Post office stopping direct debits

Ed-1

fabsaver said:

I closed all my PO accounts at the end of February, assuming they would no longer be needed.

However the DDs due on 1st and 2nd of March have still been taken  No idea where the money has gone, since once an account is closed it's no longer possible to view it on the PO website.

Hopefully the money will get returned to me eventually. Otherwise I guess I could claim the money back under the DD guarantee. I've now made sure I've cancelled all the remaining PO DDs directly with the relevant banks.

I should have expected that PO would mess this up 

That happened to me last year. They sent a cheque for the £1 direct debit that was taken after the PO account was closed 🤦‍♂️

Wheres_My_Cashback

As previously, they haven't actioned the DD closure yet as I've had 4 taken from them in the past 2 days, but I'm sure it will come soon as they didn't give a precise date.

surreysaver

Ed-1 said:

fabsaver said:

I closed all my PO accounts at the end of February, assuming they would no longer be needed.

However the DDs due on 1st and 2nd of March have still been taken  No idea where the money has gone, since once an account is closed it's no longer possible to view it on the PO website.

Hopefully the money will get returned to me eventually. Otherwise I guess I could claim the money back under the DD guarantee. I've now made sure I've cancelled all the remaining PO DDs directly with the relevant banks.

I should have expected that PO would mess this up 

That happened to me last year. They sent a cheque for the £1 direct debit that was taken after the PO account was closed 🤦‍♂️

You've probably closed the accounts after the Bank of Ireland started the direct debit process. Its not them who've messed up 

Ed-1

surreysaver said:

Ed-1 said:

fabsaver said:

I closed all my PO accounts at the end of February, assuming they would no longer be needed.

However the DDs due on 1st and 2nd of March have still been taken  No idea where the money has gone, since once an account is closed it's no longer possible to view it on the PO website.

Hopefully the money will get returned to me eventually. Otherwise I guess I could claim the money back under the DD guarantee. I've now made sure I've cancelled all the remaining PO DDs directly with the relevant banks.

I should have expected that PO would mess this up 

That happened to me last year. They sent a cheque for the £1 direct debit that was taken after the PO account was closed 🤦‍♂️

You've probably closed the accounts after the Bank of Ireland started the direct debit process. Its not them who've messed up 

No. The account was closed way before the direct debits went out (like a good 3 weeks).

surreysaver

Ed-1 said:

surreysaver said:

Ed-1 said:

fabsaver said:

I closed all my PO accounts at the end of February, assuming they would no longer be needed.

However the DDs due on 1st and 2nd of March have still been taken  No idea where the money has gone, since once an account is closed it's no longer possible to view it on the PO website.

Hopefully the money will get returned to me eventually. Otherwise I guess I could claim the money back under the DD guarantee. I've now made sure I've cancelled all the remaining PO DDs directly with the relevant banks.

I should have expected that PO would mess this up 

That happened to me last year. They sent a cheque for the £1 direct debit that was taken after the PO account was closed 🤦‍♂️

You've probably closed the accounts after the Bank of Ireland started the direct debit process. Its not them who've messed up 

No. The account was closed way before the direct debits went out (like a good 3 weeks).

When I've closed Post Office accounts in the past, I've stopped the direct debit but kept the account open for a month just to make sure

sparkiemalarkie

Once you close a PO account you can no longer see your statements for that account on line.
If you need an interest statement for tax returns you then have to phone up and get it sent  through the post.
Easiest to keep them open until all the statements are available to download.

hth

sx

jennifernil

I have emptied my accounts, but left them open, my OH has forgotten his log in details so still has a few pounds in his.  All our (3) direct debits have been taken, despite them saying they would not be.

Zanderman

jennifernil said:

I have emptied my accounts, but left them open, my OH has forgotten his log in details so still has a few pounds in his.  All our (3) direct debits have been taken, despite them saying they would not be.

The wording in the announcement email was:

Shortly after the 1st March, it will no longer be possible to deposit funds into your Post Office Savings Account using Direct Debit. Any existing Direct Debits you have set up with us will be cancelled automatically at this time.

The key (but unhelpful) words in that, I think, are 'shortly after'.  The PO have not said DDs would not be taken after 1st March, only that they would not be taken 'shortly after' 1st March, a vague definition they then try to specify as 'at this time' (which, if it's merely 'shortly after' is a meaningless definition - how long is 'shortly'?).

Leaving everything asis for a week or so might be better than assuming everything stops immediately.

jennifernil

Yes,  very vague, which is why I left my accounts open.  DD's are only a few £s each and I have already set up new ones to replace them, so will just wait until they get themselves organised.

WillPS

Just had a delightful chat with someone at Post Office Money. One of my 5 accounts won't allow withdrawls or transfers. Normal nonsense.

What was less normal was the reason I was given over the phone - that I'd broken the terms and conditions by having 5 accounts. He had no answer when I asked why the system would:

1. still allow deposits
2. not apply the restriction to all accounts
3. not allow account closure (i.e. fixing the breach)

He also told me I could only fix the problem by ringing between 9 and 3.

Guy on the phone was slurring to the point he sounded drunk.