standing orders and how they work

[encee]

hubby has had a payment come out of bank annually since 1999.does anyone know how we can trace who its to we have the sort code ref number etc and the only info we have is that its paid yearly to nat west.nobody will tell us because of data protection.we are wary about canceeling it till we know what it is.any idea's from you clever people.

[CheekyChops]

That's rubbish, they should be able to tell you who you are paying!!

Could it be for some kind of card insurance - how much is it for?

Youcould try cancelling it and see who writes to you!

[factor-fiction]

I don't see how data protection can be an issue- unless you are asking the bank about a standing order on your husband's account. The bank can't use Data Protection a s a reason for not disclosing who he is paying to.

If you put the sort code and account number on here I'll probably be able to tell you staright away what it is for.

If you don't think you should be paying any standing orders then it's probably either an old one that should be stopped -or if you have a Nat West account it could be a subscription to them for some form of privelege/premier account.

[themas]

An excellent example of the farcical stupidity of Data Protection - or at any rate the way people hide behind it!

If the bank won't tell you who it goes to then insist that they send a letter (written by you explaining what you want to know and why) to the person/company who is paid the money. The letter should ask the outfit to reply direct to you.

If the bank won't even do this, use their formal complaints system.

Or - as CC suggests - cancel it & see what happens.

[R1Geezer]

just cancel it and see who screams - tada, the wisdom of the Geezer!

[factor-fiction]

I'd urge caution before cancelling it. For example if it turns out to be car insurance (unlikely I know) then you'd be driving uninsured). Or it could be some form of investment/life policy- and the policy may lapse. Or the TV licensing people might charge you with having no licence.

If you google the sort code and account number it will come up.Let us know the result! Hope it's not a porn site subscription!

Seems odd though that your husband hasn't questioned it for 9 years! How much is it?

[R1Geezer]

complete boll0x, they always write to you first, all you have to do is pay up and then reset the SO.

[factor-fiction]

What a wittty response R1Geezer. If it is car insurance he'd risk not being covered. If it was a regular credit card payment/loan payment then charges may be levied. I'm just saying that if it's been paid for 9 years then it's worth spending half an hour investigating this- maybe by a google search- before he cancels it. That's my advice- and advice is what he asked for- and it's just as valid as your advice.

[R1Geezer]

remember this is annual, no one pays credit cards annually, insurance is paid annually but not by SO as it is always a different amount each year.

[factor-fiction]

Ha ha, I pay my insurance by standing order- okay it's life assurance. I used to have a credit card with a small annual payment which gave me entitlement to worthwhile benefits.

If I'd been making for 9 years I'd prefer to spend half an hour checking what it is for before I cancel it . If you think that's an unnecessarily cautious view (or whatever phrase you prefer to use given your limited vocabulary) then that's your opinion. We are all different in our attitude to risk and I'm sure your approach to life and way of speaking to people has served you well and given you the success and happiness you deserve.

[encee]

hi factor30 if it was my account i would have noticed it.hubby has looked back 1 year ago and it was same amount.he says he hadnt noticed it b4 just assumed it was something that was set up for whatever.on his statement it just says standing order to nat west.but all his bank will do is give us the sort code ref no and account no.nat west wont give anything out because of data protection.we cant understand why his bank wont do anything.dont really know if to cancel it because as was said it could cause probs.its most probably something we have forgotten about.flippin annoying though but i suppose we have another year to work it out.men are just not organized.i am racking my brains trying to figure it out but 9 years ago is a long time to remember.how to google this i dont know what is meant by that but surely not a good idea to put account number on show.confused

[CheekyChops]

Putting the account number and sort code on show won't do any harm, it's not your account number is is!

How much is the SO for, that could give a clue?

[factor-fiction]

just type the account number in the search box on google, yahoo or any other search engine and if the account belongs to an organsiation there's a good chance it will take you to their web page,
Let us know how you get on

[encee]

about �60 cheekychops

[THECORBYLOON]

Can you not ask for a copy of the standing order mandate? That would be the form completed by yir husband and the chances are it has the name or logo of the company/person involved.

[encee]

bank says they only keep them for 3 months.tried that.thanks anyway

[factor-fiction]

But have you done a web search yet encee on the recipent organisation's account number? I'll do it for you if you tell us what it is.

[THECORBYLOON]

Have you the number of the account it's going into? it may be worth googling that number to see if somrthing comes up?

[factor-fiction]

Good answer Corbeyloon. I've suggested this a few times now. It's always worked for me where the recipient is an organisation (but not if it's my windowcleaner or my nephew).
I'm puzzled as to why encee isn't picking up on this other than to say she doesn't know how to do a google search.

[encee]

i have put the number in the search but no clues

[annie0000]

A standing order is different from a direct debit in that you would have needed to set it up with your on bank directly for you to pay the money out. A direct debit is set up by the company receiving the money with your permission for them to take the money.

As your husband would have needed to have set up the standing order, his bank can give him the details of who he pays it to if they have them,

There are very few companies now or even then that would be taking payment by standing order, most use direct debit and then they have control over taking the money. There is a risk with a standing order that the payee can stop it at any time.

I would speak to his bank again and ask them for the original standing order authorisation.

In the meantime, think through what he could possibly pay annually for that amount that he doesn't already pay. Is it an annual premium insurance policy - did it start at the same time as your mortgage (or a year later as he may have pasid an initial premium by cheque) What about AA cover? House insurance, Dentalplan, Pet insurance,maintenance cover for an appliance, annual travel insurance, payment to a factor for the upkeep of shared gardens, bin cleaning, subscription to a magazine, charity donation etc etc.