Query over cancelled direct debit / indemnity claim

trenners

Hi all

I've been reading through the posts in here about indemnity claims.

I've not really heard of them before so wanted to ask a question about them.

In August last year I swapped bank accounts from Barclays to Abbey, and in doing so all of my direct debits were transferred over to Abbey by their tracking team. There were numerous problems with this such as my wages being moved from Barclays to Abbey, but several of my direct debits not being moved, and me getting charged for being overdrawn by Barclays. I was able to go into my local branch though and get the money back from Abbey related to these.

However, that's just background. In March I decided to end my gym membership - £41 a month via direct debit - I wrote a letter to my gym informing them that I wished to cancel and would they please cancel my direct debit, I included the relevant details. A few days later I received a phone call from the gym to say that this was fine and that my membership would cease in April. When it came to April I logged onto my abbey account and cancelled the direct debit - I printed this screen that confirmed this dd was cancelled.

In June, I was checking my bank statements and noticed that I had paid out a £42 direct debit to the gym company. I logged onto my bank account and found that the same had happened in May and April, but this was a different direct debit than the one I cancelled. But I then noticed that the reference was the same as previous payments to the gym - it seems that there were two direct debits set up on my bank account to pay the gym the monthly membership, although only one was actually having money taken from it, typically the one I hadn't cancelled. Just last week I made sure I cancelled the other direct debit online - again have the print out of this.

I've just phoned my old gym to query this and why this has occurred. The manager was unable to find me on their computer system whatsoever, under my surname, postcode or even my gym membership number, and having explained that I thought I had cancelled the dd, he advised me to contact my bank and the organisation that takes the money from the direct debits, to say i was putting in an indemnity claim.

This is 3 months worth of membership (£123), for a gym I've not been to once in this period. The gym has no record of me on their system, and I still have an electronic copy of the cancellation letter I wrote including that I wished the gym to cancel the direct debit - although no proof it was sent. I also have the print out that shows I cancelled a direct debit online, although I was unaware that the bank had set up two direct debits for this and that I'd cancelled the wrong one, which is possibly careless on my part in not noticing. Am I within my rights to put in an indemnity claim for these 3 months?

Your help would be much appreciated, thank you.

dc110

Well yes but sounds like a gym error than a bank error to me

td_007

You should be able to reclaim using the direct debit guarantee. There should not have been two dd authorization set up on you account in the first place and most cases (not necessarily always) if you have two two direct debits to the same organisation, then canceling one usually also cancels the other. In your case I am sure that you will be able to get your money back more so as the gym does not dispute that you owe them any payment.

JohalaReewi

As td_007 says, contact your bank and ask for a full and immediate refund of the erroneous direct debits under the Direct Debit Guarantee scheme.

http://www.bacs.co.uk/Bacs/Consumers/DirectDebit/Pages/YourRights.aspx

Also make sure you cancel the rogue DD.

JohalaReewi

dc110 wrote: »

Well yes but sounds like a gym error than a bank error to me

Doesn't matter for Direct Debits. If money is taken in error by Direct Debit, then the BANK refund the customer (in full and immediately) under the Direct Debit Guarantee scheme regardless of who made the mistake.

dc110

Doesn't matter for Direct Debits

I didnt say it did matter. I advised OP he could claim.

I then indicated it sounds like gym error not bank error as (in my opinion) it was implied by OP it was the bank's error