first direct Direct Debit warning

roddycam

Last Friday I knew I had a Direct Debit due but I wasn't able to transfer funds till 8am in the morning. When I banked with RBS I was able to pay in funds till 1200 on the day (a counter clerk advised me unofficially that 230pm was ok) and the payment would be met. But first direct told me the DD was presented at 3am when there were insufficient funds in the account and are landing me with a Returned Item fee for £25, which I also think is steep considering RBS took £12. Don't get me wrong, I like first direct most of the time and no way am I ever going back to RBS, but I think forumites with first direct accounts should know about this. I have complained to first direct and will let you know their reply.:mad:

SnowTiger

roddycam wrote: »

Last Friday I knew I had a Direct Debit due but I wasn't able to transfer funds till 8am in the morning. [...] But first direct told me the DD was presented at 3am when there were insufficient funds in the account and are landing me with a Returned Item fee for £25 [...] I have complained to first direct and will let you know their reply.:mad:

You've complained to First Direct because a Direct Debit was taken from your account on the day it was due?

roddycam

SnowTiger wrote: »

You've complained to First Direct because a Direct Debit was taken from your account on the day it was due?

No, because I made every effort to make sure there were funds in on that day and their procedures don't take account of that. (Text removed by MSE Forum Team)

bjarvis2785

I bank with FD and have never had a problem with them - in fact i'd go as far as saying they're the best bank i've ever dealt with.
But then, i've never had the problem your facing.

Knowing my experience with them, i'd be surprised if they upheld that charge.

It is handy to know about the D/D time though.

antrobus

I believe what the man is saying is this;

- when I was with RBS they'd wait until the end of the day before deciding there was sufficient funds to pay a DD thereby allowing me time to transfer some money in

- but First Direct (HSBC) make their decision based on what the balance is at the start of the day, and thus have bounced a DD before I had a chance to cover it

I suspect that a complaint to First Direct might illicit a response along the lines of, that's the way we do things here so tough, but we'll refund the £25 charge as a matter of goodwill just this time.

However, I also imagine that most people who bank with RBS, First Direct, or indeed any other bank, wouldn't care which way round it was done.

roddycam

antrobus wrote: »

I believe what the man is saying is this;

- when I was with RBS they'd wait until the end of the day before deciding there was sufficient funds to pay a DD thereby allowing me time to transfer some money in

- but First Direct (HSBC) make their decision based on what the balance is at the start of the day, and thus have bounced a DD before I had a chance to cover it

I suspect that a complaint to First Direct might illicit a response along the lines of, that's the way we do things here so tough, but we'll refund the £25 charge as a matter of goodwill just this time.

However, I also imagine that most people who bank with RBS, First Direct, or indeed any other bank, wouldn't care which way round it was done.

Thank you for taking the time to repeat what I said in the first place.

Maybe most people wouldn't care but this post is for those who might be affected by it so they don't end up shelling out £25.

Dr_Cuckoo3

check out these links

https://forums.moneysavingexpert.com/discussion/3076726

https://forums.moneysavingexpert.com/discussion/comment/30986609#Comment_30986609

jon_boy75 wrote: »

Hoping you can help me here as I'm trying to assemble some evidence.

If you have a first direct current account, can you respond below answering each question:

1. Have you had a direct debit, standing order or cheque returned (declined/bounced) in the last 2 - 3 years?

2. If 'Yes', did first direct report a late payment to the credit reference agencies (Experian, Equifax or CallCredit)?

That's all I need to know...many, many thanks in advance

jjhamil wrote: »

Just wondering if anyone else has experienced this?

I've just found out that if you have a bounced direct debit from a First Direct current account - even if you pay it the same day - they sent that to the credit reference agencies as a late payment, which flags up as a '1 / Warning' on your credit record.

The customer services woman has just cheerfully told me they are the only bank that do it and that their regime is 'harsher' than other banks.

Other banks don't do it unless the payment is a month late but FD do it even if you pay the bounced payment within the hour! Astonishing and a total rip off.

It must have hit tens of thousands of people ...

I only found out as they have placed SIX 'Late Payments' on my credit file, even though I have never not made a payment.

I am very angry and want to warn others.

pqrdef

Firms like DDs because they go in batches on a 24-hour cycle. If they're expecting money on the 27th, and they time their request for it to arrive on the 27th, they expect to see it sitting in their accounts when they turn up for work at 6 am on the 27th, because if it isn't, it won't arrive until the 28th. It's not like the bank will send it round by motorcycle courier when the customer gets round to paying some money in.

Some banks have a lot of trouble with customers who think time can flow backwards so that money can arrive before it sets off. It works out cheaper in customer service costs if they pay the DD on time. Then somebody in the branch gets on the case and decides whether they will sell you an unplanned overdraft, or whether they will have to abuse the facility to recall the DD. This becomes irrelevant if you pay the money in.

First Direct don't have branches. They've never made any pretence of relationship banking. The computer just decides in the night whether to sell you an unplanned overdraft (also £25) or bounce the payment.

But they do try to attract a more organised class of customer. The £25 charge probably does a lot to help their customers get organised. I paid it once, but I haven't paid it again.

Savvy_Money

I'm not sure if the £25 charge is a method for helping people to 'organise' their finances - call me a cynic but I suspect it is to help increase profits. I agree though that it would make me personally alert towards the shelling out of another £25 in the future!

roddycam

I would disagree that first direct don't make a pretence of relationship banking. And some banks have no problems with dealing with this situation by dealing with payments later in the day. I believe they use computers rather than motorcycle couriers.


And can I just say I started this thread to try to save people money, not to get snarky comments from know-alls.

JimmyTheWig

antrobus wrote: »

I suspect that a complaint to First Direct might illicit a response along the lines of, that's the way we do things here so tough, but we'll refund the £25 charge as a matter of goodwill just this time.

I agree...