Nine in ten adults in Britain use Direct Debit to pay some or all of their regular bills. It's a...
The first thing you should do when you see an unusual Direct Debit appear on your bank statement is not panic.
Under the Direct Debit guarantee, you are entitled to cancel the policy at any point just by simply contacting either the company you have the policy with or your bank. All you have to do is have the policy reference number to hand.
That’s if you no longer want to continue paying for the product or service you have received. (You must however, be aware that on cancellation of your policy it could result in you no longer receiving the product/service you were previously paying for).
The Direct Debit guarantee
The Guarantee is offered by all banks and building societies that accept instructions to pay Direct Debits If there are any changes to the amount, date or frequency of your Direct Debit the organisation will notify you (normally 10 working days) in advance of your account being debited or as otherwise agreed. If you request the organisation to collect a payment, confirmation of the amount and date will be given to you at the time of the request
If an error is made in the payment of your Direct Debit, by the organisation or your bank or building society, you are entitled to a full and immediate refund of the amount paid from your bank or building society
If you receive a refund you are not entitled to, you must pay it back when the organisation asks you to You can cancel a Direct Debit at any time by simply contacting your bank or building society. Written confirmation may be required. Please also notify the organisation.
The Guarantee covers Direct Debit payments. It cannot be used to address contractual disputes between you and the billing organisation.
What if I don’t have a reference number?
Again, don’t panic. Go and speak to your bank, they will be able to recognise that this Direct Debit is coming out and with your permission, they will be able to cancel it.
In terms of asking the company to cancel it for you then they will ask you a few questions, just to confirm it is you, and then they will cancel it for you. It’s as simple as that. No need to worry.
There may be a number of reasons for you wanting to cancel it, it may be that it was set up in error or you feel you no longer want the service they provide. Either way, the beauty of Direct Debits is that they are easy enough to set up and just as easy to cancel down.
Getting your money back
Whether the Direct Debit is a month old or a few years old, under the Direct Debit Guarantee you are able to place an indemnity claim against the reference, meaning the bank will refund the money immediately if the Direct Debit was set up in error.
If you believe this Direct Debit was set up without your authorisation then all you need to do is speak with the company taking the payments from your account, failing that speak with your bank about filing indemnity claims.
If you want more information about cancelling your Direct Debit and how to get a refund if it has been set up in error then speak to one of our consultants today or leave us a call back response.
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