Panacea Finance DD Breach

Davies_85 · 2 August 2012 at 4:22PM

I got bike insurance through ebike.com and set up monthly payments, they use panacea finance and i make payments to them. i received a load of literature from both companies and thought i had replied to everything.. within the literature i received was a letter detailing that £10.38 would be taken the 27th of each month, the first months money came out no issue, however this last month they appied for £20.38 which failed as id only left £11 in my account with knowledge based upon the amount taken the month before and the letter i received outlining how much and when. on the 31st july i received a letter saying that the amount had failed and they will charge £20 for it, the letter stated that "the charge and installment amount would be take again within 7days of this letter" and to make sure it was in or id risk loosing my bike insurance.
so i phoned from my mobile and was left in a queue where my phone credit ran out, so i emailed instead on the 31st july asking where the extra £10 had come from.. they didnt reply so at 11:38 this morning i forwarded the same email and wrote this time please reply.. by 12:00 i had a reply sayin that i didnt fill in a form and so they added £10 to my direct debit becuase that failed they would now take £40.38 on the 4/8/12 in 2 days.. i had no prior knowledge of the £10 charge and wrote again asking what letter, no reply yet.. i then started googling and went to my bank and found out about "Advance Notice" so ive emailed again saying...

Thank you for your reply, i went to my bank to discuss the £35 failed direct debit bank charge and was advised by my bank manager that you are in breach of the Direct Debit Guarantee Scheme.

as the guarantee states you must inform me with "Advance Notice" to any changes in the direct debit..

Advance Notice is the method by which Originators give notice to the payer before the first Direct Debit payment is collected and following any changes to the Direct Debit payment in respect of amount, Direct Debit due date and / or frequency. The Advance Notice must be clear and unambiguous personalised advice and must be identified as such at first glance by the payer.
The Advance Notice must provide the following details:

Total amount of the Direct Debit to be applied to the Payer’s account
Direct Debit due date
Frequency of the Direct Debit
Direct Debit reference number
Advance Notice period
Originator name

I did not receive a letter of "Advance Notice" informing me of any changes to the direct debit therefore you have violated the Direct Debit Guarantee and i would like for the expenses to be reimbersed.
ive emailed panacea finance on this email adress 3 times now and only received a response to one, please respond to this email by tomorrow and not leave it for another direct debit to fail.
as i feel panacea finance have breeched my statutory rights i will be writing to the Office of Fair Trading, the Consumer Action Group, the Financial Ombudsman and any other governing body which may help me in this breach of Direct Debit Guarantee, if we do not reach a satisfactory conclusion.
as i am writing to dispute the amount you previously applied for which failed, i am ultimately disputing any further charges or direct debits you may apply for which incur the fore mentioned failed charges, therefore i would like the amount to be put on hold untill the dispute has been finalised.

what should i expect to happen? am i in my rights to ask for the money to be put in dispute and for them not to take it untill this has been cleared up? do i have any rights here at all? if they dont adhere to the Direct Debit scheme with "Advance Notice" then who would i complain to? please help this could mean i may loose my insurance as i cant afford all these charges + £35 bank charge

Davies_85 · 2 August 2012 at 4:25PM

i havent received anything asking me to return this letter that ive been charged £10 for, nor have they since sent out another for me to return, if this letter/form was important surely they would still need for me to fill it in/return it!!??..

wannabee_in_credit · 2 August 2012 at 4:29PM

I got stung for exactly the same amount, by exactly the same company, for exactly the same thing.
When you took out the insurance, they'll have sent you a load of paperwork - one of which is terms and conditions which you need to sign and send back. I admit I didn't do this and forgot about it until I suddenly went overdrawn paying them their extra £10 with no notice at all. I ended up paying them off early to get rid of them, and learned a lesson.
They never replied to my complaint actually, but I was wrong - I didn't sign and send back.

Davies_85 · 2 August 2012 at 4:40PM

Thank you for your reply, i have since dug out the original paperwork and i cannot see the letter i was to return, im sure i did do it.. however there is a letter stating that if forms arent returned then a £10 charge would be issued, but thats in the paperwork i got 6week ago, they did not advise they would be taking this amount, nor that the charge had been issued.. wouldnt that be a violation of the Advance Notice stated in the Direct Debit Scheme?

anti_scam · 4 August 2012 at 9:22AM

Hello

Same problem I had only 25 pounds on my account the 26 of July 2012 they send me a letter the next day the date was 27 july 2012. I receive the letter the 30 of July 2012. They told me they will charge me of 20 pound (I can understand) after I receive a letter the 3 August 2012 (dated of 2 July) They told that my Direct Debit facility has been suspend for in lieu of payment .

I have only a causal job not a lot of money...I think Pancea Ecar and so On are just robber WE NEED TO GO TO THE EUROPEAN COURT Please contact me we can change thing that cie are juster looter and we need to do something

Davies_85 · 4 August 2012 at 12:56PM

theyve emailed back saying it isnt in their policy to update people of their credit agreement, they didnt say anything about putting the amount on hold but did advise if i receive another failed charge they would be willing to waive the next one however i would need to pay anything outstanding within 2 week.
i understand about terms imposed in contracts but either way if they changed the direct debit detail they must give notice. does anyone know if the Direct Debit Guarentee gives time periods within Advance Notice?
who would i escalate this to? who deals with breach of Direct Debit scheme?

Panacea Finance DD Breach

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