Cancelling Direct Debit Repercussions

danhenshy23

My daughter has a membership with a sports class which she no longer wishes to attend.

I have contacted the company to cancel the membership but they are citing a 30 day cancellation policy which will mean a further direct debit payment is to be taken.

What are the potential consequences (if any) if I were to cancel the direct debit with my bank? There is still 3 weeks until the payment is due so I have enough time to cancel the direct debit

DE_612183

Is it a direct debit or a recurring card payment - they are similar but different.

Basically the gym will send her an invoice and ultimately issue a Money Claim On-line that will result in a CCJ ( if unpaid ) against her.

born_again

Yes.
She will get a unpaid marker on her credit history. Maybe also a extra charge from sports class for missed payment.
30 day cancelation is pretty standard these day on many ongoing payments. Will be covered in their T/C
They could also chase her through courts to claim the money back.

Get her to pay it & remind her to check T/C on ant contract.

flaneurs_lobster

If you have a contract with the sports class provider in which you have agreed to the 30 day notice period and you don't pay the last fee owed then you have a debt to the provider.

Don't think it matters if the fee is NOT paid by direct debit or any other means. There's no consequence to just cancelling a DD, other than when a refund might be due.

DullGreyGuy

danhenshy23 said:

My daughter has a membership with a sports class which she no longer wishes to attend.

I have contacted the company to cancel the membership but they are citing a 30 day cancellation policy which will mean a further direct debit payment is to be taken.

What are the potential consequences (if any) if I were to cancel the direct debit with my bank? There is still 3 weeks until the payment is due so I have enough time to cancel the direct debit

She will be in breach of contract and have a debt to pay. Depending on how much the debt is, the terms of the contract and the nature of the company you can probably expect to receive threatening letters and the costs to escalate as they try to recover the debt. 

Some companies will go to court over petty amounts, others will just keep threatening bailiffs etc and then just drop after months.

born_again said:

Yes.
She will get a unpaid marker on her credit history. 

Do any support clubs or gyms etc report to credit reference agencies?

Obvs if a CCJ was awarded and unpaid for 30 days then thats a different matter. 

PRAISETHESUN

Cancelling the DD doesn't remove any obligation to pay the bills you've agreed to pay. For the gym membership, I'd make it clear that you're giving the required 30 days notice and ask for a final invoice. Cancelling the DD early might be okay depending if you pay in advance or not, but otherwise you'll need to make sure you settle your account at the end of your membership.

born_again

DullGreyGuy said:

danhenshy23 said:

My daughter has a membership with a sports class which she no longer wishes to attend.

I have contacted the company to cancel the membership but they are citing a 30 day cancellation policy which will mean a further direct debit payment is to be taken.

What are the potential consequences (if any) if I were to cancel the direct debit with my bank? There is still 3 weeks until the payment is due so I have enough time to cancel the direct debit

She will be in breach of contract and have a debt to pay. Depending on how much the debt is, the terms of the contract and the nature of the company you can probably expect to receive threatening letters and the costs to escalate as they try to recover the debt. 

Some companies will go to court over petty amounts, others will just keep threatening bailiffs etc and then just drop after months.

born_again said:

Yes.
She will get a unpaid marker on her credit history. 

Do any support clubs or gyms etc report to credit reference agencies?

Obvs if a CCJ was awarded and unpaid for 30 days then thats a different matter. 

Their merchant bank would just report it as they would get the unpaid message. So original requester would have no hand in any report.

danhenshy23

Thanks all for the advice.

I should have been clearer in my initial post. My daughter is 6 and the membership is with a martial arts class.
No agreement was signed when taking out the membership, the 4 week cancellation period was mentioned in an email when the prices for the membership was given.

4 weeks from the date I cancelled will be 3 days after the next direct debit is taken, so I begrudge paying another months membership fee if it can be avoided.

Does the fact that no agreement was signed change the situation at all?

surreysaver

Just cancel the direct debit. Tell the company you've cancelled the direct debit, and ask them for a final bill covering the notice period.
When you first joined, did you pay a month in arrears, or a month in advance?

Olenna

danhenshy23 said:

Thanks all for the advice.

I should have been clearer in my initial post. My daughter is 6 and the membership is with a martial arts class.
No agreement was signed when taking out the membership, the 4 week cancellation period was mentioned in an email when the prices for the membership was given.

4 weeks from the date I cancelled will be 3 days after the next direct debit is taken, so I begrudge paying another months membership fee if it can be avoided.

Does the fact that no agreement was signed change the situation at all?

Given you've been e-mailed the information, your daughter has attended and you've already paid - you'd have some difficulty in court sustaining that no contract of any type was in place.

 However, Most of the posts here are slightly dramatic. You'll can only get a late payment market etc if they're reporting to the CRA which is unlikely if it's a small setup. If you don't pay they either write it off, send it to commercial debt collector or try the Small Claims Court route.

surreysaver

Olenna said:

danhenshy23 said:

Thanks all for the advice.

I should have been clearer in my initial post. My daughter is 6 and the membership is with a martial arts class.
No agreement was signed when taking out the membership, the 4 week cancellation period was mentioned in an email when the prices for the membership was given.

4 weeks from the date I cancelled will be 3 days after the next direct debit is taken, so I begrudge paying another months membership fee if it can be avoided.

Does the fact that no agreement was signed change the situation at all?

Most of the posts here are slightly dramatic.

You'll can only get a late payment market etc if they're reporting to the CRA which is unlikely if it's a small setup. 
If you don't pay they either write it off, send it to commercial debt collector or try the Small Claims Court route.

If you don't pay, they'll likely just write it off, as you say, or just send an email asking for payment