forgot to cancel direct debit

agilityblue

My mum has paid bt for 2 years but during this time she has not had a servce from them she just didn't cancel direct debit. BT say they will not give her back the money is that legal?

McKneff

Contact the bank, they are the ones to deal with it under the Direct Debit Guarantee.

Mum needs to inspect her bank statements far more regularly than every 2 years. Not very MSE

dunstonh

BT must have been providing something for them to continue the direct debit. This is also why they are refusing to refund.

What service do BT say they were providing for that direct debit payment?

BT say they will not give her back the money is that legal?

If its a service that they still provided, even if not used explicitly, then yes its legal for them to refuse. If the service was cancelled 2 years ago but the direct debit continued then they should refund the money or alternatively your mum can use the direct debit guarantee scheme. However, before she rushes to the bank to use that scheme, it will only work if she doesnt owe the money. If she did owe the money, the guarantee scheme will either reject the claim and reverse the credit or BT will come after her for the debt by other means.

agilityblue

She was paying for friends and family although sky provided her with the phone contract I think that she still paid bt for line rental tho.

dunstonh

I think its unlikely they will refund then as they have provided the service. The fact she didnt want it is not their problem. She had a contract with them and they supplied services based on that contract. That service needed to be cancelled and it wasnt. She will be totally reliant on their goodwill and it appears that they dont want to give any.

McKneff

Shouldnt SKY have cancelled the contract at the beginning of their phone contract, thats what usually happens.