Campaign to ditch the non-DD surcharge?

Cardew

Your definition of 'Adult enough' presumably means personally handling all those transactions and it costing £hundreds extra?

Buzby wrote: »

Actually no - I mean taking the responsibility for my actions, without need of letting a virtual army of creditors help themselves when they want to the contents of my and account.

I also go abroad for months without any issues - I have an app called Billminder that keeps me fully informed when amounts are due to be paid, and with a few clicks the amount is instantly transferred to the creditor via BACS. An Internet cafe or mobile signal is the minimum I require.

It is surprising how many people have no idea how to pay bills via BACS - to them it is DD or a cheque in the post. I blame the schools....

That is exactly what you are doing - handling all your bills yourself and losing £hundreds by that choice.

How you deal with bill payments is your prerogative. However it is insulting to imply that the vast majority who do use Direct Debits do so because they are not 'Adult Enough to handle their affairs.'

We use DD's for convenience and to save money.

Steve059

DD's devolve, not abrogate, the responsiblity making payments, and also for any errors back onto the financial institution.

The fact that some of the cost savings for the payee are passed on to you in the form of a discount is the icing on the cake.

Those, who don't use DDs, try to remember to pay on time and end up paying late are the ones who are "not adult enough to handle their affairs".

G6JPG

fionajbanana wrote: »

[]
Plus with DD, I am not wasting precious time queuing up at banks and post offices paying the bills. They are all taken in the early hours - ie when I'm asleep.

Why does nearly everyone assume that, because I don't want to pay by DD, I want to pay with cash or cheque over a counter? I pay online on their website, usually the same day I get the bill (so if anything they get the money faster than if they took it by DD, as I understand they have to give notice of a DD).

I just see DD as being "here's my wallet - take what you want, whenever you want, and I'll check you've not taken too much in a week or three". [When I get my statement.]

G6JPG

Umistboy wrote: »

How can you campaign against a "surcharge" that doesn't exist?

I accept that you aren't receiving the DD discount but surely you are only being charged for what you actually used?

All companies are allowed to offer their customers a discount if it encourages the customers to guarantee that their payments will always be made on time. This seems sensible to me for both the customer and the company.

I'd be quite happy to give such a guarantee - that I'd pay, by credit or debit card, on their website, within minutes of receiving the bill. (So in fact quicker than using DD as I understand they have to give notice of that.)

However, if a customer rejects this discount and insists on paying the full amount for what they have used then that's their choice but this IS NOT A SURCHARGE as they are not paying for more than they have used.

Or am I missing something here?

Yes. If they can afford to charge DD customers (the majority) what they do, then what they are charging me is a surcharge - especially for utility companies where we're talking about a per-unit price. I am paying more than what I have used if it were to be charged at the price they are charging DD customers.

What am I paying (the extra) for? The incovenience of having to go to their website rather than let them just raid my account?

G6JPG

Umistboy wrote: »

[]Whilst it doesn't cost the firm anything to receive the money non-direct debit it does cost them to hire the necessary number of staff to chase up those who pay late etc. These overheads are not covered entirely by late payment fees etc meaning that there is a cost to the firm to allow this option. Therefore people choosing this option do not qualify for the discount.

So up the late payment fees so that they do cover the costs they incur! Overcharging everybody else, i. e. those who do pay on time, is, if you think about it, is like something out of a (bitter) comedy: they only do it because they can get away with it.

But that's not the real reason they like DD so much; they won't admit what that is.

sheffield_lad

Imagine life without DD's?

Having to pay at the shop! Send cheques! login to pay online!

I for one would be all over the place. How convenient for someone to pop into my bank and take it out for me on a regular basis and they even give me a discount for making it easy for me!

Sounds too good to me

closed

G6JPG wrote: »

What am I paying (the extra) for?

Being stubborn.

G6JPG wrote: »

I just see DD as being "here's my wallet - take what you want, whenever you want, and I'll check you've not taken too much in a week or three". [When I get my statement.]

Most people see it for what it is - a simple time saving worry free way of paying their bills automatically, accurately and on time with absolutely no effort.

Cardew

G6JPG wrote: »

So up the late payment fees so that they do cover the costs they incur! Overcharging everybody else, i. e. those who do pay on time, is, if you think about it, is like something out of a (bitter) comedy: they only do it because they can get away with it.

But that's not the real reason they like DD so much; they won't admit what that is.

Nearly every company - not just Utility companies - want people to pay by DD. Guaranteed cash flow, simplicity and not having to chase late payers are their reasons.

Some offer a discount, others a penalty if you don't use DD - 'carrot and stick'!

I get no discount for DD payment for water, life and house insurance, credit cards, telephone, Sky - the latter three being different sums each month.

I choose to pay by DD for everything I possibly can, unless it would cost me money e.g. car insurance where 12 monthly DD payments are considerably more than a one-off payment.

I have never once had a DD amount taken from my account that came as a surprise - I am always notified in advance of any change.

If both companies and the majority of customers like DD payment, why on earth should the system change?

G6JPG

sheffield_lad wrote: »

Imagine life without DD's?

Having to pay at the shop! Send cheques! login to pay online!

I for one would be all over the place. How convenient for someone to pop into my bank and take it out for me on a regular basis and they even give me a discount for making it easy for me!

Sounds too good to me

(I don't pay at the shop or send cheques - I too would find those tedious. I don't ming paying online.)

So if DD is so much easier for you, why are they paying you for doing it that way? Name a few other cases where something that is easier for you actually costs less:).

To spell it out: they like DD because in the event of any error, they are in the stronger position: you have to chase them to get the money back, and they're bigger than you:(. But I've yet to hear any company actually admit to this: they all talk about greater convenience for the customer (not something they're normally bothered about), or the cost of chasing late payers (which, IMO, shouldn't have any relevance to those who pay on time:mad:).

closed

you make one call to the bank, and it's reversed, should it happen, and it happens rarely