Direct Debit Indemnity Claim

dwilliams123

Need some help? Just got off the phone to my bank regarding an indemnity on my account for payments i did not authorise in 2009 and i requested all payments i made to be returned to my account immediately and the advisor informed me that they were unable to look back further than 1 year on their system. can anyone tell me what i need to say/quote for the bank to look into my direct debit history on the phone and get the payments back to my account asap without having to go into my local branch as i am currently overseas it is impossible.

thanks
David

Aquamania

dwilliams123 wrote: »

Need some help? Just got off the phone to my bank regarding an indemnity on my account for payments i did not authorise in 2009 and i requested all payments i made to be returned to my account immediately and the advisor informed me that they were unable to look back further than 1 year on their system. can anyone tell me what i need to say/quote for the bank to look into my direct debit history on the phone and get the payments back to my account asap without having to go into my local branch as i am currently overseas it is impossible.

thanks
David

2009? :huh:

I'm sure it said 2014 on my calendar when I woke up this morning.

dunstonh

can anyone tell me what i need to say/quote for the bank to look into my direct debit history

You need to provide them evidence that you paid the direct debit. So, show them your bank statements. That said, a quick check of the ombudsman site shows that the three year rule for timebarring can be applied. They also said on that case that they would have rejected the complaint anyway as "The payments had been coming out of Mr C's account for many years and he received statements every month, so he had ample opportunity to spot the mistake and notify the bank. In the circumstances, we did not think it reasonable to require the firm to refund the payments as he had requested."

Most indemnity claims fail. The firm in question can and does provide the required details to show it is valid. So, before you spend too much time on this, you need to be sure that a breach has happened. It may be easier to go back to the firm the money was paid to and accuse them directly.

Aquamania

dunstonh wrote: »

...Most indemnity claims fail....

Source? :huh:
I can't see it myself because of the following reasons:

1. The paying bank will accept the word of the payer concerning an error made by a service user due to their obligations under the Direct Debit Guarantee

2. Under the terms of the Direct Debit Guarantee a payer is entitled to an immediate refund if an error has been made either by the service user or the paying bank...The paying bank must therefore refund the payer immediately and only raise an indemnity claim where there has been a service user error.

3. Where a counter claim has been raised, the sponsor will respond within one month, confirming acceptance or rejection of the claim. A Counter Claim must be raised by the service user via its sponsor after settlement of and within 14 days of settlement of the indemnity claim providing settlement of the original indemnity claim was made within the 14 working day rule period
[i.e. although the paying bank must repay the payer immediately, if the service user is at fault, the service user has 14 working days to refund the paying bank]

N.B. the counter claim is not the only route open to the service user. The service user retains its right to take action directly against the payer


Also of interest is that:
If the payer approaches the service user direct regarding an error, the service user must refer the payer to the paying bank or contact the paying bank asking them to raise an indemnity claim.

Source: The Service User’s Guide and Rules to the Direct Debit Scheme


I do, however, accept your reference to the FOS which has a 3 year time period for complaints from the time a consumer should have reasonably been aware of the error.

dunstonh

I was referring not to the ability to get an initial refund, as that is easy, but the final outcome. i.e the bank refunds, the bank contacts the originator and the originator in the majority of cases satisfies the bank that it was a valid instruction and the refunded money gets taken back again.

Aquamania

dunstonh wrote: »

I was referring not to the ability to get an initial refund, as that is easy, but the final outcome. i.e the bank refunds, the bank contacts the originator and the originator in the majority of cases satisfies the bank that it was a valid instruction and the refunded money gets taken back again.

So what you are saying is that most counter claims succeed.
(this is probably after the sponsor has checked them and agreed to accept them ... unless you have a source to the contrary)

But a counter claim can only be made following a successful indemnity claim.

And, of course, not all indemnity claims have a subsequent counter claim made.

dwilliams123

thanks for the help so far guys but the problem i had with the bank was what i said over the phone. they were not being very helpful or even didnt really want to help and kept using the excuse of their system only being able to go back 12 months. what exactly do i need to quote or say over the phone in order for them to look back 3 years? do i mention the direct debit guarantee or just say it is an indemnity claim.

thanks
david

[Deleted User]

dwilliams123 wrote: »

what exactly do i need to quote or say over the phone in order for them to look back 3 years?

In your first post, you said you wanted to complain about Direct Debits from 2009-this is five years ago, not three.

You'll need to provide them evidence that you paid the direct debit, as well as a valid reason why you are disputing a payment made five years ago.
If the Bank refund anything which is subsequently found to be bonafide, the money will simply be clawed back again.

On what basis are you contending that these old payments are somehow invalid?