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Cancelling direct debit mandates upsets companies
april_fool
Posts: 58 Forumite
As a good Moneysaver, I regularly review the direct debits on our bank account and cancel those that are no longer required. I recently cancelled a dd for a credit card that I closed 6 months ago, and another for CPP (Card Protection). A week or so later, I received a letter from the credit card company telling me that I as I no longer had a direct debit set up on my account, I was at risk of not paying my debt and I would be receiving reminder letters from them. This is for a CLOSED account, which hadn’t been used for months (after the introductory 0% on purchases ran out), and which had been paid off in full. I realise this is an automated letter, but why is the system allowed to do this for closed accounts with no debt? The CPP is an automatically renewing contract, which has about 4 months left. I gave the company notice that I did not wish to renew, and cancelled the direct debit. When I logged on to my account to review the information I had previously entered (and had prepaid for them to store), I was not able to access my own data as I did not have a valid payment method on my account! I queried this with CPP and was told that I had to have a payment method in order to view my information! Why? So they can “inadvertently” renew my policy again? Grrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrr!
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april_fool wrote: »This is for a CLOSED account, which hadn’t been used for months (after the introductory 0% on purchases ran out), and which had been paid off in full. I realise this is an automated letter, but why is the system allowed to do this for closed accounts with no debt?
You make quite a good point but (for the benefit of others) be aware that "CLOSED" status is not proof against paying out on uncancelled Continuous Payment Authorities. That is of course another, and IMO more serious, issue.0 -
I absolutely agree about the dangers of the Continuous Payment Authority set up on credit cards that can easily be forgotten about, and can be very difficult to cancel if you don’t have the information about the company you made the original agreement with. Closing a credit card account is not sufficient to prevent organisations from claiming against these, which is why it is better to set up direct debit mandates with your bank as you can cancel these, which stops any claims on them.
My point was a small rant about the fact that companies don't like it when you cancel the dd in their favour, even when you owe them nothing!0 -
It seems a little extreme to criticise a company that simply writes to advise that a DD has been cancelled.
It that really worse that one that does not?0 -
april_fool wrote: »As a good Moneysaver, I regularly review the direct debits on our bank account and cancel those that are no longer required. I recently cancelled a dd for a credit card that I closed 6 months ago, and another for CPP (Card Protection). A week or so later, I received a letter from the credit card company telling me that I as I no longer had a direct debit set up on my account, I was at risk of not paying my debt and I would be receiving reminder letters from them. This is for a CLOSED account, which hadn’t been used for months (after the introductory 0% on purchases ran out), and which had been paid off in full. I realise this is an automated letter, but why is the system allowed to do this for closed accounts with no debt? The CPP is an automatically renewing contract, which has about 4 months left. I gave the company notice that I did not wish to renew, and cancelled the direct debit. When I logged on to my account to review the information I had previously entered (and had prepaid for them to store), I was not able to access my own data as I did not have a valid payment method on my account! I queried this with CPP and was told that I had to have a payment method in order to view my information! Why? So they can “inadvertently” renew my policy again? Grrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrr!
With me I show the companys some courtesy and contact them first of all before I cancel a direct debit.
Myself I like a quiet life but of course some of us just like getting wind up.0 -
april_fool wrote: »The CPP is an automatically renewing contract, which has about 4 months left. I gave the company notice that I did not wish to renew, and cancelled the direct debit. When I logged on to my account to review the information I had previously entered (and had prepaid for them to store), I was not able to access my own data as I did not have a valid payment method on my account! I queried this with CPP and was told that I had to have a payment method in order to view my information! Why? So they can “inadvertently” renew my policy again? Grrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrr!
April be VERY VERY careful with CPP I did the same thing as you and thought "well if they wont even give me what I paid for *** em - I definitely will never use them again". As I had cancelled the DD I thought no more of it until I heard from MBNA about a transaction on a CLOSED credit card account.
Hidden in CPP's T&C's is a clause that lets them use ANY of the card you have registered legitimitely for their protection, to renew the policy and their Customer Service and Complaints service is arrogant and disinterested.0 -
Write to both CPP and your bank explaning that you have cancelled your account and that any further debits should be considered as fraudulent.0
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As an aside, in New Zealand, the law there states that a company can cancel a D/D without telling you, but they can't then take you to court for non-payment0
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Rupert_Bear wrote: »With me I show the companys some courtesy and contact them first of all before I cancel a direct debit.
Myself I like a quiet life but of course some of us just like getting wind up.
Rupert Bear, I had written to CPP to cancel my policy and to M&S CC to cancel my credit card. I cancelled the direct debits a few week's later - I didn't feel it necessary to write to the companies again to inform them about the direct debit cancellation. I have no wind problem0
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