nor correct but happens even if only rarely.
https://help.binge.com.au/s/article/How-do-I-get-in-contact-with-Binge
If you use a chat be sure to get or make a transcript of it.
Note you cannot get a chargeback on every form of direct debit. Each state has similar advice.
If you reach a stalemate complain to AFCA per the embedded link in the above, regardless your problem is a double billing and not explicitly a chargeback.
Plz keep us posted how you go.
Thanks for all the advice, when I’ve written this I will call the bank. On a different note, they did suggest I reboot my tablet or computer which I ignored because I thought it was ridiculous (can you even reboot a tablet?).
This morning I got another email from them which again asked for my card type (already supplied with the last 4 digits of the card, expiry date and the second email I started, to attach the new mb number to) and similar blah, blah, blah about me possibly using a different email address, to what is on file. Again a stupid statement because they also said they found the second account and payments. They say they can’t see the payment on the 2nd December. This is backed up by when I looked in my account they had all my payments listed for last year, excluding the 2nd. Will keep in touch and see what the bank says.
You certainly can! If it’s an Android tablet, press and hold the power button, then select Restart. Something similar probably works for iPads.
Mind you, I agree that rebooting would not have done anything useful in your situation.
Streammotion is the “parent” of Binge and Streammotion is a subsidiary of Foxtel. It is a bit of a chain about who is finally responsible for any faults.
When a person cancels a subscription for say Binge, Streammotion only stop billing for that service, however a person may have signed up to more than Binge and these other services continue to be billed. I think this will make for problems if the company has a “hiccup” and has to reboot their billing and members data. If the data is old enough because of a failure in one service then perhaps it restores a cancelled subscription in another service and wrongly bills the old membership. In this sort of scenario of a renewed incorrect subscription my complaint would be to AFCA if my original contact with the business failed.
If AFCA cannot help, AFCA may not have power to deal with this case, or they do not provide a suitable outcome then I would be disputing the case in the Civil and Administrative Tribunal in whatever State/Territory this occurred in or may need to be filed in NCAT (Streammotion’s Terms of Service state that New South Wales Courts are the arbitrators for disputes).
Binge do have a Chat system which can be accessed at
https://help.binge.com.au/s/#ContactUs
That link also contains the email contact address and hopefully is the one used for the current issue above that is affecting @Pachy. What has been asked for @Pachy to do to resolve the issue seems quite ludicrous such as rebooting their computer/tablet and not in line with the issue that has been raised.
Just a FYI, yes a tablet can be rebooted. Each brand usually has instructions about how to carry out a reboot or a factory reset. I would be hesitant to carry out a reset as it will wipe a lot of apps and retained data that a user may want to have kept.
Oh good grief,
Is all I can say. I phoned St George and it would appear you can no longer speak to a person. It tells you to click on a link they send you once you’ve confirmed your mb number. From there they want you to put in ALL your information…card number, online pin number plus your account password. I don’t care if that’s legit (wondering if it is though) I will NEVER put that info into my phone or tablet.
On a different note, I think I may have figured out the issue. So binge says they can see the transactions on the 29th of November and December but not the 2nd of December. I’m now wondering if the November’s payment, showing as the 2nd of December in my account, but binge sees it as the 29th of November because that’s when the payment is supposed to be paid by?
Please tell me if you think this makes sense and if so, I’ll write an apology to binge explaining I’m an idiot. Thankyou.
A payment raised by the Company may be debited a few days after the request for payment was made to the financial institution, this could occur as an example if a request was raised late on the last business day of the week or during a non business day (such as a weekend). If you cannot see any other payments taken out in November for that monthly period and only the 2nd of December payment, this may indeed be the November payment.
It’s official, I’m an idiot!! You’re correct there is no payment in November only two in December. I was focused on the double December payments and didn’t back track payments in my account until this morning. Slightly in my defence (I think) is the ridiculous things that binge came up with for me to do or check. Plus them telling me to talk to thier e-bot, I find those things useless and frustrating to no end. However I will now email binge and profusely apologise. Thanks again “Choicers” for all your great advice.
The main thing is that the issue has been resolved by you, you know that you haven’t been double billed and I am sure that brings great relief to you.
We all get confused at times and this time of year is particularly fraught with anxiety about finances. Thank you for advising of your outcome.
Hey mate, don’t put yourself down for being vigilante. As we all have to be these days. Yes you created extra work for yourself, but you became more knowledgeable along the way & found out how great the choice community & its advice is. I’m with Netflix & they take the money out, the same date each month. However, l still clarify, as you know, WE HAVE TO BE VIGILANTE & ACCOUNTABLE, IN ORDER TO PICK UP ANY WRONGS AGAINGST US, THAT SO EASILY HAPPEN. So don’t beat yourself up. Fact is, you got answers & can rest assured now. Take care
Thankyou for that.
For me the relevant part of this saga is the process of Direct Debits.
I looked into this some years ago and was shocked to realise that in Oz, DD can only be cancelled by the merchant. They cannot be cancelled unilaterally by the customer.
This is not the case in other jurisdications where the bank customer ie the bank a/c holder from where DD take place is always in control. Even when there is a contract in place b/w customer and merchant.
Another example of Australian businesses writing the regulations under which they are regulated.
Why is that?
If one has entered into a contract to receive a service for money, and agreed to pay for that service via a direct debit on your bank account or credit card, why would you not have to deal with the supplier to end the service?
Most banks that facilitate direct debits would have a mechanism to stop a direct debit but you need to then deal with the supplier, or merchant, to end the service or agree on another method of payment.
That is not exactly true except in the case of contracts, as @Gregr alludes to. The current laws are summarised here.
Thanks for the URL.
Unfortunately it included what I consider a sore point:
Quote
If direct debit is a contract or service condition
If it’s a condition of service to pay by direct debit, consider getting legal advice before you cancel. If you still owe money for a service, you’ll need to negotiate an alternative payment method.
Unquote
- Suggesting customers get legal advice as moneysmart recommends indicates that moneysmart is not that smart. Do they have any idea of the cost of such advice? I suspect it’s many times the monthly DD; and
- The view expressed by moneysmart as to a DD being a condition of a contract ignores - at least it did in two episodes in my life in recent years - the fact that (1) the daily newspaper delivery that I was told would take place before 06:30 daily changed to before 09:00 a few weeks after I signed up. I fought ooth and nail with my bank as the media company had no interest in discussing the matter. In the end with ample documentation, my bank severed the DD; (2) I quit a gym membership well within the contractual terms - and emailed as well as posted my decisions - but the DD persisted long after I no longer attended the gym. It took a call from NSW Fair Trading for the gym to stop debiting me.
I might stand corrected but a ‘service’ for the purpose of DD advice is something like a utility supply, eg electricity, gas, water, internet/phone services, and the like. Cancelling a DD without making alternative payment arrangements could result in disconnection as well as having any debt given to a collection agency.
A service in this case is not, for example, getting a once off lawn mow. If you get a lawn mow and a condition was a DD payment, that is a contract issue.
What is not said is what you did. Did you cancel the subscription prior to its end term, or what?
As with most of our ‘protections’ there are few penalties for businesses doing the wrong things and it is left to us to to take action as you have done with NSW FT. The solution is contacting your MP and supporting interested activist causes. Choice was already at work in 2020.
and this article reflected the status quo a year later.
Adding a significant penalty for businesses or banks doing the wrong thing to encourage compliance has been and remains a long time coming so your pain is justified.
It could also include bank, credit card and other similar loans. Cancelling these may give long term pain and why seeking appropriate advice is a wise suggestion.
We all have had a moment (or two) of being an "idiot. At least now you know you weren’t ripped off. I would have persevered too, even if it was “only” $10.
Thanks so much for that and I hope you have a nice day.
