Wrong day Direct Debits and bank charges help.

johnboi81

Hi, I am looking for some information regarding direct debits coming of on the wrong day and receiving bank charges due to these failed payments.


Two weeks ago it came to my attention that my partner’s bank has been charging her for several months for failed Direct Debits that have been coming off on the wrong day. My partner set up direct debits to only come off on a Tuesday as this is the day she is paid but the payments have been coming off on mostly Mondays and Thursdays.


I have since then spoke to SCOTT & Company who has on 4 occasions stated that they have the direct debit mandate to come off on a Tuesday and the fault must lie with my bank (BOS).


I have now spoke to the bank on 3 occasions regarding this and they say that they can only take the money out on the day that SCOTT & CO asked them, therefor the fault lies with them. On the last occasion I called they said I would need to call Scott & CO and give my account details and then ask them to fax the bank asking for a direct debit indemnity claim.


I did this and now Scott & CO are saying again the fault is with the bank and I must ask them for a refund under the guarantee of the Direct debit and there is nothing else they can do.


I feel like they are throwing me back and forward with no one wanting to take the blame for this, I have also received a Charge for payment from a sheriff officer regarding these payments and I now have to pay them expenses and surcharges for a £5 DD that should have come off on the right day.


Yes my partner should have spotted this sooner, She has no other failed DD on the Tuesday and we can prove through statements that there was funds for these payments to be paid if they were done on the right day and the collecting company has assured me on many occasions they have it set up to come off on a Tuesday.


What should I do now?

grumbler

johnboi81 wrote: »

...My partner set up direct debits to only come off on a Tuesday as this is the day she is paid but the payments have been coming off on mostly Mondays and Thursdays.

Any proofs of this? Normally it is the company that sets the DD up and AFAIK normally its a day of a month, not a day of a week. Also, the date of the collection has to be shown in the bills.

I have since then spoke to the SCOTT & Company who has on 4 occasions stated that they have the direct debit mandate to come off on a Tuesday and the fault must lie with my bank (BOS).

I have now spoke to the bank on 3 occasions regarding this and they say that they can only take the money out on the day that SCOTT & CO asked them, therefor the fault lies with them

I think the bank is right.

On the last occasion I called they said I would need to call Scott & CO and give my account details and then ask them to fax the bank asking for a direct debit indemnity claim.

It's the customer who normally makes such claims, not the company. Google for 'direct debit guarantee'.

I did this and now Scott & CO are saying again the fault is with the bank and I must ask them for a refund under the guarantee of the Direct debit and there is nothing else they can do.

Don't know about the fault, but they are right about claiming the rerfund.

What should I do now?

If you are sure that the DD was taken earlier and can prove this, claim the refund of the full amount and all charges. Make sure that you pay the company by other means instead.
If possible, move the DDs day/date further ahead from the pay day.

richard9991

Ive never heard of a DD coming out on a certain day all mine and I have many come out on the 1st of every month

johnboi81

Scott and co are collecting money owed for council tax and were more than happy to arrange a weekly direct debit, maybe due to my financial difficulties?.

Fishingtime

I thought they only ever come out on a certain date, not a day

johnboi81

grumbler wrote: »

If you are sure that the DD was taken earlier and can prove this, claim the refund of the full amount and all charges. Make sure that you pay the company by other means instead.
If possible, move the DDs day/date further ahead from the pay day.

Scott and co assured me on several occasions that the direct debit mandate was set for a Tuesday and not a Monday, on all off the bank statement it shows they were taken on Mondays and some failed ones again on Thursdays.

So should I be claiming on the grounds of the direct debit guarantee or direct debit indemnity claim?

johnboi81

yoxford2008 wrote: »

I thought they only ever come out on a certain date, not a day

we have 3 other weekly DD that get paid without any problems each tuesday.

Vortigern

With direct debits, the other party (Scott & Co) has control over amounts and dates, although they have to tell you in advance.

With Standing Orders, you have control over amounts and dates. Would Scott & Co accept payment by Standing Order?

YorkshireBoy

johnboi81 wrote: »

So should I be claiming on the grounds of the direct debit guarantee or direct debit indemnity claim?

You, the customer, would make a claim on your bank under the direct debit guarantee scheme*.

The bank would then make a claim on Scott & Co under the direct debit indemnity scheme.

However, you will (albeit eventually) need to produce evidence to demonstrate that the payment was, indeed, incorrectly taken, otherwise you may find the refund will be reversed. Hopefully you have something in writing?


* Under the Payment Services Regulations the bank must refund you the same day (or the next day if you make the claim at the end of the day).

KeepFighting_2

Here is a link that tells you what to do. It is up to your bank to sort out with Scott and Co

http://www.directdebit.co.uk/DirectDebitExplained/Pages/Incorrectpayments.aspx

SnowTiger

johnboi81 wrote: »

Scott and co assured me on several occasions that the direct debit mandate was set for a Tuesday and not a Monday, on all off the bank statement it shows they were taken on Mondays and some failed ones again on Thursdays.

So should I be claiming on the grounds of the direct debit guarantee or direct debit indemnity claim?

Yes, although your bank may want to see evidence there was a mistake, especially as you're claiming it's made by them. Scott and Co should be able to provide you with this.

I've made a few claims under the DD Guarantee and have taken a copy of the statement, or in one case an email admitting the error, along with me.

You should get the transactions and charges refunded. So, you will probably have to repay Scott and Co.

I've never known a DD error to be down to the bank, though.

I'm inclined to think Scott and Co have made a mistake, possibly not understanding the lead time for a DD.