Attempted forced change of repayment amount

Incisor

Cardew wrote: »

OK BACS run the Direct Debit scheme, would this convince you?


http://www.bacs.co.uk/BACS/Consumers/Direct+Debit/What+is+it/

<QUOTE>
What is Direct Debit

A Direct Debit is an instruction from a customer to their bank or building society authorising an organisation to collect varying amounts from their account, as long as the customer has been given advance notice of the collection amounts and dates.

</quote>

My bold and underlining

You, the customer, authorise an organisation to collect varing amounts!

That surely is crystal clear!

Google 'direct debit guarantee' for thousands of references on this.

The crystal clear bit is crystal clear. And as soon as you tell them any different, they only have the authority you give them. That bit isn't crystal clear to you, but hey, I've tried.

Incisor

Premier wrote: »

Yes I understand. You can't instruct them not to take that amount of money, but you can request that they review their intentions.
I've mentioned this previously - it's also actually mentioned in my previous post

It's your account, may be you are not sufficiently robust to instruct them, but I am and I do. It's my account and my money and I am not having nobheads think that just by notifying me they can take out what they want. If I tell them how much they are limited to, that's all they get, or I invoke the Direct Debit Guarantee.

Premier_2

kissmeimposh wrote: »

...
OK, Adjusting my mock hypothetical letter to be more realistic, perhaps I should write to them instructing them them to halve my payment amount based on my preduction of consumption rather than notifying them that I'll do it myself, as they're the ones that can adjust the figure on the DD....

I would prefer the word "requesting" rather than "instructing", but in essence, yes you can.
Whether the supplier agrees is a different matter.
For that reason, it is usually better and quicker to speak to them over the telephone to negotiate a mutually acceptable payment plan

Incisor

Cardew wrote: »

Incisor,

Why not find and post one shred of evidence to support your theories. There is masses of information on this on the web.

Not how you think it should be - but how it is.

I say again, you are completely and totally wrong!

Shred of evidence? Your wikipedia link good enough?

Banks also operate a Direct Debit guarantee. In this, if a customer disputes an amount that has come out of their account by direct debit, they can contact their bank; this money will then be returned within 24 hours. It is then the billing company's responsibility to ask the customer for the money.

Premier_2

Incisor wrote: »

It's your account, may be you are not sufficiently robust to instruct them, but I am and I do. It's my account and my money and I am not having nobheads think that just by notifying me they can take out what they want. If I tell them how much they are limited to, that's all they get, or I invoke the Direct Debit Guarantee.

If you do not agree with the supplier and cannot reach a mutually acceptable agreement with them, your only option is to revoke the DDI - this you do with your bank but it is recommended to advise the supplier too.
There is always the possibility of recovering funds via the DD guarantee as explained earlier

However you go about it, if a mutual agreement is not reached and either of those actions taken unilaterally, it could place a customer in breach of the regular payment plans terms & conditions.

Incisor

Premier wrote: »

I would prefer the word "requesting" rather than "instructing", but in essence, yes you can.
Whether the supplier agrees is a different matter.
For that reason, it is usually better and quicker to speak to them over the telephone to negotiate a mutually acceptable payment plan

If you instruct them, that is the end of it. They only have the authority to take however much you have given them authority for. If the original DD was open, and they ask for a silly amount, and you tell them a sensible amount, that is as much authority as they have.

Incisor

Premier wrote: »

If you do not agree with the supplier and cannot reach a mutually acceptable agreement with them, your only option is to revoke the DDI - this you do with your bank but it is recommended to advise the supplier too.
There is always the possibility of recovering funds via the DD guarantee as explained earlier

However you go about it, if a mutual agreement is not reached and either of those actions taken unilaterally, it could place a customer in breach of the regular payment plans terms & conditions.

If the regular payment plan is £50/month and they notify £100/month and you tell them they are limited to £50/month and then they take £100 on the first debit after the notification, what do you do?

You can revoke the DDI, as you say, or the DDG to get your money back. Yes your first port of call is to demand the money back, but if you have instructed them £50/month, then it is fair to use the DDG. Obviously you let them know, but you won't breach any plan as long as you pay what is due under the plan. If they take the mick and charge more than the plan, it is them who have breached it.

Premier_2

Incisor wrote: »

If you instruct them, that is the end of it. They only have the authority to take however much you have given them authority for. If the original DD was open, and they ask for a silly amount, and you tell them a sensible amount, that is as much authority as they have.

A Direct Debit is an instruction from a customer
to their bank or building society. It authorises you
(the Service User) to collect varying amounts from
their bank account, as long as the customer has
been given advance notice of the collection details
and is advised of any future change

http://www.bacs.co.uk/NR/rdonlyres/44135DD2-570F-450E-8C13-E08E4DA8A8B0/0/M1338_1107_DDAnIntroduction.pdf

That's the instructiuon given

Premier_2

Incisor wrote: »

If the regular payment plan is £50/month and they notify £100/month and you tell them they are limited to £50/month and then they take £100 on the first debit after the notification, what do you do?

Well you have a number of options.

(a) accept it
(b) contact them to arrange an alternative deduction for future months
(c) make a claim under the DD guarantee - this will provide you with an immediate refund by the paying bank but would leave you potentially liable to the supplier for the non-payment with the consequences that non-payment normally involves.

Incisor wrote:

You can revoke the DDI, as you say, or the DDG to get your money back. Yes your first port of call is to demand the money back, but if you have instructed them £50/month, then it is fair to use the DDG. Obviously you let them know, but you won't breach any plan as long as you pay what is due under the plan. If they take the mick and charge more than the plan, it is them who have breached it.

It isn't actually in line with the DDG because no error has been made by the supplier (or anyone else) as far as the DD scheme is concerned.
Having said that, and as I said before, the paying bank will not investifgate matters but simply accept the word of the payer and provide a full and immediate refund.
You need to refer to the terms & conditions of the regular payment plan to see if the supplier has beached the terms of that.;)

craftygranny

I got a letter too from my supplier saying they wanted to change my direct debit from £150 pounds per month to £353 per month. I rang them the same day and they agreed to leave it at £150. The lady said it's done automatically but if you call them they can leave it the same.

just talk to them better the price of a phone call than paying loads extra every month.

regards trisha x