lloyds bank are 'messengers' now.....

hamaradam

After having so much hassle with direct debits and the bank allowing companies to take out more (resulting in OD charges) on the wrong day (resulting in OD charges,) - I have a very tight budget.. I decided NO MORE DIRECT DEBITS I will pay all bills in full, end of. The last one to go was tv licence, I was about to call them and say "send me the bill for the outstanding amount for this year as I no longer do direct debit", when lo and behold I got a letter from tv licencing 'you have stopped your direct debit please set it up again' this was curiously very quick to arrive when I called them the nice staff on the end told me that with direct debits I had paid up to NEXT april and so it would not be a bill until then and not to worry, and that lloyds had told them, and despite me stopping my direct debit on the 7th (it goes out on the 1st) or did do, it was with immediate effect that lloyds bank took it upon themselves to inform tv licencing immediately. WHY? I did not request this. Is it a legal requirement for lloyds bank/any bank to do this? does anybody know? It did not happen with any utility bills I notice...

vuvuzela

Every organisation that has had a DD cancelled will be informed as such by any bank that the original DD was set up with. They then choose what to do with that information, some organisations will be more pro-active in dealing than others.

Evilm

It does happen with utility bills but they probably don't deal with it as quickly. TV licensing tend to be on your case very quickly for this sort of stuff.

When ever you cancel a direct debit they do tell the other party whatever bank you are with. I've even had a snotty letter from a credit card company before for a credit card that was closed when I removed the DD from my list.

keyser666

The issue you face now with cancelling your DD's and being on a tight budget is that you will inevitably end up paying more. Granted it wont be as much as the OD charges

redpete

Seems quite reasonable, you filled in an authorisation to allow TVL to set up a DD with the bank, so there is a direct relationship between TVL and the bank. Now you have done something that means that the bank will not be able to honour their side of that agreement so I think it's quite reasonable for them to inform TVL.

antrobus

hamaradam wrote: »

..., it was with immediate effect that lloyds bank took it upon themselves to inform tv licencing immediately. WHY? ....

Because that's what's supposed to happen.

ADDACS - The Automated Direct Debit Amendment and Cancellation Service

ADDACS automates the process of paying banks informing organisations of changes to Direct Debit Instructions (DDI's). Changes may include amendments to the customer's account or a request from the customer to cancel a DDI.

http://www.bacs.co.uk/Bacs/Businesses/DirectDebit/Services/Pages/ADDACS.aspx

unholyangel

As for wrong amounts being taken on the wrong date - you wouldve been covered by the DD guarantee and the company making the mistake would've been liable for any charges you reasonably incur due to their error.

brightonman123

unusual for banks to advise co's a d/d was cancelled, unless they made a claim for payment (which then gets rejected)..

peter_the_piper

Sits waiting for first person to complain that Lloyds had not told the company of the stopped D/D.

originator

I agree with the OP and hate direct debits.Have managed to whittle mine down to just 2 now.I decide what and when money goes out of my bank account,suits me fine andf I actually save by paying upfront on a bill (house insurance for instance) rather than dragging it out over 12 months.

peter_the_piper

I'm not organised enough to pay bills as they come in so DD is right for me.