Paying a direct debit on phone insurance I did not sign for

Jerome_122

Hey there
Can you tell me what I need to do next. I have just realised that there was a direct debit on my bank account paying £5.99 a month for a phone insurance that I did not sign up for for the last couple of years.

I've told my bank to stop it and asked about how I go about claiming my money back.

Do i need to claim it myself by directly contacting the company who the direct debit was being paid too or someone else or contact no one and get my bank to claim it back.

I asked one bank staff member and although she said they could claim it back for me she all of a sudden didnt look interested when I told her I think it has been going for a number of years. I guess because this meant some work for her in doing so!

Please advise me.

Thank you in advance.

roonaldo

If its been going a number of years then how did you not notice before?

You are right though they probably did set it up without your instruction. I took out a mobile contract over phone about 5 years ago and I specfically said no on the phone insurance, guess what in a week I noticed on my internet banking a DD was setup for phone insurance.

You can write to the company that you're paying it to and complain but the fact its been going for years wont go down well. You could also write to your bank and complain you never authorised the direct debit, but again if its been going for years they wont believe you are genuine.

Jerome_122

Hi Roonaldo

To be honest I probably don't look at my statement anyway as much as I should plus I use that account quite heavily with buying bits and bobs on the internet and I always assumed it was something I paid each month when I happened to notice that particular charge out of my account.

Thanks for your reponse even thou it was with a rather negative tone. I've been messaged by two people who had exactly the same problem for years and the bank already told me they understood and would claim it back but try contacting the company first to do so.

Nice to be nice and not judgemental hey.

Jerome_122

It's totally genuine as the actual phone contract it would have been signed up with is finished months ago! So if I knew about it I would have cancelled this too no!

[Deleted User]

Jerome_122 wrote: »

t
Thanks for your reponse even thou it was with a rather negative tone. I've been messaged by two people who had exactly the same problem for years and the bank already told me they understood and would claim it back but try contacting the company first to do so.

The bank saying they "understood" is not the same as giving a full refund, of course. Do realise that the Bank are not liable for monies paid to a third party unless the terms of the Direct Debit guarantee have been broken. You'll have to prove you did not authorise the payment.
As Roonaldo says, the fact that you have paid this for years significantly weakens any complaint you might make.

This is not being "negative", simply realistic.

In addition, please don't refer to private messages you may have received on the public forum. The fact that you have apparently received them privately suggests they are not for public discussion.