Standing order not cancelled

Jami74

I could have sworn I cancelled the standing order to our old water company when I made the final payment.

Anyway, it appears that I didn't and the usual monthly payment has been taken. I can still log in to the water company account and they have our moving out date and updated address, will they automatically refund at some point or will I have to apply for a refund? The payment is not showing on the account yet.

Mark_d

It's odd that you pay water bill by standing order.  Mine has always been direct debit.

In any case, it's best to give them a call to get your question answered - rather than rely on what people think should happen.

Jami74

Mark_d said:

It's odd that you pay water bill by standing order.  Mine has always been direct debit.

In any case, it's best to give them a call to get your question answered - rather than rely on what people think should happen.

It's historical. Their estimated direct debit for our household was £60 a month and they wouldn't reduce the direct debit to below this. Our actual usage was between £30 and £35 a month so I paid by standing order and took regular readings so I could update the standing order as necessary. At the time money was very tight and I couldn't afford to over pay and wait for it to balance out at their yearly meter reading.

Thanks for your answer. I'm not great with phonecalls and don't think I've got the ability to explain on the phone that I've paid a bill I don't owe for a property I don't live and ask for it back. 

Mark_d

Jami74 said:

Mark_d said:

It's odd that you pay water bill by standing order.  Mine has always been direct debit.

In any case, it's best to give them a call to get your question answered - rather than rely on what people think should happen.

It's historical. Their estimated direct debit for our household was £60 a month and they wouldn't reduce the direct debit to below this. Our actual usage was between £30 and £35 a month so I paid by standing order and took regular readings so I could update the standing order as necessary. At the time money was very tight and I couldn't afford to over pay and wait for it to balance out at their yearly meter reading.

Thanks for your answer. I'm not great with phonecalls and don't think I've got the ability to explain on the phone that I've paid a bill I don't owe for a property I don't live and ask for it back. 

Don't give up on this!  Maybe you can write an email to the water company. Maybe friend can help.

Essentially you believe you have overpaid for your water.  You would like to get the overpayment refunded.  It's your money so you have a right to it.

Hoenir

The money will be automatically refunded. Though may take a few working days to process. 

sheramber

Have you gone onto your bank account and  made sure you have cancelled it?

PRAISETHESUN

If money is tight then it's definitely worth getting in touch with the water company to request a refund. If they haven't issued a final bill for your account yet you may not even need to do anything but otherwise you should be able to sort it out with a quick live chat or an email, so a phone call may not be necessary. Ask for a refund of the credit balance for your account.

Definitely worth reviewing your bank account for any other standing orders and direct debits which are no longer required.

Jami74

sheramber said:

Have you gone onto your bank account and  made sure you have cancelled it?

Yep, done that now, thanks. Had already paid the final bill manually and thought I'd cancelled the standing order then, but obviously didn't. 

Nothing else left to change/cancel. Just waiting for the old council tax to issue a final bill and refund.