Failed Direct Debit - £20 and a sorry

peteuk

I have a small debt (<£100) which is a final payment on an energy bill which I forgot to pay.

It has been sent to a debt collecting company, who contacted me 26 Sept (the wrong side of payday) so I agreed to pay in full on 01 Oct. Because they wanted assurance they set up a DD.

I watch the DD take from my account, but unbeknown to myself the DD wasn't set up properly and the amount returned 6 days later.

The first I knew about it was when they contacted me by phone on 13 Oct, they also wrote to me that day. I was at work and so returned the call when I got home. I was informed of the problem, which I investigated with my bank and confirmed it wasn't our fault. I went back to them and they then investigated this and admitted it was there fault.

Two days later I received a letter stating that the DD had failed and that the energy company may take me to court ect ect.

I complained and Thursday I received their "full and final" response. They have admitted the DD was wrongly set up, they have apologised for the letter (but state it was sent before the investigation into the DD)

As an apology they have offered me £20....

Their customer service has been shocking throughout this and I have struggled to get up dates, had promised telephone calls not made, emails unanswered and they have failed to inform me why complaints "investigated" the failed DD when customer services had already done this.

They have said the next step is the ombudsman, but what is the likely outcome. Is it worth it.....

poppasmurf_bewdley

For such a diabolical error as this, you should be entitled to compo of at least a grand, dinner for four at The Savoy, and free electricity for the next 10 years.

Will that be enough?

datlex

bottom line you owe them the £100. You need to pay it. Why you set up a DD for this is puzzling. You should have either paid it by bank transfer once you got paid or by cash straight into a bank account- old fashioned way of paying bills I know.

I very much doubt the ombudsman will be interested in your case. The company have already given you £20, which they had no need to do unless you got charged by your bank for the failed DD.
You might want to ask the Electricity company to ensure that this error does not get reported to any CRA (if this company reports).

If you have used the DD not being set up correctly as reason not to pay rather than sorting it out, the company are within their rights to chase you for payment by any legal means.

It seems to me from what you said originally you are able to afford the payment, so why cause yourself additional problems?

sourcrates

poppasmurf_bewdley wrote: »

For such a diabolical error as this, you should be entitled to compo of at least a grand, dinner for four at The Savoy, and free electricity for the next 10 years.

Will that be enough?

I think what pops is trying to say is that you should take the £20 and run olde boy lol !!!!

peteuk

poppasmurf_bewdley wrote: »

For such a diabolical error as this, you should be entitled to compo of at least a grand, dinner for four at The Savoy, and free electricity for the next 10 years.

Will that be enough?

Well if the offered it!

I would just like a level playing field where the customer knows where he stands. Companies like this know they can treat customers poorly and get away with it.

For instance NPower will look at a complaint, factor how many problems they agree with and then compensate for each one. For instance failed DD and failed promised call back, two errors at £25 each.

The £20 is not explained, there is no reference to company policy or guidelines....

Why you set up a DD for this is puzzling.

Dont know why they did it that way, on the day of the conversation I stated I could pay it in full in 5 days. They pushed for the security of DD. If it was a larger sum and I had asked for it to be split into 3 payments I would understand.

If you have used the DD not being set up correctly as reason not to pay rather than sorting it out, the company are within their rights to chase you for payment by any legal means.

No the instant we realised there was a problem with the DD, they gave me 7 days grace to look into it. Ok it took me 5 minutes to speak to the bank to confirm it wasn't our fault. So I immediately went back to them. They put a hold on the account until they could work it out and when I complained officially they have but a bar on the account. I have gone back to their complaints department asking for specific answers to questions not covered in the complaint, but I will not chase them for these.

The annoying thing is I have another debt with the same DCA and they have been to date probably the best DCA i've dealt with. It kinda feels like they don't care about the small debt or the small debt customer.