The Old Direct Debit Guarantee

[a_q]

The direct debit guarantee seems to have changed wording over the years, and not in favour of the consumer either. I found the old wording for 2003 here: direct debit guarantee

 

"This Guarantee is offered by all banks and building societies that take part

in the Direct Debit Scheme. The efficiency and security of the Scheme is

monitored and protected by your own bank or building society

If the amount to be paid or the payment dates change the

organisation will notify you normally 10 working days in advance of your

account being debited or as otherwise agreed

If an error is made by the organisation or your bank or building

society, you are guaranteed a full and immediate refund from your branch of

the amount paid

You can cancel a Direct Debit at any time by writing to your bank

or building society. Please also send a copy of your letter to the

organisation."

 

 

does anyone have any earlier forms of this wording and the respective date?

 

I'd be interested to find out when the wording changed and on which date(s).

 

This might be useful to those claiming in court, as the old wording would be relevant for 6-year-old claims and is more favourable.

Edited July 25, 2009 by a_q
clean up formatting

[yourbank]

The Direct Debit Guarantee scheme is irrelevant to bank charges since they are not part of the DD Guarantee Scheme. It is only where a DD is paid where it is relevant. And as it stands today you can go further than 6 years on bank charges claims anyway.

[a_q]

I'm not sure I mentioned bank charges, just "claiming", e.g. for DD's paid when they shouldn't have been, and the bank refusing to refund. So my questions still stand.

[yourbank]

I'm not sure I mentioned bank charges, just "claiming", e.g. for DD's paid when they shouldn't have been, and the bank refusing to refund. So my questions still stand.

 

They should refund under the DD guarantee scheme even up to 6 years after the debit otherwise you can get the FOS involved.

 

EDIT: can you post up a few more details though?

[rickyd]

the rules for this are really simple, no matter where the error occurs, your bank MUST refund your account with the disputed amount within 24 of being notified by you. No Ifs, Buts or arguments.

 

The reason they may be awkward about this is because the internal process can be a pain in the *rse for the bank staff. They have to raise something called a Direct debit Indemnity claim which they use to claim the refund that they have already given to you, from the recipient company.

 

The bank really doesn't have any reason not to do this as they will be repaid, but the receiving company may claim against you if they believe the payment was due, then you have the issue of proving that it wasn't.

 

The banks act as facilitator for the payment by noting that an instruction has been received from the company completed and signed by you. So from the bank's point of view, they are following your instructions and will do so until you tell them not to. If they continue after you've told them not to, it is a bank error. If they haven't received notification from you, it's an indemnity claim. Either way, the bank has to refund you within 24 hours.

 

 

This is an extract from the BACS website:-

 

If a Direct Debit payment has been taken which is not in accordance with the advance notice received i.e. too much has been taken or the payment has been taken on the wrong date you are entitled to an immediate refund of the amount debited from your bank under the Direct Debit Guarantee. If the payment due date falls at a weekend or on a bank holiday the organisation is obliged to debit your account just after the due date, not before, unless they notify you in advance of a change of date.

 

To request a refund under the Direct Debit Guarantee, contact your bank in person at the branch, by phone or write to themShould the matter still not be resolved:

 

Contact Bacs via the Helpline number: 0870 049 2717 (please note that this is a national rate number and calls will be charged at standard operator tariffs, the Helpline is available 9.30am to 5pm, Monday to Friday, excluding Bank Holidays). Before calling, please ensure that you have all the relevant details at hand, including your bank account details and full dates and details of all communications with the bank and company with whom the Direct Debit was raised. We will then investigate on your behalf, via internal banking channels, responding to you within 48 hours.

[yourbank]

Rickyd, that is only when the amount is PAID.

 

If it isn't then it does not fall within the DD Guarantee scheme.

[rickyd]

As usual you're spot on.

 

I thought we were discussing payments that had been made when they shouldn't have been. That's what my response was about.

 

If I've misunderstood this please feel free to ignore me!