Direct debit indemnity

Billysmum86

Hi i need some advise, i set up a dmp with debt-line, they sent me out the paperwork which i didnt fill in because a realative said they would help me out rather than being bound to one of these for years. I received text messages to say that they had not received the paperwork and the would send me out another copy if i needed, or if i no longer required the service to text back and let them know. I sent a text asking them to cancel and i also rang them up to make sure it was cancelled as £105 would be taken out of my bank account. But yesterday i noticed that this sum was taken out of the my bank account so i rang them up, they have said they have no record of me making the phone call to them but they could see that the money was requested from my bank account but hadnt cleared with them yet. I told them i had changed my mind and didnt want to go ahead anymore as i didnt need it. They advised me to ring my bank and ask them to cancel the money going out as it had not been cleared. I rang my bank and they said it was too late that once it had been requested it was gone. So now i am £105 out of pocket this month. The bank told me i could go into my local branch and fill out a direct debit indemnity form to try and get the money back. I dont really understand what this is and how long will it take. Im kind of annoyed because i dont live near any of the branches and i always do my banking online or over the phone, surely they should be able to do something about this over the phone?

bengalknights

Under the direct debit guarantee scheme you can request a indemnity which reverses the charge back to your account usually takes upto a week though.Due to the forms that have to filled in and signed its usually done at a branch.

System

Under the direct debit guarantee, you are entitled to an immediate (ie, same day), no questions asked, refund of any direct debit you say was mistakenly taken.
http://www.financial-ombudsman.org.uk/publications/ombudsman-news/27/27-directdebit-guarantee.htm
The indemnity form is what the bank fills out to get the money back from the originator, and is the bank's problem, nothing to do with the customer. The bank can ask you for information to help it fill out the form, and in practice you may want to be helpful, but you don't have to answer any questions unless you want to.
Many bank staff either do not know, or pretend not to know, what the direct debit guarantee is.

YorkshireBoy

YoungNick wrote: »

Under the direct debit guarantee, you are entitled to an immediate (ie, same day), no questions asked, refund of any direct debit you say was mistakenly taken.

I've never found "immediate" defined in any official capacity, either by the banks, the DD scheme, or the FOS/FSA.

I appreciate it reads as 'there and then', but judging by the number of issues on this board that rarely, if ever, happens.

System

YorkshireBoy wrote: »

I appreciate it reads as 'there and then', but judging by the number of issues on this board that rarely, if ever, happens.

Because bank staff do not know, or pretend not to know, what 'immediate' means. However, Nationwide refunded me immediately, while I stood at the reception desk, when the then Abbey National took somebody else's mortgage payment from my account.

chambta

YoungNick wrote: »

Because bank staff do not know, or pretend not to know, what 'immediate' means. However, Nationwide refunded me immediately, while I stood at the reception desk, when the then Abbey National took somebody else's mortgage payment from my account.

Within RBS when staff send them through they seem to be done within the hour. And there's certainly nothing more required than a phone call.