PayPal payment as a DD

georgieo4

I hope this is the correct place to ask about this. I'm asking on behalf of a relative.

They have made a donation to a charity, via PayPal and from their bank account, and it was a 'one time' donation. However they have seen on their bank account that it's down as a DD, the payment has now been taken/paid out and is also due to come out again, in a months time. They only clicked on the single donation link, so they are a bit worried that it is a repeat donation and the money will be taken again in months time and seemingly every month after that. 

Does this mean it is indeed a recurring DD and monthly payments will be taken? Or is it just the way the banking works?

Thanks for any help or advice.

Daliah

Your relative can simply cancel the DD. Courtesy would probably demand that the cancellation happens with the charity, but simply cancelling the DD in your relative's online banking would be sufficient.

PRAISETHESUN

When you use PayPal to make a payment directly from your bank account (as opposed to a payment made using a debit/credit card) the payment is set up as a DD. Most banks will assume a DD is set up to pay monthly by default - it's only when a second payment isn't taken around a month later that it'll get updated to "frequency not known" or something similar. In any case if they are sure they only agreed to a one-off payment there should be no issues telling the bank to cancel the mandate, which will prevent further funds from being taken. It might also be a good idea to let the charity know it has been cancelled as well, as cancelling the DD doesn't remove any obligation to pay if they've entered into any sort of contract with the charity.

georgieo4

Thank you very much Daliah and PRAISTHESUN for your replies and advice. I will pass on your information, they will be be reassured by your advice. 

born_again

Get them to check their paypal account to make sure a regular payment has not been set up.

How do I cancel a recurring payment, subscription, or automatic billing agreement I have with a merchant?

Here's how:

1. Log in to your PayPal account.
2. Click Settings near the top of the page.
3. Click Payments.
4. Click Manage pre-approved payments.
5. Click Cancel or Cancel automatic billing and follow the instructions.

phillw

georgieo4 said:

However they have seen on their bank account that it's down as a DD, the payment has now been taken/paid out and is also due to come out again, in a months time.

Some banks try to estimate the frequency of a DD, but this is not actually possible. It is just a guess, DD go out when the originator requests them. If you told Paypal to send money once, then they should only send it once.

You can set up regular payments in paypal, but your bank will have no idea about this.

Daliah

phillw said:

You can set up regular payments in paypal, but your bank will have no idea about this.

The Bank is, however, the one who holds the DD mandate. If you cancel that mandate. e.g. in online banking or over the phone, firstly, you do not have to give any reason for that cancellation, and secondly, the cancellation will come into [almost*] immediate effect. 

Cancelling a DD will not exempt you from any payment obligation that you might otherwise have but it will certainly stop the DD mandate. In the OP's case, it is nigh on certain that they have no obligation to the Charity, even if they did try to suggest there was an obligation,

* you might not be able to stop DDs due for payment on the next working day 

georgieo4

Thank you born_again, phillw and Daliah, the advice is great. I'll advise them to check their PayPal account as well, to be sure. I understand that the obligation can still be there, even if the DD is cancelled, so I'll reiterate that to them and get them to check. But I think they will be reassured with the great advice you've all given, thank you!