CC Direct Debit taken on zero balance.

thenudeone

All mnba card statements state that the DD will always be taken regardless of any payments made. It is in small print but it is there.

oscar52

DavidB wrote: »

I presumed they would check the CURRENT balance before withdrawing an amount.
David.

Seriously??!!

They have over 4 million active accounts - how long do you think it would take to check the balance on each account, prior to requesting the payment from the respective bank account? Admittedly not all accounts have a DD set up but well over 50% do.

Venusflytrap

Same happened to me with Halifax - paid full balance before due date to reduce interest on cash advance but full DD still taken. Credit refund requested and returned by BACS in 2-3 working days.

Ben8282

Different card issuers have different practices regarding the direct debit. My Lloyds/TSB credit card statements read 'Manual payment received 4 clear working days before the payment due date will reduce or stop the D/D from your account for that month'. Therefore anything I pay more than 4 days before the direct debit will reduce or cancel the direct debit.

However, a more common practice is that the direct debit will be taken automatically regardless of any other payments made. This is very normal.

That is why I prefer to set up credit card direct debits for the minimum payment then pay any extra that I want to pay that month separately. It is a lot easier in the long run than having to be sure that you are ready to pay off the enitre balance on the direct debit date each month. You are using your credit card as a charge card. Very good as you don't pay interest but imagine if one month you forgot to make sure there was enough money in your current account to cover an unexpectedly high full balance?

Rather than asking for a refund could you not spend the £200 through the card?

Also, if you paid the £200 by BACS on the 9th August, 5 days after using the card (I don't want to be rude, but why? Why use a credit card on which you don't pay interest for a purchase and pay the amount off after 5 days?), when you noticed that the statement dated 22nd August (14 days after the payment was made) did not show the payment and still showed £200 outstanding balance, why did you not question the apparent non-receipt of the payment?

What date was the payment received on by the way? Has any explanation been offered as to why a BACS payment took more than two weeks to reach your credit card account? This is absolutely not normal.

dunstonh

Would it be quicker to ask my bank to not allow the DD to complete?

Too late. You have to catch it the same working day it is going out (certain recall reasons can be done next day).

Bottom line is they have done exactly what they said they would do. The problem is you didnt read what you signed up to.

They have to wait for the direct debit to clear at their end so they know you havent had it returned before they can then return it to you.

DavidB

oscar52 wrote: »

Seriously??!!

They have over 4 million active accounts - how long do you think it would take to check the balance on each account, prior to requesting the payment from the respective bank account? Admittedly not all accounts have a DD set up but well over 50% do.

Yes, seriously.
I'm quite sure the database is capable of extracting one extra field on top of the ones it already does and performing a subtraction. The increase in execution time would be negligible.

However, a more common practice is that the direct debit will be taken automatically regardless of any other payments made. This is very normal.

Rather than asking for a refund could you not spend the £200 through the card?

Also, if you paid the £200 by BACS on the 9th August, 5 days after using the card (I don't want to be rude, but why? Why use a credit card on which you don't pay interest for a purchase and pay the amount off after 5 days?), when you noticed that the statement dated 22nd August (14 days after the payment was made) did not show the payment and still showed £200 outstanding balance, why did you not question the apparent non-receipt of the payment?

What date was the payment received on by the way? Has any explanation been offered as to why a BACS payment took more than two weeks to reach your credit card account? This is absolutely not normal.

As stated earlier, I'm too late to get an indemnity on the DD.

Yes, I didn't read the small print. It's my fault. However, I'm stiff baffled by the policies and that it is considered normal practice.

Why did I pay it off so quickly? I use the CC which has a low maximum limit for online purchases. I try not to spend money I don't have. I save before spending where possible. I like to know where I am, I'm not bright enough to juggle money left right and centre.

I'll check out the date that the BACS payment was received.

Thanks again all.

David.

chexum

oscar52 wrote: »

They have over 4 million active accounts - how long do you think it would take to check the balance on each account, prior to requesting the payment from the respective bank account? Admittedly not all accounts have a DD set up but well over 50% do.

And are half of the total accounts each having their DD dates at the same day? Nevertheless, I'm sure it would take less time to "check" the current balance before the actual DD submission than calculating the interest on balances. Do they occasionally skip that part as well because it's too expensive? Ah, so maybe that's why they have so many 0% offers

DavidB wrote: »

Yes, I didn't read the small print. It's my fault. However, I'm stiff baffled by the policies and that it is considered normal practice.

A direct debit submission is about the same as a BACS payment, they have to send the batches a few (minimum two working*) days earlier, specifying the actual date they want the DD to be executed. Depending on their system, they may vary this date, and if they are too specific, they will be held accountable for any variation due to internal delays/system problems. If they say the value will be two working days before the DD date, and their systems have a downtime and can't complete the batch, all of their customers could be calling them for compensation because it's not what they promised, so it seems they chose the easiest way out - the balance at the statement time, and they have lots of time to actually submit the DD, even as infrequently as once a week, so that they can run the processes over the weekend when no other things happen.

* See the Input/Processing/Entry days:
http://www.bacs.co.uk/Bacs/Businesses/DirectDebit/Collecting/Pages/GettingStarted.aspx

chattychappy

DavidB wrote: »

TWould it be quicker to ask my bank to not allow the DD to complete?

Then you risk charges on the CC for a bounced DD.

Best not to agree to a DD in the first place. They date back to an era before online banking and were are an alternative to putting cheques in envelopes with payment slips.

Stay in control - make manual payments when you choose to make them.

thenudeone

DavidB wrote: »

Would it be quicker to ask my bank to not allow the DD to complete?

The DD was taken exactly as agreed.
You have no legitimate reason to ask the bank to decline the DD.

If you asked your bank for a refund under the DD guarantee you would have to lie. The DD could be re-instated at a later date once the card company had proved it was within the terms agreed.