Can a company take 2 standing orders 7 days apart??

Arla22

Hello,

Could someone please tell me if they can do this...
I missed a payment to my debt managemt company last month... I normally just call and pay over the phone. I sent a standing order form off, and received confirmation it had been set up. Then on 31st "pay day", they took £70. (the agreed amount).
I've just checked my statement again, and they've already taken another £70!
That's not monthly like agreed, are they within their rights just to take it like that???
Any help would be appreciated, I already have a very tight budget, and now I have no clue where I'm going to find this money from.

MPH80

Ok ... first we need to get our terminology right.

A standing order is set up by you on your bank and pushes money on a set day or set pattern to the recipient.

A direct debit is set up by the recipient (a company) and pulls money from your bank account on their instruction.

A standing order is your responsibility unless the bank have set it up not according to your instructions, a direct debit is the company's responsibility.

Which is it?

However, there's something missing here:

I missed a payment to my debt managemt company last month ... Then on 31st "pay day", they took £70. (the agreed amount). ... they've already taken another £70! Can a company take 2 standing orders 7 days apart??

(note: my editing on the quote)

Either 'last month' means April and they took the money on the 30th of April, in which case - it's gone past the 31st of May and they look entitled OR 'last month' means May, in which case they'll have taken money on the 31st - if more money has gone, it's gone straight out behind the 31st (e.g. the 1st) as it's now only the 3rd, not 7 days later.

Can you clarify the story please.

M.

Take_it_like_a_man,_sonny

Hello newbie and welcome.

Please do not pay these robbing companies, go up this forum to the debt sections, they will advise you there

stclair

If you feel the direct debit has been taken incorrectly you can claim the funds back under the direct debit indemnity scheme.

Arla22

Hope this clarifies a bit further...
It is a standing order. I filled out a standing order form and they set it up. I requested monthly payments of £70.
I did not pay Mays installment of £70 to them at the beginning of the month as I should have. I normally pay by card. In the middle of may I sent the standing order form off by post.

On 31st May, they took £70. I've just checked my bank and they'd taken another £70, jut days later. Meaning that I've had 2 payments out of one pay packet. I didn't think they could do this if the instruction is monthly??

mildred1978

Arla22 wrote: »

Hope this clarifies a bit further...
It is a standing order. I filled out a standing order form and they set it up. I requested monthly payments of £70.
I did not pay Mays installment of £70 to them at the beginning of the month as I should have. I normally pay by card. In the middle of may I sent the standing order form off by post.

On 31st May, they took £70. I've just checked my bank and they'd taken another £70, jut days later. Meaning that I've had 2 payments out of one pay packet. I didn't think they could do this if the instruction is monthly??

Yes they can. They took May's payment (which was about as late as it could be) and then June's when it was due. Otherwise every payment would be almost a month late every month from now on in!!

InsideInsurance

No they cant!

A standing order is a "push" system. You instruct your bank to send money from your account to them at what frequency and amount you want

Direct Debit is a "pull" system where the recipient instructs your bank when and how much to send them.

As a standing order has been used only you can instruct the bank what to do.

You evidently need to contact you bank and see what has been set up - most banks allow you to do this online though if it is a complex set of instructions then maybe not.

CLAPTON

log into your bank account and look at your standing orders

and see what it says (i.e. date, frequency )

shellsuit

What did you set the standing order up to do?

Pay every Monday?

Pay every 4 weeks on a Monday?

Pay on the 1st of every month?

They're just examples of course, but 'they' haven't taken the money from you, you have allowed the payments to be processed as you set up the standing order instruction yourself, so if I were you, I'd log onto internet banking if you use it, or if not, ring the bank and see exactly what it is that you have instructed.

dzug1

Is it possible that the standing order said £xx on receipt then £xx on the nnth of each month??

If it was truly a standing order then the company haven't 'taken' anything. Your bank have either followed or misinterpreted the instructions you gave them.

Unless the company altered the wording on the standing order before sending it to the bank

YorkshireBoy

Arla22 wrote: »

Hope this clarifies a bit further...
It is a standing order.

Not really!

As has already been said, you (more accurately, your bank) are responsible for 'pushing' the funds to the payee with a standing order.

I suspect what has happened here is that the payee has used your debit card details already provided by yourself when you "normally just call and pay over the phone".