AUDDIS Direct debit system being abused by NPower?

DemiDee

Always check your bank statements, folks.

I oversee a charity account and we do not have any direct debits set up on our account. Neither have we ever dealt with NPower. So it was surprising, when checking our latest statement, to see several direct debits taken by 'NPower Northern Lt'. Thankfully, I keep an eagle eye on our accounts and spotted it quickly, but it does make you wonder how many get through for years on accounts that are not managed as effectively.

On asking our bank, we were told that the direct debit was set up via the AUDDIS (Automated Direct Debit Instruction Service) system. The AUDDIS system allows reputed organisations to set up and maintain Direct Debits on your account electronically with minimal involvement from your bank, the latter whom receive no signed paper documents.

I'd be interested to learn if anyone else has had a similar experience. Either way, always check your statements, since it seems that even if you have no direct debits or have never dealt with a company before, they can somehow gain access to your account details and manually set these things up with ease, but without authority!

dalesrider

You ever think that a 3rd party may have given them the details and that NPower are innocent in this case?

DemiDee

dalesrider wrote: »

You ever think that a 3rd party may have given them the details and that NPower are innocent in this case?

No, that never crossed my mind. Why would someone give them our bank account details and address rather than their own?

dalesrider

So they don't have to pay......

Never heard of fraud then I guess......

In this digital age. The idea of having to sign and return a form to set up a DD is farcical....
Even more so given the new 7 day bank transfer.

grumbler

DemiDee wrote: »

Why would someone give them our bank account details and address rather than their own?

To use your money for paying their bills?

This AUDDIS was designed by imbeciles and is fundamentally flawed. It works just with the sort code and the account number and doesn't even bother to check whether the name of the account holder given by the fraudster matches the actual name, let alone having any steps for verification and activation of the DD that could have been easily implemented.

dalesrider wrote: »

In this digital age. The idea of having to sign and return a form to set up a DD is farcical....

In this digital age verification and/or activation can be easily done via online or telephone banking if the system was designed correctly by competent people and the banks were not far too greedy and lazy to modify their existent systems.

DemiDee

grumbler wrote: »

To use your money for paying their bills?

Surely NPower would know whose account they're debiting, and know that the name on the account doesn't match the customer's name and address details on file?

helptoyou

Agree with the posts here npower will have been provided your account details by someone (I doubt they guessed them !!!) 2 scenarios 1) Best case someone has inadvertently used your account details one of the trustees maybe instead of there own
2) somebody is trying to defraud you.

Probably case 1 .

I would imagine npower would be able to check the property address the DD is paying for.

DemiDee

helptoyou wrote: »

Agree with the posts here npower will have been provided your account details by someone (I doubt they guessed them !!!) 2 scenarios 1) Best case someone has inadvertently used your account details one of the trustees maybe instead of there own
2) somebody is trying to defraud you.

Probably case 1 .

I would imagine npower would be able to check the property address the DD is paying for.

You've been a big help. Thank you. I'm very concerned and curious. Certainly, none of the Trustees would have done this, even inadvertently. I know that for sure. So that only leaves option 2. I am onto it and will come back and let you all know the outcome, and let you know if your suspicions are correct.

grumbler

DemiDee wrote: »

Surely NPower would know whose account they're debiting, and know that the name on the account doesn't match the customer's name and address details on file?

The problem is that generally any person can agree to pay some other person's bills by a DD set on their current account.

That said, extra checks are definitely needed in this case that both the supplier and the bank fail to do because they don't care.

noh

DemiDee wrote: »

Surely NPower would know whose account they're debiting, and know that the name on the account doesn't match the customer's name and address details on file?

No they wouldn't know.
The name on the account has no relevance. The only information used is the sort code and account number.

Do you as a charity invite donations and publish your account details to facilitate this? If so anyone who has seen those could set up a DD as could anyone who has received a cheque from you.

DemiDee

noh wrote: »

No they wouldn't know.
The name on the account has no relevance. The only information used is the sort code and account number.

Leaves the system open to much abuse, especially if unsuspecting high value, poorly maintained accounts are targeted.