Member Offer: My Esso Card

Well I got my card in good time last year and have used it a few times successfully.

However, like others are reporting I have been debited today for a transaction that had already been debited back in December.

Phoning myessocard isn't much help. They are just an answering service that will take your details and forward on the enquiry. They just tell you to email them and await a response. Oh, it took 5 attempts for them to answer the phone

Speaking with my bank isn't much help either. It's not technically a 'duplicated' transaction or a fraudulent debit. However, as you have registered your debit card details with myessocard your bank can't help unless you can evidence comms with myessocard where they aren't solving the issue. I did ask the question what if myessocard never come back to me and don't refund me, to which the response is, by registering your debit card you are technically 'authorising' any transaction they may make at any time so my bank would not refund me.

Just to clarify my earlier comment - I was referring to Esso when I said about the lack of incentive - NOT the Caravan Club, who are acting in good faith.

My Esso card is linked to a debit card that I only use for online transactions. This morning, in view of comments, I have emptied the account with everything but a few pounds, enough to cover the pending transaction, and will just top up as necessary until I'm sure that things are running smoothly.

From the numerous comments about duplicate payments etc perhaps the old adage is applicable here, "If it seems too good to be true then it probably is too good to be true". I wonder how much research the CMC did before promoting it to the members?

Got my card within days of application, used it to save on fuel, no problem with billing - all going very well.    Have just received another card!!

The company has started in April 2018 and has no history so obviously no research was done.  I wonder who made the decision to go ahead with this promotion?

I apologise for my rant but it is very annoying to be threatened especially when you have done nothing wrong! 

SO DISSAPPOINTED. I applied for the Esso fuel card after seeing it on our Caraven and Motor Home site back in early December 2018. I applied allowing 5 weeks before we travelled. That has been and gone and still no fuel card. I recieved an email from Esso saying they are 20,000 behind !!!!. I think if you are going to promote something like this you should make sure the product is in place.

We have just done a 470 mile round trip so the card would have saved us a good deal. 

Stuart

I wonder if there are similar problems in the payment of the commission to The Caravan Club that attracted them to promoting this offer in the first place.

My confidence in the offer is at a level where I am checking my bank account daily even though I have not yet recieved the card ordered in November, and have never used it. Even if I had the card it would not have been used as Costco is 2p a litre cheaper than the MyESSOCard price.

Look upon it as having had a lucky escape, Stu. You could have been debited twice for all that fuel.

Eventually contacted by Pump King.  It appears that the erroneous transaction was when we used the card at the beginning of December and was the first transaction for £84.  The transaction went through okay a few days later.

However apparently last week they tried to take the same payment again, but there were insufficient funds although the funds were there for an amount a lot less than £84 and for the transaction last Wednesday.  The bank refused the payment so the threatening email was generated.

I asked what would have happened if the bank had honoured the amount and caused us to have an unauthorised overdraft incurring charges.  I could not get an answer!

I am not sure if the hassle is worth the small savings of about £10 a month?  Other months it will be a lot less if we do not go away.

Since February 2018 I have used just over 1000 ltrs of diesel. If the saving is a constant £0.06 per ltr (which I doubt) then I would have saved about £60 at Esso prices. A nice saving BUT if any transaction goes through twice or more times it is a question of whether the hassle of having to recover a payment, typically £40 to £50 per time, is actually worth it. The discount is only £0.02 when compared with our local Sainsburys where I usually fill up. This equates to only a £20 saving over almost a year.

I've got the card now and have used it once but I'm now wondering if I will actually use it again.