$35 Direct Debit on New St George Complete Freedom Account?

Hi guys,

So I signed up for St George account to churn their $40 offer on $160 spend. I put in my card in my Samsung Pay, and been using it for grocery shopping.

Today I noticed that there's $35 direct debit from "Rfds Direct Debi". When I google the merchant, they look like some flying doctors that accept donations.

I never signed up for any donations, never received a call, clicked on any link from bank etc. I called the bank and they said it was done through direct debit and you should call them to ask.

I have emailed them, but just wondering how it was done without my authorization. No one would know about this bank account details, not even me. If I had given it out to someone, i'd definitely remember it. St George customer support is really bad when I called them this morning.

Do I have any hope of getting this back and how can I avoid it in the future?

Lesson learnt for now: Never bank with St George!

Related Stores

St.George Bank
St.George Bank

Comments

  • Royal Flying Doctors Services is a legit charity, have you maybe given a donation via one of those charity muggers at a shopping centre or whatever?

    Otherwise, they're obligated to give you a tax invoice for the donation above $2 so they should have the email on file for the receipt plus details if you're in contact with them and share the last 4 digits of your card.

    I'd say it could be a compromised card too, but weird for it to be a donation.

    • Yeah, that's the weird part. I have never done donations lol except via GoFundMe for someone going through serious stuff and needing help.

      I haven't received any tax receipt via email or anything. Also, bank says that it's a direct debit, not card payment.

      • Interesting, that's why I potentially thought it would be one of the chuggers as most charities do have direct debit arrangements which are captured by forms through either mail or some person with an iPad (chugger/door knocker).

        https://www.flyingdoctor.org.au/nswact/sesdd/

        ^ seems like you can get a refund if they cannot substantiate the request, e.g., form was never provided

  • +3

    Flying Doctors just did a drive-by on your savings. Time to call in the Flying Bikies for a “friendly chat”. 🏍️💸

  • +1

    They are so charitable that they are helping you get to the $160 spend quicker!

    Good on them for doing something to help the community :P

  • +1

    Its possible to donate to the Royal Flying Doctor Service when doing grocery shopping, specifically at Woolworths.
    Woolworths customers can donate by using the "Donations" button on the register, any chance you accidentally pressed that button?

    • +1

      Not an expert, but wouldn't that go through as a Woolies transaction?

    • -3

      Sure 100% agree. Next Penny will fly 1st class to Palestine and bring back 6000 hungry mouths.
      Got to feed the hungry first before using that green dragon from profitable Westpac.
      Amen!

  • +2

    Just call the bank and dispute the transaction. They would then follow it up with Royal Flying Doctor Service and ask them to prove that the transaction was authorized by you. If Royal Flying Doctor Service do not have your authorization then the bank would claw back the funds and credit your account.

  • +1

    Most likely someone has given the incorrect account number when filling out a direct debit form, possibly transposed numbers. Banks generally don't match account holder names with account numbers, there are usually reminders of this when you transfer funds to another bank and it works with direct debits too. As trashcan said above, dispute the transaction but still get onto RFDS in case the direct debit is still set up at their end. You don't want to be going through the process every month.

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