Direct Debits

vivaladiva

Does everyone still pay their bills by Direct Debit? I got charged £30 last month by my bank when a DD left my account 2 days before I thought it would. I'm sure a similar situation has been mentioned before when someone's DD went before a weekend rather than after. Is it me being a little lax in not having the exact date a DD is due - some of them are agreements from ages ago - or is it common practice for companies to abuse the on or around a particular date agreement. (The DD I had a problem with went on the 13th one month and the 11th another - there was no weekend or bank holiday involved in either case.)
If you pay your bills manually at least you have some control over when the money goes (and obviously I wouldn't dream of sending a cheque a little late when doing serious juggling;)).
Have we all been encouraged to take out DD agreements so the banks can make more profit if it all goes wrong?
I know quite a few people who go down to the Council Offices to pay their Council Tax each month, and TBH I thought they were being a bit archaic:rolleyes:, but maybe they've got the right idea.
What do you guys think?

penguin83

When we were having a few problems earlier this year I cancelled my direct debits and paid via Internet Banking. I could set up the payments to go to each company on a certain date so it was pretty much like a direct debit but I didnt get charged by the bank if there wasnt enough money they just didnt process the payment. Could be worth a look into? x

Jenna

Hey,

I pay most of my bills manually inc. the C/Tax (they have a phone payment line), either by online transfer or by calling up and paying on my debit card (I put a reminder in my phone so I don't forget to!). The few exceptions to the rule are:

1. My Egg CC min. payment - my contract stipulates that I must have a DD in place. My bank did mess this up one time, I called and was told that I had no grounds for complaint. I continued to complain until they got their supervisor, and was given an address to write to. I wrote a letter basically saying "it was your mistake so it's not fair for me to pay £30!!" and got a letter of apology and a full refund. Bit of a pain though!!

2. TV loan - again, contract said I had to have one in place - I used to just make sure there was money there 2 or 3 working days prior to the due date

3. Contents insurance ... as per the TV

If you're having problems can you ask for written confirmation that, say, "the money will not be taken out before the 10th of the month" or something?

vivaladiva

Putting a reminder on your phone is a great idea!:D

BAILIFFCHASER

Pay manually. The easiest idea. Slight problems but then again not as bad as being charged for returned d.d.

GettingThingsDone

Hi - I totally agree. DD's are a plot to increase the number of bank charges.

I cancelled all my DD's, sorted myself out and then just re-established 3 small ones (TV, Insurance and Sky).

Everything else is paid manually one way or another.

gtd

tallyhoh

A couple of years ago I worked in a call centre flogging household insurance. We used to get extra commission if we managed to get customers to pay by direct debit.
The reason soon became obvious- people used to sign up for it over the phone & as it was a small monthly payment, they used to forget about it. I had customers call who had been paying it for years without noticing & so of course they never made a claim either.

I was shocked when I found that people dont check their bank statements every month- take note.

reehsetin

Bizzimum wrote: »

What do you guys think?

some places will charge for not paying direct debit £3/4 per month per a couple of companies:lipsrseal

susieh_2

Hi,

using internet banking is a good to pay most bills and dont know if my experience of paying council tax applies to all councils. My payments are due on 15th of each month & paid by internet paying, it left the account straight away, job done, no.!! on the 28th received a red letter, rang council and complained, only to be told it took between 10 - 15 days to clear, ok no charges, but just be aware.

Susieh

bathgatebuyer

I cancelled as many direct debits as I could get away with about a year or so ago. I was on a 4 weekly rather than monthly pay cycle and was finding it really difficult to keep track of wages going into my account which didn't fall in line with my monthly d/d dates.

I've paid my home insurance up front (just under £100 so manageable!), my power bill is also now quarterly, Council Tax is paid up at the post office using my paypoint card, my car is paid off so that's one less thing to worry about, which leaves car insurance, mortgage and one or two other little things.

I find it a big difference flying out of my account all the time and I feel much more in control of MY outgoings. In a perverse way, I quite enjoy heading to the PO to pay my Council Tax as I can see it being paid, I get a receipt, and that's it. I'm in control.

tigtag02

To be honest I dont see the problem ~ if a company takes a DD on a different date or for a different amount to what you are agreed without 10 days notice then they are in breach of the DD guarentee.

Under this guarentee your bank must reimburse you for the amount of the DD.