Beware of SatCov Direct Debits

goonasuk

Hi,

Not sure if this is the right area (feel free to move if you feel it should go elsewhere).

Basically my partner has had £72 removed from her bank account by a company called SatCov (Part of Satellite Direct UK Ltd so they tell me), for a policy for covering our Sky Box, all ok - except we did not sign up to this.

They claim its from Dec 04, now if it was that far back why havent they chased for the money since ? Not one letter or one agreement through the post, the bank say that there was no DD setup in Dec 04 - But they have setup one on 06/09/2007 and taken the money on 26/09/2007 with NO authorisation!

As you can imagine this has left us fuming!!

We haven't had Sky since May this year.

We already had cover through Sky's own protection service back in Dec 04 - so had no need for them, so we have no idea on how they got the bank details etc.
They are also covering us for a box brand we never had :mad:

They refuse to give us our money back, filled in the Indemnity forms at the bank but they say this could take 3-4 weeks to sort out!

If we had agreed to it we would pay it no questions but we didnt, and i think by going back that far they are trying to pull the wool over our eyes.

DD has been cancelled at the banks end, but whats to stop them from starting another one ??? they are also planning on taking another £6 next month for the service - WHY???

So please keep your eyes on any DD setup on your bank accounts, as we didnt know this had been setup until it was too late, we had no notification form the bank or them (but they claim to have sent us a letter on the 14/09/2007 which we havent got).

Keep your eyes peeled, if anyone has any advice please let me know - this is driving me nuts!!!

Cheers
goonasuk

p.s. got to say thanks to this link: http://russ.michaels.me.uk/index.cfm/2007/3/2/SKY-customers-beware-of-scammers as this helped me get a better understanding of whats been going on and that this isnt that uncommon!!!

maninthestreet

The DD request has to be signed by the account holder(s), authorising the bank to pay money to a 3rd party when the 3rd party requests payment.
Your bank needs to explain to why it set up a DD on your account without your permission.

goonasuk

maninthestreet wrote: »

The DD request has to be signed by the account holder(s), authorising the bank to pay money to a 3rd party when the 3rd party requests payment.
Your bank needs to explain to why it set up a DD on your account without your permission.

From what I gather nowadays it doesn't need a physical signature - and its not something the bank mentioned today either.

RadoJo

I don't want to worry you, but it might not be this company who are trying it on - is it possible that someone is attempting some ID fraud and this is a service they have signed up for? Don't want to scaremonger, but I would make sure your GF keeps a VERY close eye on her account until she can be sure that this is resolved. Someone must have got your details from somewhere...

goonasuk

RadoJo wrote: »

I don't want to worry you, but it might not be this company who are trying it on - is it possible that someone is attempting some ID fraud and this is a service they have signed up for? Don't want to scaremonger, but I would make sure your GF keeps a VERY close eye on her account until she can be sure that this is resolved. Someone must have got your details from somewhere...

I dont think it is ID theft, because of the length of time the company reckons this has been setup for - as they think it started in Dec 04. But this has served as a warning to keep that closer eye on things at the moment.

RadoJo

Could the company explain why the DD had supposedly been set up since 2004, but was actually not set up until this month? Can they confirm any of the details you would have had to have given them for this payment to be instigated? Someone is obviously up to mischief somewhere.

This whole thing sounds so dodgy - what a good job your OH spotted it before it went on any longer!

goonasuk

RadoJo wrote: »

Could the company explain why the DD had supposedly been set up since 2004, but was actually not set up until this month? Can they confirm any of the details you would have had to have given them for this payment to be instigated? Someone is obviously up to mischief somewhere.

This whole thing sounds so dodgy - what a good job your OH spotted it before it went on any longer!

They couldnt explain why nothing had been chased between 2004 and 2007, and claimed the details came from my poartner who gave them all over the phone.

This company from serching on the net do not seem to have the best reputation - they lost a court case with Sky for mis-representing them (i.e. pretending to be part of Sky when they are not).

They seem to think we cancelled the DD soon after it was setup in Dec 04, whereas we hadnt because nothing was setup - so they now claim that the bank must have forgot to set it up :rolleyes: - what a load of tosh

Mrs_B_12

Tell your partner to get back in touch with her bank, if a DD is paid in error they have to refund you the money as part of the DD guarantee.

[FONT=Verdana, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif][SIZE=-1][FONT=Verdana, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif][SIZE=-1]"The direct debit guarantee applies to all banks and building societies taking part in the direct debit scheme. It says that:
[/SIZE][/FONT]

[FONT=Verdana, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif][SIZE=-1][/SIZE][/FONT]

[FONT=Verdana, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif][SIZE=-1]If there is a change in the amount to be paid or the payment date, the person receiving the payment (the originator) must notify the customer in advance. [/SIZE][/FONT]

[FONT=Verdana, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif][SIZE=-1][/SIZE][/FONT]

[FONT=Verdana, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif][SIZE=-1]If the originator or the bank/building society makes an error, the customer is guaranteed a full and immediate refund of the amount paid.[/SIZE][/FONT]

[FONT=Verdana, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif][SIZE=-1][/SIZE][/FONT]

[FONT=Verdana, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif][SIZE=-1]Customers can cancel a direct debit at any time by writing to their bank or building society. "[/SIZE][/FONT]


See http://www.financial-ombudsman.org.uk/publications/ombudsman-news/27/27-directdebit-guarantee.htm

[/SIZE][/FONT]

Sharm_2

My partner has just seen a £72 DD setup to Satcov on his bank account statement, and also a £6 payment went out to Satcov on the month before. He is utterly fuming and is currently on the phone to his bank at the moment to try and determine why he has a DD setup on his account for something he doesn't have, and without his permission. I will post back when we have more information.

goonasuk

We have an update, after speaking to SD-UK and them refusing to do anything, we got a letter sent thorough by second class post saying our 'agreement' has been cancelled - wahoo! They also enclosed the letter they claimed to have sent on the 14th September - which was dated 29th August - bit strange that unless the letter was just made up!!!! - but couldn't suggest such a thing.

But back to the money - it is back with us within 5 days it came backinto the bank account, now from what I gather SD-UK have to give the bank authorisation to give the money back - we've had no contact from bank or SD-UK and money has just re-appeared.

And now we have a letter stating it is all cancelled.

I think they must have got scared by me using proper terms like 'Data Subject Access Request' from the Data Protection Act, and Agreements from the Consumer Credit Act etc.

Have told the OH to leave the money in the account 'incase' anything happens and are going to be checking the bank account around 12th October to make sure they havent setup a direct debit without our say so.

alliejy

Hi everyone,

I too have been a victim of this company. I vaguely recall being phoned by them some 18 months ago, and said I'd think about it if they sent some information. Nothing ever arrived, and I forgot all about it until a few weeks ago when £72 and then £6 was removed from my account.
Luckily, my bank sorted it out very quickly and I had my money refunded within a couple of days. I canceled this erroneous DD, but they are still trying to take money every month.
The upshot of this saga is that a few days ago the company called me to "discuss my contract"!! I'd had a bad day at work and the agent is probably still suffering from ringing in the ears - I well and truly made my feelings clear! Quite enjoyed it actually!