EDF took direct debit early

tom717

I recently switched to EDF. They said the first direct debit payment would be on 10th December followed by the first of every month.

Last night I noticed that they have taken £45 on 4th December, causing me to go overdrawn. As well as being on the wrong date this is half the amount my monthly payment is supposed to be.

What action would you want from EDF if this happened to you? I am going to complain but not sure what to expect. I don't know whether I should bother asking for the payment to be reversed as it is nearly the 10th now anyway.

molerat

Are you switching dual or single fuel ? The dates for the switch of each fuel are often different and EDF may take a single DD for each fuel before they take the first dual DD. Check the messages folder in your on line account (when their system comes back up !), there should be a message for each fuel, you may have missed the e-mail. If not and they have taken a payment incorrectly then complain as they should re-imburse you for any charges from your bank.

tom717

Been able to check today and it says very clearly:

We can now confirm that your first payment of £90.00 will be debited from your account on or
shortly after 10 December 2013. We will collect it at this time, so we don't start your account in
arrears. Your subsequent payments of £90.00 will then be debited from your account on or shortly

after the 1st of each month as you requested.


The gas switchover hasn't completed yet so I presume that is why it is only £45, but they have still taken it early.

sniggings

the trouble with DD is there is no set date, a DD allows them to go into your account any time they want and take how much they want, yes you can go back and complain if they make a mistake but normally it's hard to show they have as they normally word it "around the 10th" etc you are lucky they clearly say AFTER the 10th so you should not have any problems getting a refund and the bank charges back, just ring them and they should help, if not just ring your bank and tell them it was unauthorized , that you agreed after the 10th not before.

Cardew

sniggings wrote: »

the trouble with DD is there is no set date, a DD allows them to go into your account any time they want and take how much they want,.

That is not so.

Whilst the Direct Debit mandate does allow them to take(in theory) unlimited sums, that mandate specifies that they must notify you xx days in advance of the sum and date on which it will be taken.

All my DD notifications state: we will take £xx on, or after, the YY of each month.


As you say the OP should have no trouble in claiming any bank charges for being overdrawn.

Buzby

Irrespective of whether they advised in time, unless you have funds available when they call for them a DD is simply bad news and should never be contemplated - it's like a travel timetable, usually accurate BUT things can and will go wrong.

The fact they didn't stick to their dates is one issue, but get fact you had no money in the account is yours and yours alone. For those who live close to the wire, DD's should be avoided at all costs as there are too many variables in play to guarantee all will be well.

For example, if a utility takes an unexpected amount which clears an account any other DD may be rejected resulting in penalties not just from the bank, but from the firms who were calling on their usual payment. Since they did nothing wrong, there is no protection or right to stop or suspend these payments, and the debt spiral continues with no help from the pathetic DD 'guarantee'.

Unless you can keep a float amount in your account, cancel the DD and pay by cheque instead wherever possible. YOU stay I control of your money, rather than letting a multitude of computers decide for you.

sniggings

Buzby wrote: »

Irrespective of whether they advised in time, unless you have funds available when they call for them a DD is simply bad news and should never be contemplated - it's like a travel timetable, usually accurate BUT things can and will go wrong.

The fact they didn't stick to their dates is one issue, but get fact you had no money in the account is yours and yours alone. For those who live close to the wire, DD's should be avoided at all costs as there are too many variables in play to guarantee all will be well.

For example, if a utility takes an unexpected amount which clears an account any other DD may be rejected resulting in penalties not just from the bank, but from the firms who were calling on their usual payment. Since they did nothing wrong, there is no protection or right to stop or suspend these payments, and the debt spiral continues with no help from the pathetic DD 'guarantee'.

Unless you can keep a float amount in your account, cancel the DD and pay by cheque instead wherever possible. YOU stay I control of your money, rather than letting a multitude of computers decide for you.

good advice but in a lot of cases it will mean higher charges for not using DD and a lot of places do not accept any other form of payment, my broadband is one, I would love not to use DD and have managed to get them down to 2, electric and broadband, the electric is a fair bit cheaper is using DD and as sais the broadband doesn't accept anything else.

Cardew

Buzby wrote: »

Irrespective of whether they advised in time, unless you have funds available when they call for them a DD is simply bad news and should never be contemplated - it's like a travel timetable, usually accurate BUT things can and will go wrong.

The fact they didn't stick to their dates is one issue, but get fact you had no money in the account is yours and yours alone. For those who live close to the wire, DD's should be avoided at all costs as there are too many variables in play to guarantee all will be well.

For example, if a utility takes an unexpected amount which clears an account any other DD may be rejected resulting in penalties not just from the bank, but from the firms who were calling on their usual payment. Since they did nothing wrong, there is no protection or right to stop or suspend these payments, and the debt spiral continues with no help from the pathetic DD 'guarantee'.

Unless you can keep a float amount in your account, cancel the DD and pay by cheque instead wherever possible. YOU stay I control of your money, rather than letting a multitude of computers decide for you.

I really cannot agree with that at all; especially on a Money Saving Website.

With a lot of Utility firms you get a very attractive discount for paying by DD - 6% on the whole amount of the annual bill in some cases.

The Direct Debit Guarantee does exactly 'what it says on the tin'.

A Utility company or any other company must inform you in advance of how much, and when, they will be taking money. So ' If a Utility takes an unexpected amount'(as you put it) then 'they have done something wrong'. In that case your guarantee, which is with the bank(not the Utility company) ensures that you will be compensated for any loss.

As many people on MSE have testified, a simple call to the bank is sufficient to have the money refunded - you don't need to prove anything; even though many people find out later they had been correctly notified.

I, like millions of others, have many DDs and have done for years, and nothing has ever gone wrong. I don't have to write cheques, post letters etc and on some DDs get an attractive discount.

I really do find this anti-DD stance puzzling.

armith

Cardew wrote: »

...

I, like millions of others, have many DDs and have done for years, and nothing has ever gone wrong. I don't have to write cheques, post letters etc and on some DDs get an attractive discount.

I really do find this anti-DD stance puzzling.

I'm guessing but is the reason you find it puzzling is because you always know that you're going to be able to "make" the DD when it's due? I am now in the fortunate position of being able to ensure there's always enough money to cover the DD but it hasn't always been the case. I've only ever had two problems with DDs - one from the council when they accidentally took it early and once when BT accidentally requested money they already had taken. Both these caused major problems.

Despite my financial situation improving to a point where I no longer live week-to-week I still pay for almost everything "on receipt of bill". I know it costs me more but at least I know exactly where I am.

From the people who I know the only people other than me who do not pay by DD are those whos finances are precarious. I can understand companies wanting to gain a little more profit by getting people to pay via the method that suits them (the company) best but I just wish that they would offer an alternative.

I can't believe that they can't come up with something along the lines of emailing a bill and giving customers 7 days to make a direct payment using the internet. Surely this would incur only a minimal extra expense for the company but would offer a huge benefit for less well off customers.

Cardew

armith wrote: »

I'm guessing but is the reason you find it puzzling is because you always know that you're going to be able to "make" the DD when it's due? I am now in the fortunate position of being able to ensure there's always enough money to cover the DD but it hasn't always been the case. I've only ever had two problems with DDs - one from the council when they accidentally took it early and once when BT accidentally requested money they already had taken. Both these caused major problems.

Despite my financial situation improving to a point where I no longer live week-to-week I still pay for almost everything "on receipt of bill". I know it costs me more but at least I know exactly where I am.

From the people who I know the only people other than me who do not pay by DD are those whos finances are precarious. I can understand companies wanting to gain a little more profit by getting people to pay via the method that suits them (the company) best but I just wish that they would offer an alternative.

I can't believe that they can't come up with something along the lines of emailing a bill and giving customers 7 days to make a direct payment using the internet. Surely this would incur only a minimal extra expense for the company but would offer a huge benefit for less well off customers.

An extension of your argument if you 'sail close to the wind' with your finances, it to get a pre-pay meter.


In the case of your two problem DDs, the DD guarantee - with your bank - should have ensured you were not out of pocket.


The only difference between a DD, and your suggestion of a monthly email, is IMO a lot more trouble and costs for the company, and a lot more hassle for the customer. If you haven't got enough funds to cover a DD on a set date, how will you have enough to settle by bank transfer?


I have a dozen or so DDs and they all run like clockwork and have done for years.


I can understand some people like/need to pay bills as they arrive; but that is not a reason to criticise the DD system.


If the DD system doesn't suit your personal circumstances, then don't use it! However we have post after post imploring people not to use DD, when for the majority of people it is a trouble free system that usually is cheaper.

sniggings

Cardew wrote: »

An extension of your argument if you 'sail close to the wind' with your finances, it to get a pre-pay meter.


In the case of your two problem DDs, the DD guarantee - with your bank - should have ensured you were not out of pocket.


The only difference between a DD, and your suggestion of a monthly email, is IMO a lot more trouble and costs for the company, and a lot more hassle for the customer. If you haven't got enough funds to cover a DD on a set date, how will you have enough to settle by bank transfer?


I have a dozen or so DDs and they all run like clockwork and have done for years.


I can understand some people like/need to pay bills as they arrive; but that is not a reason to criticise the DD system.


If the DD system doesn't suit your personal circumstances, then don't use it! However we have post after post imploring people not to use DD, when for the majority of people it is a trouble free system that usually is cheaper.

living on a basic wage or benefits, it's not easy budgeting, the wage is hardly enough to pay for weekly living expenses never mind savings or if something unexpected comes up, so people borrow from one to pay the other, and the way DD are you have to have the funds in for a full 2 weeks as they check the funds are there 2 weeks before collecting them, some of us can not leave money sitting for 2 weeks if we need petrol for work etc you only have to miss one DD a year and you probably have blown the savings you were going to make by having the DD in the first place.

I bet you are on a fair bit more than the mon wage if you can have 12 DD set up, so probably can afford to leave large chunks of your income untouched, a lot of us can't.