default charges

sarahlady

hi,
just wanted to know if default charges for returned direct debits are lawfull or if they can be claimed back.my car insurance company charged me £25 for this after they failed to update my bank details & my D/D was returned,some one had forgotten to put a note on my account saying that i had given the new details leaving no proof that i'd even called.

dacouch

Its more likely its a third party finance company who are collecting the instalments on behalf of the Insurer / Broker if they are charging an admin fee for a returned direct debit.

Do you know the name of the company who are collecting the instalments, its probably Close, Premium Credit etc

If you have not rung and spoken to a Superviser at the collection company I suggest you try that route. Speak politely, state the facts and ask them to make an exception, it may work. If this does not work and you know you have spoken to someone at the collection department advising them to change the bank details over you could request a copy of their file on you under the Data Protection Act which will cost you up to £20. This may show your call which may make them change their mind

As far as I know the charge is lawful as the Insurer / Finance Company have been deprived of the money rather than a bank charge where they have just bounced a direct debit and sent you a letter.

sarahlady

the company name is close,i did call them again the day after the D/D was due to find out why they hadn't taken the payment & offerd to pay on my card there & then but they refused to take it.
Two days later i recieved the letter saying i had been charged,so i called again and offerd to pay the instalment but didnt have enough in my account to pay the charge at that time,once again they refused to take my payment.So my instalment remains unpaid.
they also said they would be attemping to take the payment again on the 30th from my old account once again,even though i told them it had been closed!!! can they charge me again ??

dacouch

They do have in their T&Cs that they can charge you for returned payments, I suggest you ring and speak to a Superviser as I explained in my earlier post.