payment by direct debit

[bobby atkin]

I pay my tv and phone by dd to telewest.On my bill each month it states payment to be taken on or around the 10th of the month.This month they have taken it out on the 7th with no notice which could cause me to go overdrawn Does anyone know how i stand with this please.

[WendyS]

Well, if they do this to everybody, sneaking all that direct debit money a few days early that's a considerable amount of extra free interest for them. I'd be inclined to contact your bank and direct them not to release the funds before the actual date they mention. Of course they give themselves the leeeway of saying "on or around" but I should also write and complain to the phone and TV licencing authorities as well.

[Oneeyedvic]

Firstly - has the direct debit actually gone through, or is it showing on your on line account. It may not actually have gone through yet - just showing up as about to go through.

Next, will you have money to put into your account today to cover it. If you don't, or will not actually pay anything in until Monday, it is irrelevant. A direct debit is the first transaction to go through, so if it does come out Monday, even if you pay in cash at 9.00am, it would still cause you to go overdrawn.

[pagey]

bobby atkin, the exact same thing happened to me today! A company took out a DD which was due on the 10th today, pushing me overdrawn. I had to run around like a blue-ass fly in the middle of my working day to cover the defecit in my account before close of business.

This is why I hate banks, DDs and most financial companies. If you put a foot wrong they come down on you like a ton of bricks, but if they step out of line you find yourself either footing the bill or wasting precious time and effort compensating for it.

ARRRGGGGHHH!

[dzug]

The answer in one sense is simple.

Most DD mandates say 'on or shortly after' - they should not be taken before.

You tell the bank that the DD was not in accordance with the mandate. They will reverse it and refund any charges. Be aware they will probably cancel the DD permanently - so it will need to be reauthorised.

The problem is you still owe the company who will probably try to land you with a fee for a failed DD, so it tends to backfire.

I would ask the company for compensation for the DD being taken on the wrong day - if you persist you should get it. Ask for your bank costs and whatever they would charge you for a failed DD.

[bellasasha]

hiya

i am with telewest and it says in their small print that the money will be taken "on or around". this means they are under no obligation to give you an exact date....although they can only take it out 5 days either side of the date they have stated. it happens with my bill all the time and with others but they have in effect given you notice because they haven said "your direct debit day will be the 10th of every month", they cant do that what with weekends and bank holidays

[bobby atkin]

On my bill that they sent a week before payment is due to be taken it clearly states to be taken on or after the 10th april that is why i was so annoyed