How to arrange a direct debit?

paulsm

Hi I rent my old flat out and from December I want to ditch the estate agaent , saving their fees of £65 question is how do I arrange my tenants to pay direct bebit? Do I have to get a form for them or do they get a form? and how quick is it to confirm?
Sooo many questions.

_Andy_

It would be a standing order rather than DD. They can set it up simply by calling their banks.

mleonard79

As Andy says all you need is a standing order set up by your tenant (if they have online banking they can set this up in a minute as it's just setting up a regular payment to you.)

Regards

Michelle

anniecave

they will need to know your bank account details (sort code, account number, what the name is on your account (eg Mr Smith or Mrs Smith), what bank it is (barclays, lloyds etc) and sometimes they want to know what the address of the branch is) and how much and how often they need to pay you

paulsm

will I get any kind of confirmation that it is set up?

Astaroth

Standing order is where the account holder (ie your tenant) "pushes" the money from their account into yours everything is done from their account and you have no control/ knowledge etc other than when you see the money turn up.

Direct Debit is where the paid person (ie you) "pulls" the money from the payee's account it is setup by you but must be authorised by them. Both sides can see details of it etc

Basically, as others have said, if you have only one tentant (or to behonest less than a couple of hundred) then Standing Order is the easiest way to go as there is no cost to you at all. There are 3rd party companies that will set up DDs for you if you really want to go down this route but will only be tiny volumes but obviously they take a cut of your income.

[Deleted User]

They can give you a form in the bank to fill in. It also allows you to specify the end date.. I used one of these when a friend had to pay me back some money and I pay my rent using one. You can also set them up to pay yourself.. automatically moving money around your account (e.g. savings)

_Andy_

You're welcome.