Direct Debit Guarentee

mrstewieo

Hi guys!

My boyfriend moved out of his flat and moved back with his parents. There was a final bill from gas/elec which was £470. He agreed to pay this as a payment plan with them.

However, they have taken the full £470 out as a direct debit, which obviously leaves him in a bit of a prodiciment as he wasn't supposed to have to pay this in full at the one time.

This was taken out of his account about 4 days ago but he has only just realised now.

Is there a time limit in which he can go to his bank and ask for a direct debit indemnity??

opinions4u

Not sure what time limit there is but if he acts sooner rather than later he won't be close to it.

themull1

You can do an indemnity claim, no time limits. The bank will do an immediate refund to your bank account and then claim back off the company.

mulronie

The key piece you should be interested in from the Direct Debit Guarantee is:

• If an error is made in the payment of your Direct Debit, by the organisation or your bank or building society, you are entitled to a full and immediate refund of the amount paid from your bank or building society.
  • If you receive a refund you are not entitled to, you must pay it back when the organisation asks you to

There is technically no time limit whatsoever, but 6 years is the 'soft limit' as your rights to recourse to the Financial Ombudsman Service expire after this point.

happy_bunny_2

And don't be put off by the bank. One told me to sort it with the company when they should have refunded under the guarantee.

YorkshireBoy

themull1 wrote: »

You can do an indemnity claim

For clarity, the OP will make a 'guarantee' claim. It is the bank who will then make an 'indemnity' claim on the DD originator (who agrees to 'indemnify' the bank under the DD scheme rules).

JohalaReewi

If there was a payment plan for the £470 agreed and the gas/elec company notified him that they would take the payment plan amounts by direct debit then they have made an error by taking more than was notified and a full and immediate refund can be requested from the BANK via the Direct Debit Guarantee scheme (not indemity). However, the first payment will still be owed to the gas/elec company which will have to paid somehow.