Direct Debit taken from my account early

pre123

Hi on my Virgin Media Bill it clearly states that the money will be taken by direct debit on or after the 12/05/08 (Monday), but when i checked my bank account online it shows that the money has been taken and today its the 10/05/08 (Saturday) but has been future dated for when its due on the 12/05/08, so the money has left my account 2 days earlier than it should have. i dont know what i should do because i guess that either the bank or Virgin Media are at fault here, can anyone help or give any advice on the matter??? and can i do anything about it????

PROLIANT

Has it caused you any loss?

Paparika

It's likely that its just them presenting to direct debit but the actual event won't happen until Monday..

LilacPixie

It is perfectaly normal for banks to run their credit and debit systems over the weekend with all transactions being dated the monday. Saturday is not a banking day.

pre123

no i havent financially lost anything, but the money has left my account early and it just the principal of taking the money before they can

YorkshireBoy

This question gets asked a lot (but not for a while so it's a useful reminder ).

It's not been "taken"...simply reserved/earmarked, because if you were to spend the money today/tomorrow you couldn't replace the funds in time for the DD collection on Monday. You need cleared funds in your account the bank working day before, ie Friday.

The money is still earning you interest as Monday's transaction only affects the 'available balance' and not the 'balance'.

pre123

so is there anything that i can do about it then because this direct debit always comes out early even if its due for a Wednesday, so it cant just be the weekend that causes this

YorkshireBoy

pre123 wrote: »

so is there anything that i can do about it then because this direct debit always comes out early even if its due for a Wednesday, so it cant just be the weekend that causes this

That's a different scenario from your OP.

It depends on the DDI/statement. It may say "on or around", "within 3 days of", "on or shortly after", or simply "on".

If the DDI/statement says the funds will be collected "on" Wednesday 14th May, and they're subsequently taken on Tuesday 13th May, then you may claim under the DD Guarantee Scheme and be entitled to a full and immediate refund from your bank.

You should chase the originator, ie Virgin, for any consequential losses (charges etc).

PROLIANT

pre123 wrote: »

no i havent financially lost anything, but the money has left my account early and it just the principal of taking the money before they can

Yes I agree but I bank with A&L and they mark DD's that are due on a monday on the friday.

pre123

PROLIANT wrote: »

Yes I agree but I bank with A&L and they mark DD's that are due on a monday on the friday.

have you contacted them, and what did they say

PROLIANT

YorkshireBoy wrote: »

This question gets asked a lot (but not for a while so it's a useful reminder ).

It's not been "taken"...simply reserved/earmarked, because if you were to spend the money today/tomorrow you couldn't replace the funds in time for the DD collection on Monday. You need cleared funds in your account the bank working day before, ie Friday.

The money is still earning you interest as Monday's transaction only affects the 'available balance' and not the 'balance'.

Earn interest? When, unless you have a healthy revloving balance of at least £5k then the interest isn't worth the processing power of the banks data server.