Do you pay a Non-DD Fee?

Mavrick_2

Hi All,

I'm a newbie, just joined today so be gentle with me

I've not had particularly good experiences with Direct Debits (DDs) and hate the idea of people dipping into my account to take money so I tend to avoid using them (unless I'm forced to).

Now, I've been an Orange customer for 10 years or so and have never once paid by DD nor have I had to pay a non-DD fee..... That is, until now.

Due to an error in billing Orange overcharged me, when I called CS to draw their attention to it they corrected their mistake and assured me that all would be sorted in my next bill. To cut a long story short I had to call CS again the following month and in the process of sorting it out the CS agent asked why I had not paid by DD (like that would have solved the problem ??? )

Anyway it was at that point that she noticed that I did not have a non-DD fee on my account. She then informed me that I should have one and promptly placed one there.

When I pointed out that had I used DD to pay for my bills I'd still be chasing Orange to refund me the £88 or so that they'd overcharged me, she simply ignored me.

Now am I being unreasonable in thinking that its a bit off being forced to pay an extra £3/mth (possibly £6/mth because I have a Line 2) just because I won't pay by DD?

Does anyone know of a way round this?

Robert5988

Many firms such as BT and OneTel are more expensive unless you pay by DD - although their phraseology is that you get a discount for DD!

Most Utility Companies also have a cheaper tariff if you pay by DD.

I don't know a way around that, and personally wouldn't want to - I have about 10 DDs and having to pay those by post/phone/internet would be a real chore.

Galstonian

I would ask them (in writing) to specifically point out the clause in the terms and conditions of your contract that allows them to do this. They may simply do just that, in which case you may have been informed about changes to terms and conditions - all too often these arrive with your bill as small print in a much less than transparent way. However, it is possible that you signed up for a contract that was not or could not be changed in such a way. Lets face it customer services and billing don't always get things right do they?

I've noticed it the other way around more often - you get a discount for using DD.

FF99

T Mobile have the cheek to charge a non--DD fee when there is a DD set up on the a/c but one chooses to pay-off the balance in full by CC before the DD date.

They gain both ways. Prompt payment and a surcharge. Outrageous customer practice.