Nationwide switch - what's considered a direct debit?

williewonder

I currently have a nationwide flex account - I have been offered £200 to switch to their flexplus account which is good as then I'll have phone insurance. I don't have any direct debits though. Is paramount plus subscription and Apple storage thing that is 99p a month considered direct debits?

Ayr_Rage

@williewonder if they are set up as continuous payments from a card, then no.

A DD must be set up using the mandate and taken directly from an account.

northwalesd

williewonder said:

I currently have a nationwide flex account - I have been offered £200 to switch to their flexplus account 

Just to be clear, switching a Nationwide Flex account to a Nationwide Flexplus account won't give you £200. The switch bonus is only for switching in non-Nationwide accounts. It's just that it sounded like you expected that (apologies if you didn't).

EarthBoy

As mentioned, you won't get £200 just for changing from one Nationwide account to another; you have to switch in an account from elsewhere.

The full terms are here: 

https://www.nationwide.co.uk/current-accounts/help/terms/current-account-online-switch-offer-terms-and-conditions/

Nationwide explain what a DD is, and the difference between them and recurring card payments, here:

A Direct Debit:

• is set up by a company, using your account number and sort code
• is often used to pay energy providers, Council Tax bills or credit card bills, and
• is usually part of a fixed agreement and should only be changed by the company collecting the Direct Debit
• is active where a valid regular Direct Debit instruction exists on the account.

A recurring card payment:

• is set up by a company, using your account number and sort code
• is used for things like Netflix, Amazon Prime or magazine subscriptions, and
• can usually be changed or cancelled by contacting the company taking the payment.

ColdIron

Surely a recurring card payment requires card details and not your account number and sort code?

• Continuous Payment Authorities
• A continuous payment authority (CPA) is a type of recurring payment that a merchant sets up on a customer’s card account using their debit or credit card details

https://www.financial-ombudsman.org.uk/businesses/complaints-deal/banking-and-payments/continuous-payment-authorities

When I look at Nationwide this is what they have to say about it

• Recurring card payments are:
• Set up by a company, using your debit or credit card details.
• Used for things like Netflix, Amazon Prime or magazine subscriptions.
• Usually changed by contacting the company taking the payment. You can cancel by contacting us or the company.

https://www.nationwide.co.uk/help/payments/regular-payments/regular-payments-explained/

Subtle but critical difference

EarthBoy

Yes, Nationwide have made a boo-boo there.  The PDF of the switch terms and conditions gives the correct wording, if you download it, "A recurring card payment: • Is set up by a company, using your debit or credit card details;" but the wording they've used on the web page for the switch offer is wrong, and misleading.  

Barkin

Maybe a silly question, but... 

I've had a DD set up for some time to pay TFL congestion/ULEZ charges, but it's never actually been used to make a payment. 

Would this still count as an active DD? 

EarthBoy

Barkin said:

Would this still count as an active DD? 

I should think so, as long as it's less than two years old.  DDs become dormant after 24 months if they haven't been used (used to be 13 months).