Direct Debit - taking money too early

Extant

littleowl wrote: »

Thanks for your reply. However, I wonder how you make payments to your ISP for Internet access? I cannot see any method other than DD.

I will be clear here. I would rather not use DD at all and am seeking ways to pay in other ways. The only DD payments I have are for Internet, gas & electricity bills and Council Tax. I would dearly love to change the method of payment for these.

My internet is with Be, and is paid by debit card. Everything else I am able to pay by FPS/BACS or STO.

peachyprice

BarclaysManager wrote: »

You are choosing to ignore the "or as otherwise agreed" part of the page you yourself linked: there are thousands of mandates in force with similar clauses. They're all perfectly valid, especially when they're not dated mandates in the first place.

And for reference, APACS and BACS have virtually no power and will do little more than contact npower's sponsoring organization.

And you are choosing to ignore the fact that if there is a specific date mentioned they cannot take money before, regardless of how their mandate is written and are not perfectly valid.

masonic

peachyprice wrote: »

And you are choosing to ignore the fact that if there is a specific date mentioned they cannot take money before, regardless of how their mandate is written and are not perfectly valid.

It is not a specific date if it is prefixed with "on or around".

olly300

willo65 wrote: »

lookin back at post 14 another member has clarified that Npower use the term on or around. I also know that Vodafone use this term on their bills. I don't think that Npower should have taken the money early but as no costs incurred and was only one day i wouldn't make too much fuss about it. If any bank charges were incurred I would have probably chased Npower for it.

Mobile phone companies tend to bill you first and then take the money out a few days after the date of the bill. Meaning you get the bill a few days before they take the money out.

olly300

peachyprice wrote: »

And you are choosing to ignore the fact that if there is a specific date mentioned they cannot take money before, regardless of how their mandate is written and are not perfectly valid.

Well the OP and anyone unhappy with an NPower DD mandate needs to:
1. Follow NPowers complaints procedure in writing properly
2. Complain to the Energy Ombudsman

You can state as much as you like that the wording is not valid but until a case is taken to the Energy Ombudsman there is no legal enforcement of the terms, and unfortunately NPower can do what they like.

jadex

BarclaysManager wrote: »

Why do you think this sort of behaviour is acceptable?

Pretty much every direct debit agreement in the land will give a date, but say "on or around." So because you can't budget properly, you expect to be paid for it?

You are owed nothing, and you are a pretty poor citizen if you spend your entire life chancing it on such "long shots."

Hi BarclaysManager,
I very much apprecciate your help and your contribution, but I've found some of your posts very patronising.
Do you really believe in all what you are saying?
Do you have any knowledge to say that someone can't budget properly?
Are you doing all your things perfectly?
Have you never been in a position of feeling something was wrong with service you got from company A or B?
Just being Bank Manager doesn't make you any better than anyone.

Cheers,

peachyprice

masonic wrote: »

It is not a specific date if it is prefixed with "on or around".

If you read my earlier post you'll see they cannot use the term 'on or around' as a way of getting around the DD guarantee and are still not entitled to take the money before the 'on or around' date, only after.

masonic

peachyprice wrote: »

If you read my earlier post you'll see they cannot use the term 'on or around' as a way of getting around the DD guarantee and are still not entitled to take the money before the 'on or around' date, only after.

If what you say as correct, then BACS wouldn't include get-out clauses such as "or as otherwise agreed" in their rules. Until those clauses are removed, there is nothing to stop organisations using the term "on or around". If BACS/APACS were serious about stopping this from happening, they could simply revise their terms to close this loophole.

Extant

jadex wrote: »

Hi BarclaysManager,
I very much apprecciate your help and your contribution, but I've found some of your posts very patronising.
Do you really believe in all what you are saying?

Yes.

Do you have any knowledge to say that someone can't budget properly?

Yes.

Are you doing all your things perfectly?

Finance wise? Yes. I've had one charge in my life which was due to bank error. Otherwise, I have been able to make all payments on time and without going overdrawn. I went hungry a few times when I was younger, but my financial good standing is more important to me.

Have you never been in a position of feeling something was wrong with service you got from company A or B?

Yes. John Lewis gave me poor service once, I wrote a letter of complaint in the manner described on their website.

Just being Bank Manager doesn't make you any better than anyone.

I never actually said it did, did I?

If someone is living so close to the line that they can't afford a payment coming out the day before it's due, they need to seriously consider how they run their finances.

They also need to stop thinking they're owed compensation for every minute complaint. It's more damaging than people realize it is.

Colley22c

BarclaysManager wrote: »

Yes.

If someone is living so close to the line that they can't afford a payment coming out the day before it's due, they need to seriously consider how they run their finances.


They also need to stop thinking they're owed compensation for every minute complaint. It's more damaging than people realize it is.

So thats not patronising then?
but banks charging £15 for going 2p overdrawn is fine, thats not damaging at all