virgin have been taking two direct debits, compensation?

benm1

After a home move in april I contacted Virgin to transfer my broadband. They said that due to my previous service being virgin national rather than cable they would cancel the national service and set up a new cable account. This happened, no problem. I noticed yeaterday that Virgin had not stopped the direct debit for the national service. I contacted them and they acknowledged that it was their error and that the national service had been disconnected in april but for "some reason" the direct debit hadnt been stopped by them. In all they have taken £157.17 in extra payments. They have told me that they will refund this. I asked about compensation and they asssured me that "the £157.17 will be refunded". I explained that I didnt think this constituted compensation as this money was already mine and shouldnt have been taken, which they acknowledged again. They said they would get back to me regarding compensation. My question: What is reasonable compensation to ask for? Oh, and I acknowledge that I should have noticed the direct debits earlier however their descriptions are exactly the same on my statements.

brewerdave

If you have incurred bank charges or borrowing costs for their error then reasonable to expect comp. greater than your incurred costs BUT if it hasn't actually caused you any real inconvenience (as seems likely) then you have lost ~ 6 months interest on a slowly increasing amount ~ <£1 at current interest rates !! so any comp. will be "reasonable", £20 credit on your cable bill perhaps?

Buzby

None, really. £10.00 would be the max if they were being generous - as a goodwill gesture only. The real issue is not that they took the money, but that you did not query it a be time he double-debit was applied. Consumers forget that a DDM does not remove the basic responsibility to ensure payments are taken correctly. (Eg if they fail to take a payment, you remain liable despite them holding a mandate). Since you let the payments continue, you are deemed mainly responsible for letting it continue.

benm1

thanks for the replies

JohalaReewi

benm1 wrote: »

I noticed yeaterday that Virgin had not stopped the direct debit for the national service. I contacted them and they acknowledged that it was their error and that the national service had been disconnected in april but for "some reason" the direct debit hadnt been stopped by them.

You are covered by the Direct Debit Guarantee Scheme. You need to contact your BANK and request a full and immediate refund of the DD amounts Virgin have taken in error. You can usually do this over the phone.

See http://www.thesmartwaytopay.co.uk/DirectDebitExplained/Pages/DirectDebitGuarantee.aspx

If you have incurred bank charges or loss of interest as a result of the DDs taken in error, this is not covered by the DD Guarantee Scheme.
You will have to claim from Virgin for a refund of bank charges.

JohalaReewi

Buzby wrote: »

Consumers forget that a DDM does not remove the basic responsibility to ensure payments are taken correctly. (Eg if they fail to take a payment, you remain liable despite them holding a mandate). Since you let the payments continue, you are deemed mainly responsible for letting it continue.

Consumers forget that Direct Debit payments are covered by the Direct Debit Guarantee Scheme.

macman

A recipient cannot cancel the DD, only you can, as the account holder. All they can do is cease to draw on it.
You failed to cancel the DD or check your bank statements for 7 months, and you want compensation on top of the refund? For what?

mattyprice4004

Compensation culture strikes again!

benm1

macman wrote: »

A recipient cannot cancel the DD, only you can, as the account holder. All they can do is cease to draw on it.
You failed to cancel the DD or check your bank statements for 7 months, and you want compensation on top of the refund? For what?

As it happens I couldnt cancel the direct debit because I had a new service. There was only one "virgin media" on my direct debit list so cancelling that would mean I wasnt paying my new service. Agreed I should have checked my statement more carefully, though two direct debits with exactly the same name is not that hard to mistake for one surely?
If Virgin can "cease to draw on it" they surely have a responsibility to do this?
How about compensation for me being on the phone for two hours explaining the situation to a tonne of different departments for their error?
mattyprice4004Compensation culture strikes again!
I'm not after any grand gesture from them, though asking for a reasonable compensation from big company like virgin with poor customer service in general is very different to "compensation culture"!

Buzby

Covered in message #3
Goodwill gesture is the only way forward - so ask nicely.

benm1

As a goodwill gesture they offered me £15, which i am more than happy with. It still took a second phone call from myself (after a week of not hearing back from them) for them to get moving and refund me (although I'm still waiting on a cheque).

Thank you for all of the helpful comments.

Thank you also to the wonderful comments from people who are obviously much more savvy with the intricate machinations of the direct debit system and helpfully point out that we should not expect companies to do what they say they will. I've had my ignorant eyes opened. For that, mere words cannot express my gratitude.