Outfox The Market Direct Debit changes

[Deleted User]

Dear Bye Bye Ban...


I beg to differ...and here is why. I changed over my provider from one of the big companies to another, a few years back. I went through the same procedure. I noticed that when I got my bills, that both companies had charged me over the top for the same energy use.


I tried complaining...No good, both refused to pay, saying that they were operating within industry guidelines etc. I was "outfoxed" for a while....pardon the pun. I then started to go up through the complaints route...it took time...but I am old and I am very patient...and I have a lot of time on my hands, life can be so boring as a pensioner...don't you think:A.
Anyways, after arguing it out with both companies, wasting their time, as much as mine...I decided to take it higher and higher. Companies love to waste your time, I have found, but hate you wasting theres...this is because their time is so much more costly than yours, they have to make profits, whilst you have to live off of your small pension, so it makes no difference to me.
Eventually, after consulting MSE forums on the matter, I discovered, or was recommended, to use Complaint Resolver... a free service to consumers. see url: https://www.resolver.co.uk/



I wasn't very impressed, but decided to give them a go At that time, I was thinking about getting on to my local councillor, the local media and even my M.P. and the government minister in charge of energy, oe even, god forbid, one of those consumer television programmes.


However, after weighing it all up I decided to give Complaint Resolver a go. The first thing that they did, was to focus my mind on what it was that I was actually complaining about...which I found most helpful. I thought it out, put it all down and then sent it off to them to take up with the energy company.
A couple of weeks later, and this was months after I had first complained, I received an email from the energy company I was now with, offering me, via their customer services manager, a payment of £25 in compensation. As the money I was complaining about amounted to around £5, what could I do...but sell out!!! I accepted the deal and withdrew my complaint.


The lesson is, you see, if you have the time...and even more importantly, the inclination...and the persistence...it is a mantra that Martil Lewis taught me, then you never know what you will win. There is one thing for certain...if you don't try...you won't get, but if you do try...the world is your oyster.
I hope that my little bit of philosophy helps others on this newsgroup to get the justice that they deserve.
ATB
Dougie.

Ian_875

Despite having left OFTM on the 6th December, and received a confirmation from Yorkshire Energy on the 6th that t my switch was complete, I went onto the live chat just to confirm that OFTM were happy for me to close the direct debit now the account was setting. They said they were, and confirmed I was no longer a customer.

Well, having closed the DD, it's now re-appeared as an active DD on my bank account. I've close it again and informed my bank to block any future attempts.

This is unbelievable, in what world is a company allowed to re-instate a DD like this!?

wild666

After forgetting to cancel the DD yesterday I did it at 04:49 today now just to keep an eye on it to see if they reinstate the DD. I emailed the bank and I simply said I had cancelled a DD with foxglove energy and would be grateful if they blocked attempts to reinstate the DD.
As the next payment would be more than double my last payment, £102.09 compared with £50 previously, even though I can afford it the new supplier will be taking £66.51 out next Friday. I hope Santander do as I ask. I will contact the CEO if they don't . Do they reinstate the DD's under a different name or do they use Foxglove Energy?

I am going to contact OFTM and tell them similar in a day or two and add that if they want payment for any money owed, which I doubt, they will owe me a small amount as last month my bill was £36 and that included an £11.80 monthly fee.

Anthorn

Ian_875 wrote: »

Despite having left OFTM on the 6th December, and received a confirmation from Yorkshire Energy on the 6th that t my switch was complete, I went onto the live chat just to confirm that OFTM were happy for me to close the direct debit now the account was setting. They said they were, and confirmed I was no longer a customer.

Well, having closed the DD, it's now re-appeared as an active DD on my bank account. I've close it again and informed my bank to block any future attempts.

This is unbelievable, in what world is a company allowed to re-instate a DD like this!?

It's the price for inconvenience. The (very) old system of direct debit authorisation was through posting or faxing a form to the payee and then they would post or fax it to the bank and then the bank would install the direct debit. Then to cancel the direct debit we had to ask the payee to cancel it. These days we give our bank details to the payee electronically and they electronically install it at the bank. But the payee who already has our details can reinstate it if we cancel it assuming that we cancelled the DD by mistake because we didn't tell them nor the bank about it.

Notwithstanding though that some financial institutions still use the old system of forms, for example Coventry Building Society.

paters

Ian_875 wrote: »

Despite having left OFTM on the 6th December, and received a confirmation from Yorkshire Energy on the 6th that t my switch was complete, I went onto the live chat just to confirm that OFTM were happy for me to close the direct debit now the account was setting. They said they were, and confirmed I was no longer a customer.

Well, having closed the DD, it's now re-appeared as an active DD on my bank account. I've close it again and informed my bank to block any future attempts.

This is unbelievable, in what world is a company allowed to re-instate a DD like this!?

OTM were probably already in the process of setting up new DD instructions when you contacted them...


It looks like as so many customers cancelled their DD, instead of checking each customer's account and contacting them individually, it was quicker / easier for them to wipe the slate clean and start again.


Or, for some reason, they now need the payments to go in to Foxglove Energy's bank account instead of the OTM's.

Stonosnr

I joined 2 months ago with a DD of approx. £100 then received 2 emails in quick succession increasing to around £120 then £160. I accepted that this is what I was paying before I switched, and thought it was a complete waste of time switching, but I'll have to put up with it. However, the bombshell email arrived last week increasing my DD to approx. £270 until further notice! There was a notice on their website warning that all agents were busy helping customers, call later! That notice appears to be valid 24 / 7 since then! I emailed them several times asking them to verify this eye watering increase, but of course no response! Luckily I have no penalty clause, unless they have sneaked one in, so decided to jump ship just in case! It is interesting to see that my DD set to £270 has been ammended down to zero, so assume that I was actually still in credit! I'm baffled!

wild666

That's it I notified them of cancelled direct debit. I sent the following
This morning at 04:49 I cancelled my direct debit as I am moving suppliers on the 14th December. The £64.12 credit on the account should be enough to cover any money owed. I also emailed my bank and asked that they stop yourselves from reinstating the direct debit and thus taking further money from the account.

As they asked for my two meter reads after I sent in my monthly meter reads I am thinking they might try something to get money out of me. I sent them the total, act 1 and act 2 reads from my meter

editor1

Hi All,

I hope someone more versed on these issues presently can assist?

In a nutshell, if you sign up to a Direct Debit payment scheme you are voluntarily giving one business, and one business only, the right to access funds from your Bank Account for services. All fair and square as you might say.

It transpires that OFTM is actually using several of its registered business entities to remove funds from customers accounts, namely, and having cancelled a DD with one business, OFTM does not utilise that Business entity to re=set up a DD its side, rather, it uses a completely different business entity that has not been authorised to remove funds from customers accounts.

This raises many concerns, not least unauthorised withdrawal of funds - THEFT

The sharing of customer data with another entity, not expressly consented too by the customer, which is a breach of data regulations and a matter for the ICO to investigate.

Anyone care to shed some light on this given banks are claiming customers have voluntarily divulged banking details to a business via a DD Agreement, which is 100% correct if its the same entity we are dealing with. When its a completely different entity that has not been sanctioned by the customer then any such cash withdrawals are clearly unsanctioned in that no DD agreement/authorisation was ever given?

Anthorn

editor1 wrote: »

In a nutshell, if you sign up to a Direct Debit payment scheme you are voluntarily giving one business, and one business only, the right to access funds from your Bank Account for services. All fair and square as you might say.

Not necessarily: It depends on your agreement with the organisation, merchant, etc. and the notice period you agreed with them. If they provide you with the agreed notice that provides a window for you to disagree. It has happened a few times with me that an organisation has been absorbed into a parent organisation and I received more of a notice than a request for another DD.
https://www.bacs.co.uk/Services/bacsschemes/directdebit/Pages/DirectDebit.aspx

paters

editor1, I think you're getting a little carried away again! Outfox The Market is just a trading name of Foxglove Energy Ltd, it's the same business.