Can they use my bank details? - Please help?!

kellysmile

I purchased the services of a Home Information Pack and hoped to pay the £475 fee once my house was sold.

Unfortunately I had to take the house off the market, so I called the company to tell them. They said they were about to take the funds by Direct Debit anyway, so I instructed them not to do this and that instead I would pay on my card once I had recieved the details of HIP.

When I phoned back to pay (8 days later) I find out that they had already taken the funds from my account. There excuse is that I should have called back (2 days earlier) and because I didn't they processed it anyway! They did 'as a gesture of good will' credit my account and took my payment over the phone.

Now, when they took thier payment it sent my account overdrawn, Luckliy I had the funds to transfer back into it to stop further charges (the credit took 3 days), but I will still be charged £25 next month.

When I called to tell them they said even though they have on record me telling them not to use those bank details, that because I supplied them they have a right to use them which can't be withdrawn and so they won't pay my overdraft fee!!

Is that right? I know it isn't a great deal of money in the grand scheme of things, but I feel that I have done everything correctly and it is their fault that my account when overdrawn .... not to meation the 3 days I was unable to purchase petrol/ food etc!!

Your help/ advice would be really useful, I did manage to get the name of the manager to write to, but the operator was very clear that there was no point in doing so!

please help.

garth549

Your best bet would be to plead with the bank really, they sometimes refund charges as goodwill when a mistake has been made (either by you or someone else).

esuhl

The Direct Debit Guarantee (which applies to all DDs), states that the organisation must tell you if the amount you are to pay will change.

If they agreed not to charge you by DD but actually did, they have broken the Direct Debit Guarantee. In the case of an error like this, your bank or building society must immediately issue a full refund (although in this case the company has already refunded the original charge).

Anyway, since the charge was unauthorised and was applied in breach of the Direct Debit Guarantee, I suspect (not entirely sure) that you could sue for damages (the £25 overdraft fee). I would approach the company and ask them to cover the £25 loss you have suffered, and threaten to sue if they decline. But do some research or get proper legal advice first!

More info here:

http://www.financial-ombudsman.org.uk/publications/ombudsman-news/27/27-directdebit-guarantee.htm

http://www.bacs.co.uk/bacs/businesses/directdebit/collecting/pages/customersrights.aspx

http://www.google.co.uk/search?q=direct+debit+guarantee

fthl

as you didn't pay them in the first place, I suspect that any claim you made would be extinguished by one they later made for the admin in dealing with late payment and any other spurious thing they can up with. I'd let it lie myself.