"Very" Payment Refund

garynuman

Hi

I recently paid off my balance (£400+) at Very. Up until then, I was making a minimum payment by direct debit. Although this was paid in good time, a further £21 was debited from my account so I am now in credit for £21.

I have asked "Very" to refund the money but they have refused, stating that as it was taken via direct debit, I will need to contact my bank and ask for an indeminity.

It's fair to say I was fairly peeved about this so I asked them to close my account and refund the amount owing anywaty.

They have since confirmed that my account IS IN CREDIT but they cannot send a cheque or payment by any other means for the reasons above.

They *must* be able to make refunds so are they able to do this?

Thanks for any advice

Regards

Gaz

Tixy

Yes they are able to do this, and yes they should make a payment to you (though they can choose how - ie can choose to send a cheque or direct payment etc).

Conversely if you had cancelled the DD before it was taken they'd have probably charged you for missing your DD - even if there was no balance as it had already been paid. You can't win sometimes!

Have you tried to close the account by phone or in writing. If only by phone I'd write to them close the account and request payment of the in credit balance.

garynuman

No I haven't requested this by post or telephone - just via their "help" section on their website.

I suppose it won't hurt.

I would've thought common-sense would mean that they would HAVE TO SETTLE if my account was closed!

DizzyChick

if you pay by direct debit then you have to claim indemnity from your bank which is a quicker way to receive your refund as this only takes 24 hours compared to 14 days card refund. direct debits are not automatically cancelled just because you made another payment.( as i found out) as i guess your statement was already produced before you paid your balance off. i would wait until you receive your next statement which shows a nil balance before you close your account which you can do by email i believe.

DizzyChick

i forgot to add that most companies will only refund you the way that your payment was made as this helps prevent money laundering and not the company just being picky