Is onepoundDD safe? 7 October 2022 at 11:52AM in Budgeting & bank accounts 27 replies 2.2K views

howryoo

As titled and what have your experiences been like?

Daliah

They are safe to take an agreed amount of money off you at agreed intervals. You are covered by the Direct Debit Guarantee, and you can withdraw or modify your agreement when necessary.

hgt

I've used them a few times if I'm short of DDs for a switching incentive. I've never had any problems... does what it says on the tin!

howryoo

Thank you both for your replies.

jbrassy

Why use them when you can set up £1 monthly direct debits with Unicef and Oxfam?

Astria

jbrassy said:

Why use them when you can set up £1 monthly direct debits with Unicef and Oxfam?

Because if you only use them for a month for a switching incentive and then cancel them, you could actually be costing the charities money?

The_Green_Hornet

jbrassy said:

Why use them when you can set up £1 monthly direct debits with Unicef and Oxfam?

The minimum DD at Oxfam is £2 and as Astria says it probably costs charities more setting up the DD, sending out thank you documents etc. than they actually get in.

OnePoundDD give 50% of their revenue to the following charities:

Amnesty International
British Heart Foundation
Great Ormond Street Hospital

Daliah

The_Green_Hornet said:

OnePoundDD give 50% of their revenue to the following charities:

Amnesty International
British Heart Foundation
Great Ormond Street Hospital

Has anyone seen proof for this?

Zanderman

Daliah said:

The_Green_Hornet said:

OnePoundDD give 50% of their revenue to the following charities:

Amnesty International
British Heart Foundation
Great Ormond Street Hospital

Has anyone seen proof for this?

I'm not sure what 'proof' would be satisfactory - to prove they actually give 50% to charity they'd have to be telling all - with proof - re their profits (otherwise no-one would know what 50% is), as well as showing what they've given to charity. 

So I would suggest it's unreasonable to expect proof.  It would require total transparency on OnePoundDD's operation. A statement by them saying what they've donated might be reassuring, but by itself it would be meaningless, not proof.

But, in the great scheme of things is it worth worrying about? Many on here use them for one-off £1 annual DDs. Or a short series of £1 monthlies before and after a switch. After cost the profits on one person's input, via DDs, will be mere pence (which is why charities don't like £1 DDs). If there is a charity donation (and we have no reason to doubt this do we?) that's great. It'll only be pence per person though.

Going back to the point of the thread, I've used them several times and had no problems at all. I prefer to use them than taking advantage of Oxfam etc for just a few months (the charities I support long-term have DDs in place on long-term accounts!).

Daliah

Zanderman said:

Daliah said:

The_Green_Hornet said:

OnePoundDD give 50% of their revenue to the following charities:

Amnesty International
British Heart Foundation
Great Ormond Street Hospital

Has anyone seen proof for this?

I'm not sure what 'proof' would be satisfactory - to prove they actually give 50% to charity they'd have to be telling all - with proof - re their profits (otherwise no-one would know what 50% is), as well as showing what they've given to charity. 

A company's profit is viewable to the public. For example, here are the latest accounts filed by OnePoundDD: https://find-and-update.company-information.service.gov.uk/company/10272900/filing-history

The claim was that they'd give 50% of their revenue, not their profit, to Charity. This strikes me as a little strange because it's a lot more (at least percentage-wise) than 50% of profit. 

Though looking at their accounts, the company doesn't appear to be a money spinner so I rest my case.

howryoo

Thanks for your thoughts everyone - will consider them as an option if the need arises.