Erudio direct debits wrongly taken from ex students - claim back under DD guarantee

clairet707

Well rang my bank and they were useless, told me to contact ESL...

I tried 3 different numbers for ESL including the one the bank gave me and got through to someone on the 3rd attempt.

They claim that my deferment was only accepted on the 22nd April, even though their letter dated 31st march says I am deferred and said it was an issue with SLC computer system that it hadn't updated theirs. I pointed this out and she denied all knowledge, I also pointed out that I hadn't had a letter saying they were going to be taking the money and again denied all knowledge.

On a positive note she said they will refund but it will be in 4 separate payments and could take a couple of days. I will believe that when I see it though.

I can tell this journey with ESL is going to be a long and tough one

rizla_king

clairet707 wrote: »

Well rang my bank and they were useless, told me to contact ESL...

Get back on to them and complain. Tell them that under the direct debt guarantee the bank is obliged to immediately refund the direct debit no matter whether it is the bank's or other companies fault. No excuses. They are not allowed to refuse. If they refuse or try to fob you off ask to speak to a more senior staff member or their complaints department.

rizla_king

http://www.directdebit.co.uk/SiteCollectionDocuments/DD_guarantee_leaflet.pdf

So how do I get back any money paid in error?

If this happens, you should contact
your bank or building society. They are
responsible for giving you a full and
immediate refund – even if the original
error was made by the company
collecting the payment.

If an error is made in the payment of your Direct Debit,
by the organisation or your bank or building society, you
are entitled to a full and immediate refund of the amount
paid from your bank or building society.
– If you receive a refund you are not entitled to, you must
pay it back when the organisation asks you to

rizla_king

https://gocardless.com/direct-debit/guarantee/

The refund process

The Direct Debit rules around refunds are particularly strong. A customer can charge back any payment, and will receive an immediate refund. Further, there is no time limit on when chargeback claims can be made.

To raise a chargeback claim, a customer must notify their bank that they believe there has been an error. This "error" is defined broadly, and includes any dispute about the amount taken.

The customer's bank will always accept the word of the payer, and immediately credit them with a full refund. They will then notify the merchant of the chargeback via a DDICA message with a reason code, available through Bacs. The amount refunded to the customer will be reclaimed from the merchant automatically 14 working days later.

fermi

Correct. If you request a refund under the Direct Debit Guarantee then the bank must give it to you immediately.

They cannot quibble, or delay, or try to fob you off on to the company that it was paid to.

That is the whole point of the guarantee. You are entitled to an immediate no quibble refund from the bank. It puts you back to the position you were in before the error occurred, allowing you to take up the matter with the company and not be financially short while doing so.

http://www.directdebit.co.uk/Pages/Home.aspx

Should your bank fail to provide a refund under the terms of the Guarantee:

Contact them again in writing, escalating the communication to your Branch Manager or Customer Service Manager and cite the Direct Debit Guarantee.


Most people never experience an issue with a Direct Debit however, on rare occasions a problem can arise. Usually, this is resolved speedily by your bank or building society, or the organisation collecting the Direct Debit, but if that isn’t your experience, you may want to complain.

How to complain

• If the complaint does not relate to the payment of your Direct Debit, for example you wish to complain about a service, or product you pay for by Direct Debit, you should refer this to the organisation providing the service or goods. They will be able to provide you with more information about their complaints process
• If the complaint relates to an error with the payment of your Direct Debit, begin by contacting your bank. Every bank and building society that is a member of the Direct Debit Scheme has a complaints procedure. To find out about it, ask a member of the bank’s staff or look on the bank’s website. Your bank should be able to resolve your problem however, if you are not satisfied with the way in which your complaint has been handled, you can refer to the Financial Ombudsman Service (FOS). Details of how to complain to the FOS can be found at www.financial-ombudsman.org.uk/consumer/complaints.htm.

As the organisation with responsibility for the Direct Debit Scheme, please be aware that we cannot advise on contractual issues between you and your biller; we are only able to advise on matters relating to the Direct Debit Scheme rules. With regard to any dispute with your bank, as per above, this should be referred to the FOS.

Please note that we do not have the powers to adjudicate on disputes or overturn decisions made by FOS or your bank.

clairet707

First time ever I've complained to my bank and they try to make it worse. Got fobbed off again, the different woman tried again to say that they advise I contact the company, I reiterated again about the dd guarantee.

She then tried cancelling the dd

I've finally got them to do a refund...

fermi

https://twitter.com/paullewismoney/status/459666779271610368

erudioed

crairet: Please do tell the financial ombudsman what erudio told you, the more calls they get, the more they will be forced to fine them, and that is the only way they will be stopped from doing this to us all.

dannydiddle

Hi all

I've also been a victim of this shady company. I received an acceptance of deferment from the SLC in March but found that ESL Ltd had taken over £130 when I checked my account this morning. Didn't find the ESL call centre person particularly helpful so have written to them and also called my bank to get a DD refund.

Got the latter sorted quickly and easily enough but the bank's call centre worker proceeded to cancel the DD completely, as if this was standard policy. I'm not too fussed about that because I suspect ESL will probably try to take money again but does cancelling my DD completely contravene the terms of my student loan?

Very angry and frustrated as I've always played ball on my student loans and never had an issue like this before. :mad:

erudioed

i think with all the coverage about this issue now, and if that is banking practice is to cancel the DD, if you got into bother with erudio for the bank cancelling the DD, you would have the ombdsman on your side.
In fact you should contact erudio and ask for compensation for contravening the DD mandate and stealing from your bank account, and when they say no way, go straight to the ombudsman and explain exactly what has happened. And as mentioned around, when the ombudsman gets involved with such a clear breach, they get hit with something like a £500 fine when guilty of a breach. If you ask for compensation, they should be biting your hand off for anything less than £500...a breach of the DD mandate and erudio not refunding you that very day, means they will be fined by the Ombudsman i am sure.
We have to take this out of erudio's insular sphere when wronged otherwise they will not stop these policies.