How to report fraud or suspicious activity on your account

Some retailers use a different trading name to what they are normally known as.

Check our list of common trading name for details of the companies trading under that name or a quick internet search may help identify a retailer.

If you've got a joint account or secondary cardholder, double check with them to see whether they know about the payment.

Your statement will show the last 4 digits of the card that was used to make the transaction.

Some companies will automatically start taking the monthly fee from your account when the free trial period for their service ends. When you sign up for a free trial, put a reminder in your calendar to cancel it if you decide you don’t want to continue.

Please contact the company first as this is often the easiest way to resolve any disputes. Further help can be found on Card Payment Support.

A regular debit or credit card payment is not a direct debit or a standing order. It's a regular payment made from your card, like a subscription to a publication or a service, such as Netflix. Regular payments automatically carry over to new cards unless cancelled.

Please contact the company first as this is often the easiest way to resolve any disputes. Further help can be found on Card Payment Support.

A common example of where a pre-authorisation may occur is when you check into a hotel. They will take a pre-authorised amount from your available balance, which guarantees that there are funds available to pay for any charges incurred during the hotel stay. At the end of your stay, once the balance is settled, the authorisation will be reversed back to you and full payment of your stay will be taken.

We are unable to cancel any transactions while they are pending, this can only be updated by the retailer. In most cases you’ll be able to resolve any issues with the retailer however, if you’re still having issues after the payment has debited your account, you can raise a dispute with the company by using our online dispute form. Further help can be found on Card Payment Support.