Direct Debit who is at fault

[mitsy]

I don't know if i'm posting this in the right place

I have a direct debit for my car insurance which goes out every month on the 3rd i have a few bits of money coming in every week from child tax etc but with it changing weekly its hard to keep track.
the insurance company tried to take the money out on the 8th which put me overdrawn and i was charged £20 i contacted the bank they said the problem lies with the company and i should claim the £20 from them, ive had a read around the net and it says it should be within 3 days of the date, i though the insurance was paid, i have also read the the direct debit guarantee that states if there is any error the bank should sort it out. totally confused
now the are going to take the £20 out of my child benefit i stated it was against the law social security act 1992 but they said it was not there problem

[old_andrew2007]

bump

[sillygirl1]

Go to the bank and tell them they are not allowed to take charges when you are on benefits. It is THEIR problem, not yours, and they allowed a direct debit to go out on the WRONG date.

Write to the insurance company and explain that you want to change to standing orders - if they say NO explain that you then need a discount as you are now on benefits - it's worth a try.

[yourbank]

sillygirl, the bank ARE allowed to take bank charges from benefits. Steven4064 has a thread that explains that point and explains it far better than I could. The myth that they cannot do that does not include bank charges.
The OP will have to claim charges back from the bank because the Direct Debit Guarantee Scheme has a grey area on bank charges caused by a DD mistake. THe bank will stick to its stance and may not refund unless it was the first time that the OP had been charged and under that scenario, they MAY refund/waive that first charge.