Direct debit

bristolleedsfan

wild666 said:

Any new DD price takes 10 days to take effect. When I increased mine from £48 to £55 it was less than 10 days before the DD was due out of my account and Octopus didn't take any DD that month as I also changed the date it was taken from the 15th to the 1st of the month. 

There must be a flaw in Octopus Energy dashboard account display which is adding to customers confusions, when I edited to a higher payment amount last Wednesday/ Thursday, dashboard stated new amount would be taken on 5th April.

hb1

[Deleted User] said:

I have been an Octopus customer now for over 5 years. Each month, I receive this email'ed notification:



You are on a variable direct debit payment scheme which allows the supplier to vary your DD payment with the appropriate notification. My DD is low as I have built up some credit. The DD amount to be paid can be changed in the Octopus App.

Thank you.  I think if it's perfectly ok for them to email on 28th March to say my dd is going up on 4th April, then it should be equally ok for me to request, on the very same day,  that they don't put my dd amount up on 4th April.

hb1

bristolleedsfan said:

wild666 said:

Any new DD price takes 10 days to take effect. When I increased mine from £48 to £55 it was less than 10 days before the DD was due out of my account and Octopus didn't take any DD that month as I also changed the date it was taken from the 15th to the 1st of the month. 

There must be a flaw in Octopus Energy dashboard account display which is adding to customers confusions, when I edited to a higher payment amount last Wednesday/ Thursday, dashboard stated new amount would be taken on 5th April.

I would agree that there does seem to be a flaw in their dashboard, and in their communications from department to department.  There always seems to be something wrong - they never seem to action anything at the first time of asking.  This isn't the first problem I've had with them.

hb1

MattMattMattUK said:

hb1 said:

After the £67 government support ended, Octopus Energy emailed to say they would be increasing my dd by £67.  I logged into my online account the same day and amended the payment back down to the original amount.  Whilst I can see the amount I have set as my direct debit in my Octopus account (£292), they have gone ahead and taken the higher amount (£359) from my bank today.  I am cross that they have done this.  Imagine if this was someone who was down to their last few pounds in their account and the energy company just took all that they have left, or sent the person overdrawn?  

What ifs are all irrelevant. They first factor is that you can request a reduction in the Direct Debit, but it does not meant that the change was accepted by Octopus. There is also the secondary factor how far in advance of the Direct Debit being taken you requested the change, Direct Debits are processed a week or so in advance of being deducted from your bank account so if it is requested within that window even if they accept the request it would not be actioned until the following Direct Debit.

hb1 said:

By setting up a direct debit, I am trusting that company with my account details, they should be taking only what I have authorised and not a penny more. 

The amount authorised is as per the contract, the amount you request on the website is not relevant, the way the Direct Debit functions is as per the contract, the amount on the site is not what is authorised, it is them advising you how much they will deduct. 

Thank you.  When you speak of a contract for the amount authorised, what do you mean exactly? Upon notifying me on 28th March that my payment would change on 4th April, they also confirmed that I was in control of the DD amount and could of course change it. I changed it immediately upon receiving their email.  Surely that is the point of having an online account with freedom to amend my payment amount?

hb1

bristolleedsfan said:

O/P contact bank and say Octopus failed to adhere to DD guarantee, ask for payment back under DD guarantee. 

Thank you. I have been in touch with the bank and they have said that they will investigate under the DD guarantee 

hb1

[Deleted User] said:

I have been an Octopus customer now for over 5 years. Each month, I receive this email'ed notification:



You are on a variable direct debit payment scheme which allows the supplier to vary your DD payment with the appropriate notification. My DD is low as I have built up some credit. The DD amount to be paid can be changed in the Octopus App.

I don't get one of those emails. The only thing they send me each month is the monthly reminder to send in meter readings.

born_again

hb1 said:

bristolleedsfan said:

O/P contact bank and say Octopus failed to adhere to DD guarantee, ask for payment back under DD guarantee. 

Thank you. I have been in touch with the bank and they have said that they will investigate under the DD guarantee 

10 days is the required notice period for DD.

But be careful when dealing with utilities. Check the T/C for charges for bounced DD's or missed payments. As this is how this will be classed.

All bank will do is take info from you & then start process. NOT investigate. Refund will be overnight on the day you start the process.
Remember you do owe this money & they have a right to chase you for this.

Far better to talk to co & get them to refund.

[Deleted User]

born_again said:

hb1 said:

bristolleedsfan said:

O/P contact bank and say Octopus failed to adhere to DD guarantee, ask for payment back under DD guarantee. 

Thank you. I have been in touch with the bank and they have said that they will investigate under the DD guarantee 

10 days is the required notice period for DD.

Is it?

‘Advance Notice must be provided to the payer before any collections are taken from an account and the length of the Direct Debit notice depends on what has been agreed with the sponsoring bank. If you are unsure what time period your organisation has, you can check the information contained within your Direct Debit Guarantee as it has to state this time period.

Typically, the default period (the time allowed for receipt of the Advance Notice by the payer) is a minimum of 10 working days plus postal time. If your organisation has not requested anything different to this you will typically be required to give 10 days’ Direct Debit notice. It is possible, however, to request a shorter time period from the bank – for example, 3 working days. If this was agreed, your Direct Debit Guarantee should reflect this and you would be required to provide Advance Notice of 3 working days plus postal time.’

born_again

Direct Debit Guarantee

• The Guarantee is offered by all banks and building societies that accept instructions to pay Direct Debits
• If there are any changes to the amount, date or frequency of your Direct Debit the organisation will notify you (normally 10 working days) in advance of your account being debited or as otherwise agreed. If you request the organisation to collect a payment, confirmation of the amount and date will be given to you at the time of the request
• If an error is made in the payment of your Direct Debit, by the organisation or your bank or building society, you are entitled to a full and immediate refund of the amount paid from your bank or building society
• If you receive a refund you are not entitled to, you must pay it back when the organisation asks you to
• You can cancel a Direct Debit at any time by simply contacting your bank or building society. Written confirmation may be required. Please also notify the organisation.

https://www.directdebit.co.uk/direct-debit-explained/direct-debit-guarantee/

So unless they have advised a shorter period (would ask them to prove this).

But as I said doing this on utility payments is dangerous ground & can cause more issues than it solves.

[Deleted User]

What you have quoted is correct but note the use of the word NORMALLY.

Edit: I have just checked and my broadband and VOIP providers only give me 5 days notice of a DD variable payment.