I cancelled direct debit ... was i conned?

mckeown

Hi, I cancelled a direct debit to my broadband and tv cable supplier with my bank, The Royal Bank of Scotland. I was amazed when i received my next statement and noticed they had made a further payment to the cable company.
When i contacted the bank they told me this happened because i had not informed the cable company to stop collecting the payments. Surely this is wrong as the bank is supposed to act on my instructions. Am i being conned? Any comments would be appreciated. Many thanks Gerry

JaRocks28

Did they say if the Direct Debit was cancelled initially?
How much notice did you give the bank? (working hours)
Did you cancel the Direct Debit with your Broadband/cable tv supplier also?

mckeown

Thanks JaRocks28, The bank has no record of me cancelling this, but that is because the teller i dealt with forgot to save it on the computer, but she gave me a receipt to confirm i had cancelled it.
It was over a week after i cancelled that they made the next payment to them.
This is the tricky bit, i did not cancel the D/D with the cable company. Could this be a problem as the bank says it is.
Many thanks for your help.
Gerry

Nigella_2

The Direct Debit Guarantee (taken from Bacs website)
* 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.

mckeown

Thanks Nigella, that is very helpful. Many thanks Gerry

catwoman84

yeah, the most important thing is to tell the actual supplier that you want to cancel it, thats who you have set the agreement up with, not the bank.

penrhyn

catwoman84 wrote: »

yeah, the most important thing is to tell the actual supplier that you want to cancel it, thats who you have set the agreement up with, not the bank.

This is not correct as was pointed out in the above post.
You can cancel a direct debit with your bank, it is a courtesy to inform the supplier.
This is different to a continuous credit agreement with a credit card where you do have to cancel with the supplier.

dunstonh

cancelling a payment with the bank does not cancel the contract with the supplier. So, you still remain liable for billing.

p00hsticks

mckeown wrote: »

This is the tricky bit, i did not cancel the D/D with the cable company. Could this be a problem as the bank says it is.
Gerry

If you don't let the company know that you have cancelled the direct debit, then they will carrying on requesting the bank for payment. The bank should 'bounce' the payment request, but I think you may find that the cable company could charge you an admin fee for messing them about - and Ib think the bank may be in it's rights to charge you for 'bouncing' the direct debit.

Unless you let the cable company know that you either wish to cancel their service completely or that you wish to pay them by a method other than DD in future, they may simply carry on trying to request your bank for payment by DD every month

JaRocks28

mckeown wrote: »

Thanks JaRocks28, The bank has no record of me cancelling this, but that is because the teller i dealt with forgot to save it on the computer, but she gave me a receipt to confirm i had cancelled it.
It was over a week after i cancelled that they made the next payment to them.
This is the tricky bit, i did not cancel the D/D with the cable company. Could this be a problem as the bank says it is.
Many thanks for your help.
Gerry

You should take your confirmation (your receipt) to the branch where you cancelled the D/D - explain to them the situation and see if there is anything they can do - the likely thing is if the D/D had been cancelled correctly, would it have gone through?? Even though you hadn't cancelled that with the organisation... try the RBS branch.

mrcow

catwoman84 wrote: »

yeah, the most important thing is to tell the actual supplier that you want to cancel it, thats who you have set the agreement up with, not the bank.

No it's not!

If you cancel it with the bank then no more money should be taken against the agreement.

If the supplier in question still wants further funds from you - then they need to contact you directly for alternative payment methods.