Barclays - cancelling a direct debit instruction

eriphyle

I just wanted to give everyone a "heads up" concerning cancelling a direct debit instruction if you bank with Barclays.

We pay our rent by DD to an agency. The agency couldn't make the process work, so on their suggestion, we set up a standing order instead and cancelled the DD. I went into Barclays in person, into a side office to discuss the situation and make sure the DD was cancelled as part of the process. I was assured all was fine.

It worked perfectly for a couple of months until the agency re-activated the DD from their side (by mistake, they apologised) and Barclays, even though they assured us that the debit was firmly cancelled, tried to pay out.

When I asked them for an explanation, they said the ONLY way to cancel a DD once signed is to put "a security block" against the presenter on the account. Only now is the agency locked out.

At no point did they raise this when I arranged to have the dd cancelled - quite obviously had they done so, I would have actioned whatever was required to kill the dd instruction.

We only lost a little money but it may cause more significant problems for others, so I thought it was important to share this experience.

grumbler

Why have you lost money? If it was a mistake you could have asked for a full and immediate refund from Barclays.

Yes, its very easy for any company to setup a DD without your consent. That's why you are protected by DD guarantee.

I don't see that Barclays have done anything wrong. They cancelled the existing DD as instructed. The company set a new one.

brightonman123

then barclays paid out without your authority. claim costs from BOTH, and dont let them off the hook. send reminder letters, and charge £30 each time for the privilege!

eriphyle

We lost money because the rent had already been paid by SOrder, so there was not enough in the account. Barclays charged us an £8 penalty.

We are pursuing the agency for the money and they've said they will pay but nothing yet.

Barclays told us the debit was cancelled. I have it in writing from the agency that the debit is cancelled. We didn't fill out a new debit. My point was that Barclays misled us and failed to disclose that a debit can never be "cancelled" once signed. The company who has it can keep using it to access your money unless you place a specific security block on the company.

grumbler

eriphyle wrote: »

We lost money because the rent had already been paid by SOrder, so there was not enough in the account. Barclays charged us an £8 penalty.

You should have demanded the DD refunded and the penalty waived.

Barclays told us the debit was cancelled. I have it in writing from the agency that the debit is cancelled. We didn't fill out a new debit. My point was that Barclays misled us and failed to disclose that a debit can never be "cancelled" once signed. The company who has it can keep using it to access your money unless you place a specific security block on the company.

Barclays didn't mislead you. It's the company that misused your agreement to the DD. In fact they could have done this even without any signature if they know your sort code and account number.

cte1111

You should get the £8 back from Barclays, quote "Direct Debit guarantee" at them.