Direct Debits

dalesrider

innovate wrote: »

Agree. Though the new "faster" switching that is supposed to hit us in September will close old accounts - - at least that's what the proposals said when I last saw them.

Correct.....

I do wonder how long this will last, as many people like to keep the old accounts active in case the grass was not any greener....

agrinnall

dalesrider wrote: »

Correct.....

I do wonder how long this will last, as many people like to keep the old accounts active in case the grass was not any greener....

But is closing the old account a condition of using the service, or is it an option that the customer can either choose to use or not?

dalesrider

agrinnall wrote: »

But is closing the old account a condition of using the service, or is it an option that the customer can either choose to use or not?

payment council

No choice. It is how it is going to work.

After the switch date, payments either accidentally sent to or attempted to be taken from the old account will be redirected to the new account for a period of 13 months. The person or organisation that is trying to debit/credit the old account will be notified of the new account information so they can update their records and ensure that subsequent payments go straight to the new account rather than the old one.

The above is great as it means no more having to contact someone who does not want to be contacted about a payment that has come through...
Usually 10p refund from the national lottery :rotfl:Which requires a cheque to be sent to a customer.

innovate

agrinnall wrote: »

But is closing the old account a condition of using the service, or is it an option that the customer can either choose to use or not?

No bank/BS will ever be able to deny you a current account because you have a current account with one of their competitors.

They might make a "switching" bonus dependent on you actually switching. And the new switcher service might well only work if you agree to have your old account closed.

But nobody can be forced to use a switcher service, you can still switch yourself, without any help whatsoever from their "service". And nobody can be forced to have just one current account. Bankers might want you to think differently but this isn't going to happen. Not unless the UK turns into some sort of an amalgamation of a communist nazi socialist monarchy, reigned by an unlected tyrant who escaped jail despite having mis-appropriated tens of billions whilst at the helm of a big bank.

innovate

dalesrider wrote: »

No choice. It is how it is going to work.

Oh yes there is a choice. Nobody has to use the switcher service.

And it's a doddle, anyway, to move your DDs and SOs yourself.

dalesrider

innovate wrote: »

Oh yes there is a choice. Nobody has to use the switcher service.

And it's a doddle, anyway, to move your DDs and SOs yourself.

If you DIY. If you use the new service then No you don't. At the moment.

Although I wonder now given the way its going to work on the redirection of payments. That it will never change.

The DIY route is Ok for people who are prepared to spend a bit of time. Many just do not want the trouble.
Hence why many people moan bucketfulls about their banks, yet never move....

agrinnall

Innovate, my question was clearly about what happens if you choose to use the system, not whether there is a choice between using it and not using it.

Dalesrider, I've looked through the Payments Council information and still can't see anything that definitively says that switching will cause the old account to be closed. Yes, the money in the account will be transferred, and transactions redirected for 13 months, but I couldn't see the word 'closed' used anywhere. It probably is in the detailed specification, but to my mind that limits its usefulness, I doubt whether I'd ever choose to use it over doing it myself to allow both old and new accounts to operate.

innovate

agrinnall wrote: »

Innovate, my question was clearly about what happens if you choose to use the system, not whether there is a choice between using it and not using it.

I responded to dalesrider

agrinnall wrote: »

.....still can't see anything that definitively says that switching will cause the old account to be closed

View the animated guide. It's there in black and white.
http://www.paymentscouncil.org.uk/switch_service/the_switch_process/

Hazzanet

innovate wrote: »

View the animated guide. It's there in black and white.
http://www.paymentscouncil.org.uk/switch_service/the_switch_process/

There's a dash of blue too:

innovate

Oh dear, think I need to have my eyes tested! It's black on grey, and white on black on blue. Sorry. It shan't happen again