Carphone Warehouse

knowsleyroader

Whilst going through his bank statements (for the very first time!) my OH noticed a DD going out of his account for roughly the same amount which had been taken for two years. When he investigated, it was for a line rental for a mobile phone which he had about four years previously. Obviously, he didn't cancel the DD when he got a new mobile. Doh!
Still, shouldn't CP have at least sent one annual reminder?
Despite writing to CP (registered, recorded, MD - you name it we've tried it) to ask for at least part of the £2000 back, we have had absolutely zero response. He did manage to speak to someone on the phone once who told us to inform the Police in case it was a fraud on his account.
We did and it wasn't.
If anyone has any idea on how to get a response from them it would be greatly appreciated.

Cavey

If the originator or the bank/building society makes an error, the customer is guaranteed a full and immediate refund of the amount paid.

Basically, you trust CPW to take what they need to cover a bill and nothing more. They abuse this trust, you get your money back. These are not standing orders which you set up to be pushed from your bank and they can lie dormant (ie a monthly payment of £0), they don't have to keep taking £25 if you don't cancel them.

To get your money back, go see your bank and they should sort it ASAP (although you might have to give them some info). As it is covering multiple debits over multiple financial years it might not be immediate, but it should be quick. The only thing that will dictate the time frame within which you get the money back is whether the money has to come from CPW, whether the bank can do the transfer itself or if the bank/CPW contest the situation.

Also, as the limit for it to be claimable is six years and this has only been going for two, all six years worth of debits should be claimable, I just don't know if more proof will be required for older debits.

As an aside, something on the BACS site says something about the refund not getting you out of contractual obligations, so if CPW discover you owe them money afterwards they can invoice you for the required amount. This would be relevant if you accidentally claim back a month that you did owe to CPW, so be careful. I suppose you could send a letter recorded delivery (the one that they have to sign for and will have a record of) to the MD telling him you are going to reverse the charges.

You might want to have a quick read of this page on Direct Debits at the BACS site or any of the other things detailing the policies attached to Direct Debits.

knowsleyroader

Cheers for that. Will tell him to write to his bank.