Can anyone advise

clach540

I have the misfortune to bank with the Abbey. To cut a long story short a large mobile phone company overcharged me by £240. I was away at the time and didn't realise the mistake until after they had removed the money by direct debit from my account.
The phone company admitted the mistake & told me to get the Abbey to make an indemnity claim to get my money back. Can anyone tell me how long this claim should take. The Abbey told me it should take about 24 hrs. That was on friday it is now wednesday and still no sign. When I ask them they say they cant tell me it is up to the phone company to do so. When I ask the phone company yes you guessed it they tell me they cant tell me it is up to the bank. So if anyone has some idea could they please share it with me.

Astonished_2

Hello there

I'm pretty sure that under the direct debit guarantee that the abbey should have refunded you immediately (see below)

The Direct Debit Guarantee

• If the amounts to be paid or the payment dates change, the organisation collecting the payment will notify you normally 10 working days in advance of your account being debited or as otherwise agreed
• If an error is made by the organisation or your bank or building society, you are guaranteed a full and immediate refund from your branch of the amount paid
• You can cancel a Direct Debit at any time by contacting your bank or building society. We also recommend you notify the organisation concerned.

Perhaps you should give them a ring tomorrow and just quote the dd guarantee at them and that should get the money winging its way back into your account pretty quickly...

Good luck and hope you get it sorted quickly...

clach540

Thanks for the reply. I did try and explain this but the abbey were adament that they knew nothing about this ruling. It seems to me that they are just an organisation run by and employing liars.I have a meeting with the manager tomorrow and I have printed off a page from the financial ombudsman site saying the same sort of thing. To be honest it feels like I have been mugged by the people you trust.

clach540

Does the direct debit guarantee cover the whole UK or are Scotland and England different?

chris9104

It covers any organisation that uses direct debits, as they have to agree to the guarantee when they apply for the direct debit service. Here's the link for the financial ombudsman site:
http://www.financial-ombudsman.org.uk/publications/ombudsman-news/27/27-directdebit-guarantee.htm

and bacs, the company who set up the direct debit sceme
http://www.bacs.co.uk/BACS/Consumers/Direct+Debit/Your+rights/

I deal with dd's and indemnity claims as part of my job, the bank must give you the money, they have no option about, and it should be credited to your account within 2 working days. It is then upto the bank to claim the money back from the phone company.

I suggest you do a print off of one of those pages and take it to the bank and ask to speak to a manager

clach540

Perfect Chris thanks for the advice. I have a meeting with the manager today so hopefully it will be sorted. Thanks again.