Are companies allowed to take money out my account via a point of sale transaction?

Question by Jebediah S: Are companies allowed to take money out my account via a point of sale transaction?
Let me clarify, i signed up for a music distribution service for unsigned bands which costs £2 a month. The company got it wrong and were charging me £4 a month but when i went to my bank to cancel it they said the transactions were “point of sale” (POS) and they could not cancel it.
I naturally assumed the company, as most do, would set up a direct debit (which seems safest as it comes with certain protection) and from what I understand about POS, its effectively them running my card details through a machine every month…(?!)
They main worry is that I cannot cancel it.
Can they do this???? It doesn’t sound legal!
Thanks in advance,
Andy

Best answer:

Answer by LilyPad
I don’t know if it’s legal or not, but I know that you can stop the transactions.
Call the company and tell them you are canceling your membership, then call your bank and cancel your card and ask them to issue you a new one and explain why.
I’ve had something similar happen, and this is what I done to stop the bogus transactions.

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