Incorrectly taken direct debit

bamgbost

Apologies in advance for the wordy post ( i hope it is eventually clear and makes sense). Plus i hope its in the correct thread, if not im sure the mdoerators can help move it.

I have a loan with AA. it was always collected on 4th of the month, I guess as i initially eceived it on 4th of the month. However earlier this year, I requested they mvoe the date to 26th of the month, so at least i would have been paid by then, rather than the 4th which had always been awkward. I called them, and they agreed. Although they stated that their systems are old, and its not a straight forward change of date, its a gradual thing. It would move to 11th to 18th, then eventually the 26th as each month went on. I agreed and that was the end ( so i believe).

Indeed the date changed from the 10th to 18th. But it never actually got to 26th, It stayed at 18th. I didn't actually noticed this. Its only last month, when I saw my statement for payment on 18th taking me into my overdraft, that i realised it hadn't changed for the last few months. I called them up to inquire what was happening, and they apologised that there had been an error their end, which stopped it progressing. They would restart it.

I wasnt too happy and have filed a written complaint.  As I feel its unfair that 1) we had an agreement which never materialised and 2) each month I am going into my overdraft, and paying charges until my next payday, when it could easily not be so 3) it had taken for me to notice before anything is being done about it.

Now my Q is, had this every happended to anyone? And do I have grounds for my complaint and possible compensation of some sort for the inconvenience and overdraft charges etc.

What do you think?

[Deleted User]

bamgbost said:

.

Now my Q is, had this every happended to anyone?

And do I have grounds for my complaint and possible compensation of some sort for the inconvenience and overdraft charges etc.

1) Probably.  But that's not important.

2) You may get a goodwill gesture if you ask nicely but I would keep your expectations low.

bamgbost

Deleted_User said:

bamgbost said:

.

Now my Q is, had this every happended to anyone?

And do I have grounds for my complaint and possible compensation of some sort for the inconvenience and overdraft charges etc.

1) Probably.  But that's not important.

2) You may get a goodwill gesture if you ask nicely but I would keep your expectations low.

So I just gotta take it as it is basically...?

[Deleted User]

Yep, I think you gotta. 

Change of DD is likely to fall under customer service rather than any contractual clause.

bamgbost

Ok fair enough. Well I guess i got nothing to lose, by complaining then.

But like you said, maybe not to expect a windfall. thanks for your thoughts zx81

Clive_Woody

Presumably they could move it back to the 4th if they wanted to if this was in line with the terms of the contract you signed, so I wouldn't make too big a fuss (although I doubt they would act out of spite). You might get a £30 good will cheque

MinuteNoodles

bamgbost said:

2) each month I am going into my overdraft, and paying charges until my next payday, when it could easily not be

That's your fault not theirs. If you don't run your account hand to mouth you won't go into an overdraft. It's not their fault you keep it running hand to mouth. If you want to avoid this then don't spend every penny every month and build up a balance of a couple of thousand quid in that account so when direct debits do come out at a date different than you're expecting or something goes wrong with your pay and it goes in late then you avoid all of this. I've had an overdraft facility for 20 years, I've never once used it precisely because I don't leave my account running low.

upsidedownpancake

MinuteNoodles said:

bamgbost said:

2) each month I am going into my overdraft, and paying charges until my next payday, when it could easily not be

That's your fault not theirs. If you don't run your account hand to mouth you won't go into an overdraft. It's not their fault you keep it running hand to mouth. If you want to avoid this then don't spend every penny every month and build up a balance of a couple of thousand quid in that account so when direct debits do come out at a date different than you're expecting or something goes wrong with your pay and it goes in late then you avoid all of this. I've had an overdraft facility for 20 years, I've never once used it precisely because I don't leave my account running low.

Exactly.  OP doesn't check statement or glosses over it = game over.  Suck it up buttercup.

phillw

bamgbost said:

And do I have grounds for my complaint and possible compensation of some sort for the inconvenience and overdraft charges etc. 

If they were sent you correspondence (email/text/post) saying when they were going to take the direct debit each month and they took it when they said, then your room for complaint is limited to having to phone them up again to get the payment date moved.

If they didn't send you anything when they moved it then you have a bit more room to argue, but probably only for the first month.

Do you have a mobile phone and does your bank have your mobile number? I thought they all text now when you go overdrawn and are going to be charged fees. You may have more luck complaining to them if they didn't contact you when it was reasonable to do so.

They may say they have switched to sending alerts through a mobile phone banking app, (which you should definitely install if you have a smartphone) but you might be able to convince them that they didn't explain it clearly enough. I would ask them to explain how to make sure you get alerted in the future if you are going to be charged interest or fees and then ask if they could refund you any interest and fees out of goodwill.

bamgbost

Well just as an update.. I heard back from AA loans lastnight.

And indeed they acknowledged it was their fault. And apologised. And have already credit my account with £50 to cover any fees incurred as a result. I have the right to still raise it further or take to ombudsman.

But its a fair enough mistake, i will prob just leave as is.