Direct Debit Indemnity Claim - Furious! Where to turn?

mrjam

You may have seen my post earlier about problems with direct debits being collected for incorrect amounts, the girl this morning from Alliance and Leicester told me she had processed the direct debit refunds and they would show tomorrow. I just spoke to someone else on the phone and she told me now it will be 10 working days, i quoted the DD Guarantee to her and she stated that doesnt apply because its from last year and the only way that applies is if i phone them on the same day the DD is taken, i told her this was rubbish and i would be contacting BACS and FO/FSA and she said "Well you do that sir, it will still take 10 days and we wont speak to them about your account" in an extremely arrogant and horrible manner. What to do?

Mark_In_Hampshire

http://www.bacs.co.uk/BACS/CONSUMERS/DIRECTDEBIT/HELPCENTRE/Pages/IncorrectPayments.aspx

Contact Bacs via the Helpline number: 0870 049 2717 (please note that this is a national rate number and calls will be charged at standard operator tariffs, the Helpline is available 9.30am to 5pm, Monday to Friday, excluding Bank Holidays). Before calling, please ensure that you have all the relevant details at hand, including your bank account details and full dates and details of all communications with the bank and company with whom the Direct Debit was raised. We will then investigate on your behalf, via internal banking channels, responding to you within 48 hours.

mrjam

Hi Mark

Just spoke to BACS and the girl there told me 10 days is acceptable, i questioned her on this and she said every bank has their own procedures and that the "immediate" statement on the DD guarantee will be updated to 3 days in the near future, i then questioned her on how 10 days is acceptable if they are updating the period to 3 days to which she went absolutely silent then told me once again each bank has their own procedures.

Here is the best bit though, i said to her OK nevermind, you guys are meant to be the people we phone when we have a problem with the banks, and yet when we do you side with them anyway and.....

Phone went dead, hung up on me. Im now more furious than ive been in an extremely long time. Who can you turn to when everyone sides with the banks, losing patience big time.

Mark_In_Hampshire

That'll be another one of the direct debit guarantee protections being removed, then.

The "every bank has their own procedures" is nonsense. DD is a scheme administered by BACS and banks opt into that scheme and agree to play by the rules, unless there is one set of "rules" consumers are told about and another set of "rules" regarding how it's actually performed which is what appears to be the case here.

Personally I don't use direct debit and have always advised people against it; the only thing going for it was the ability to get the immediate refund and that appears to be being rolled back now in a retrospective manner.

A huge warning, if one were needed, about the dangers of direct debit.

I'm not sure what you can do now, really, apart from wait

mrjam

Banks Win Everytime Mark. I dont know why anyone tries because they always win, and they also know they will always win which is why they get away with anything they want, the banks are lawless im afraid to an extent.

JohalaReewi

Bacs Payment Schemes Limited

Bacs is owned by the leading banks and building societies in the UK. It is responsible for the scheme behind the clearing and settlement of Direct Debits in the UK. Whilst Bacs doesn’t have a direct relationship with consumers, it has a role in ensuring that the scheme operates effectively and that originators/service users maintain standards and so can act as a facilitator to settle disputes.

The Financial Ombudsman

The Financial Ombudsman is the independent service for settling disputes between consumers and businesses providing financial services - if Bacs are unable to resolve your issue you can contact them at www.financialombudsman.org.uk


Seems like the banks/BACs are riding roughshod over the DD Guarantee scheme which they tout as our protection. One for Martin to take up perhaps?



Might be worth a letter to your MP.

Mark_In_Hampshire

I'll bet the reason for this is, as people are on tighter budgets these days, some people are having direct debits reversed by the bank to "get through the month" and it's costing the banks money.

However, removal of the right of refund by the Bank was always on the cards, I actually projected that would happen about a year ago and here it is... not surprising really. The customer will now be more likely to try to get a refund from the payee directly and this is what the Banks wanted - to wash their hands of it.

Paul_Herring

mrjam wrote: »

What to do?

While you're going through the FoS etc, may I suggest you find two other banks not related to either

• each other or
• Santander

and open current accounts with both.

mrjam

Further to the above, i decided to call A&L this morning to question the 10 days refund, i spoke to a very helpful chap who told me in no uncertain terms that the person i spoke to was entirely wrong and getting "confused" regarding timescales. He told me that it would take 48 hours for the funds to show back on my account, and that they should be there by the end of the day, latest tomorrow morning. Wether they will or wont is another matter i suppose, but just goes to show, half of bank staff dont have a clue what they are talking about and then have the cheek to talk to you like you are something they stood in, may i add its very often young women who do this, after their 6 weeks of training. Im keeping my fingers crossed, not holding out much hope purely because ive been told things before which havent happened, but more promising than "10 days"... still, i have just opened an RBS account and as soon as this is sorted the account will be getting closed. :beer:

JohalaReewi

Although RBS/Natwest aren't top of the pile when it comes to DD guarantee scheme refunds. But they are better than HBOS. From experience, First Direct seem to be on the ball (or they were a year ago)

mrjam

oh it just gets f'in better and better. i just phoned them again because still nothing showing and i spoke to someone this time who told me..... the claims HADNT EVEN BEEN PROCESSED! apparently the advisor put it on as notes to do and didnt put them through, and that now it will be at earliest monday, i quoted the direct debit guarantee to him and what the BACS website said and he asked me who BACS were, i told him and he said "they just move money around theyre nothing to do with us!"..... oh dear oh dear, A&L are a shower of absolute prats quite frankly. Im really losing patience.... :mad: