direct debit changed without warning

thriftymanc

problem solved

shaun_from_Africa

Companies are allowed to change the amounts that they take but they are required to contact you a minimum of 10 days in advance of the date of the next payment.
As you didn't receive this notification, you should contact your bank and tell them that you wish to reclaim the money under the Direct Debit guarantee.

http://www.directdebit.co.uk/DirectDebitExplained/Pages/DirectDebitGuarantee.aspx

dotdash79

The minimum amount of time is 3 days they have to inform you that the payment is changing. But they must state it in the direct debit Guarantee how much notice they will give you to vary the payment amount.

peachyprice

thriftymanc wrote: »

So I just tell my bank and they give me the extra money back?

No, they usually reverse the whole transaction, you will then still owe your BB provider for this month's correct payment.

forgotmyname

peachyprice wrote: »

No, they usually reverse the whole transaction, you will then still owe your BB provider for this month's correct payment.

Exactly the issue I had with British Gas. They took almost double the DD amount with no notice. Their answer i could goto my bank and claim a refund.
But if i do that then they wont have thats months money and start chasing it, So more hassle for me.

I had to tell them to cancel the DD to get them to lower the monthly amount. Their computer says no. Amazing it says OK when i tell them to cancel the DD.
I left them soon after.

visidigi

thriftymanc wrote: »

Knowing my ISP they'll probably take the same amount back anyway, they're useless. I was more going to do it to make a point that they shouldn't just take the money without telling me, but now trying to decide if it's worth all the hassle for the sake of a quid!

Newsflash, It's not worth it for a quid.

fozmcfc

thriftymanc wrote: »

Yeah I know, it's more the principle though. Bit annoyed that they think they can just dip into my bank account and take out whatever they like without telling me first!

The thing is, you say they haven't told you, but they probably disagree and will say, they did.

Obviously, I don't know your set up, but perhaps it was by email, that went into a spam box, or an old email account that you registered with them when set up the broadband, but no longer use.

Or an email account with the ISP, but like me you use Yahoo, Hotmail etc, rather than look at your ISP email account, which you look at once a year, if you remember.

Or perhaps, by letter, but the letter for whatever reason, hasn't been delivered to you. Or even as part of some sort of bill or other literature from them, that you filed or threw away without reading thoroughly.

Therefore as far as they are concerned, they won't think/know they have done anything wrong.

If it was for a large amount and I knew for 110% I didn't/couldn't have received notification, then I would complain, but not for £1.