Correct D Debit

[tali1]

Who is ultimately responsible for ensuring correct amount D Debit -me or the company(energy supplier) taking and setting up the payment ?

[wiltsman]

It's the energy supplier, not you, or the bank, or building society.

All you have to do is to ensure sufficient funds are in your current account when you know a Direct Debit is about to be taken.

[237SJ]

The company. Standing Order - you pay the company. Direct Debit - you give permission for the company to take the funds from your account.

[wiltsman]

Methyl - I agree with all you say, but once you've made the decision to pay by Direct Debit, it is up to the organisation to take the agreed sum on the agreed dates.

Any company taking payments by Direct Debit must strictly conform to the following guarantee:

http://www.directdebit.co.uk/DIRECTDEBITEXPLAINED/Pages/DirectDebitGuarantee.aspx

[factor-fiction]

Hi tali- it might be worth clarifying exactly what has happened and what you need to know. The supplier won't let you change your DD amount without their agreement but you can ask to change it. My supplier does allow you to request so many changes a year, and sometimes they agree to them, but they restrict it to a certain number (3 or 4) of changes in a year

[tali1]

Hi, what happened was (and here goes .........) i switched suppliers to Sainsbury energy - but the ddebit was set waaay to low-they adjusted this during the switch procedure and it was then same as my previous supplier - so i didn't want hassle of re switching back to my previous supplier(still with me ?).
I contacted ombudsman saying i had been lured in by their cheap Ddebit.He said the tariff though was correct .I told him not many users look at something as awkward and technical as tariffs but rely on DDebits for a better guide.He told even though the DDeebit was indeed wrong and Sainsburys admitted it, that it was my responsibility to ensure Ddebits are correct

[factor-fiction]

I am not sure I agree with you tali- if you use a comparison site and a reasonably accurate consumption figure it'll work out your annual charge and a monthly rate. If that showed, for example £1200 a year but the provider initially set the DD at say £80 a month then I think that's something for you to address by suggesting a more realistic figure.
However if they lured you in simply by someone stopping you in store and saying we will definitely cut your bill from £100 to £80 a month then you may have a mis-selling claim.
But it's not an issue your bank can resolve

[dzug2]

You might or might not have a mis-selling claim. If I read you right you were told in the transfer process that the DD would be higher than estimated and had the chance to say no? Then you don't have a DD claim - it was set up for the correct amount.

[factor-fiction]

Yes, it all depends on how the switch was done