Paying by direct debit - first payment

andrewbmx

Hey guys I hope you can shine some light on this,

I setup direct debit when activating my credit card, I can see the companys name on my direct debit but no money has been taken out(I like to pay in advance by card) but would like to know if it's safe to just let the bank take its course and take the money out by itself, or do I have to wait till I see an actual charge from the credit card company first?

It says here:

on the Direct Debit link on the left hand side of the screen, then simply follow the instructions shown to set up your Direct Debit. However, please ensure that you continue to pay your Vanquis Bank Visa account in the usual way until you receive confirmation via your monthly statements that the Direct Debit is in operation

Is that referring to a actual charge or when the direct debit is setup?
I don't want to not pay by card and find I'm in red for not paying in time.

Cheers

jonesMUFCforever

It will be safe to assume that payment will be taken by DD when it states so on your monthly statement.

redpete

I'd make sure I paid the min amount manually for the first one. Paying by DD as well is usually less hassle than not paying at all.

Ben8282

Nothing will be taken until something is due. I assume you have spent on the card and received a statement showing a balance and a minimum payment due. If the statement says 'the amount of £X (or your minimum payment) will be taken by direct debit on Xth September 2011 (or on your payment due date)' - or words to that effect - then you should be safe leaving things to take their course.

If the statement does not show this, it would be prudent to make at least the minimum payment by alternate means so as to be received a couple of days before the due date. Yes, you will have to make the minimum payment twice but his will be a test that the direct debit is set up and working OK. Once a direct debit is taken once then you should have nothing to worry about and can trust future direct debits to go through. It might be a good idea to do this the very first month anyway just in case.

If you have set up the direct debit for the minimum payment and want to pay extra, you will have to pay the extra by alternative means. With some cards a payment matde up to a few days before the direct debit date will cancel or reduce the direct debit amount but in most cases it will not and the direct debit payment will still be taken regardless of any other payments you may have made. I don't have a vanquis card so I don't know how they work but my money would be on the second option. So if balance is £100, direct debit amount is £5 and you want to make full repayment, you will need to pay £95 by other means.