Change to direct debit rules...

jambosans

expeditionist wrote: »

Well maybe customers should at least be advised about the 13 month dormancy rule - that information isn't passed on to customers when they set up their direct debits, I don't believe it's common knowledge - that much at least.

There are a lot of things not passed along to customers. It is very much "need to know" as you have encountered a rare occurrence.

expeditionist wrote: »

Furthermore, the banks could put information about removed / lapsing direct debits in advance on the customer's statements. And they only need to advise about cancellations not initiated by the customer or payee.

Again, a rather frivolous endeavour when 99.9% of a banks customers do not need to know this information. The last thing I need is more irrelevant information filling up my already cluttered statement.

expeditionist wrote: »

Personally, if I have direct debit instructions on my account it's because I want them to be there, I'm not so scatty as to leave direct debit instructions active on my account. I'll cancel them as soon as they're no longer needed, although I understand many people don't.

In most circumstances it would be fair to assume that after 13 months the Direct Debit is dormant, and a little house keeping is in order. Sending out a letter every time a Direct Debit has been cancelled is completely impractical.

expeditionist wrote: »

Also, the direct debit guarantee provides an immediate refund to the customer if someone takes a direct debit in the wrong amount or by mistake, but there's no system to reimburse the customer for an unpaid direct debit that the bank removed without the customer's knowledge.

This point can always be argued as an issue of customer service with the bank, or credit card company. As in your case the credit card company reimbursed you, problem solved.

expeditionist wrote: »

I just feel that all parties failed to inform me that the direct debit instructions were no longer in place. In fact, they misled be failing to tell me and by printing on my credit card statement that the direct debit was going to be taken automatically and then charging me when it was returned unpaid.

I agree with the first sentence, but the second implies some pre-emptive thought on the part of their automated statement/ charging system and advisers to a scenario which neither have ever dealt with. You are blowing this situation out of all proportion. I have never heard of this happening before, and y'know, thanks for letting us all know, but you need to put this in perspective.

This doesn't happen every day, so the banks and credit card companies have not put safety measures in place to prevent this (it would be a waste of money). Instead, once every so often, their customer service advisers get to deal with someone like your lovely self, refund a £12 charge as exceptional circumstances, and move on with their lives. The means outweighs the gains I'm afraid.

YorkshireBoy

expeditionist wrote: »

Well maybe customers should at least be advised about the 13 month dormancy rule - that information isn't passed on to customers when they set up their direct debits, I don't believe it's common knowledge - that much at least.

I'm sure some of my DDI confirmation letters, especially for credit cards, have mentioned it. I've also seen it mentioned in FAQ sections on provider websites. However, I agree it ought to be a requirement to explicitly state it on a DDI confirmation letter, not leave it as optional.

To be fair though, how many people have 'ad-hoc' DDIs on their current account? I can understand monthly (mortgage, credit card, loan, etc), quarterly (utilities), and annually (memberships, subscriptions, etc)...but two/three yearly? Who uses those? In summary, 13 months/400 days (as it is now) is a reasonable dormancy period in my opinion...but it should be better communicated.

In fact, they misled be failing to tell me and by printing on my credit card statement that the direct debit was going to be taken automatically and then charging me when it was returned unpaid.

That's (possibly) an unfair accusation, particularly as I've already posted above regarding the timescales...you were around the 12/13 month point when the statement was issued. The DDI could have been active when the statement was produced, but cancelled by your bank at any time in the 28 days before the payment due date.

expeditionist

I'm still of the opinion that they should give out information about the 13 month dormancy period somewhere, maybe on the direct debit guarantee leaflet. The banks and credit card companies are not normally shy when it comes to sending out their terms and conditions of operation! If it's already stated and I've missed it, then I apologise.

I'm going to submit to what's been said now, no time to dwell on yesterday - thanks for all your comments / arguments.

I hope you all haven't minded me voicing my opinions, they're just opinions - there have been some strong counter-arguments.

I just thought maybe if others agreed, something might change for the better, I'm not raging about it or anything. Life's too short!

I guess at least I know now about the dormancy period and I won't make the same mistake again.