Direct Debit Cancellation

Dec 06, 2006 25 Replies

A simple question to which I think the answer is no:



Can a direct debit be reinstated after I cancel it?



My problem is that I cancelled all direct debits with my old bank but had an oversraft with them so left the account open as I was paying it back.



Then the bank that had a direct debit set up with them reinstated it and started claiming the direct debit again. As no funds I got charged a direct debit non payment fee by my bank and then when I went over the overdraft limit they hit me for that to.



The bank are stating I have to claim these fees back from the organisation making the direct debit claim.



As stated at the start of this ramble I thought and have been told by bacs that once cancelled a direct debit cannot be reinstated without my permission.



Any thoughts welcome and sorry for rant!


I agree. Once cancelled, it's dead. Forever. It can never be reinstated. You have to set up a new one.

IANAL etc.

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"If any payment is made in error, you should contact your bank or building society who are responsible for giving you a full and immediate refund - even if the original error was made by the organisation collecting the payment."

In message , Simon Steele writes

No

1) Did you explicitly cancel all DD mandates directly with your bank?i.e. give them an explicit written instruction to do so? 2) You say 'the bank that had a direct debit set up with them'. Are you sure it was a Direct Debit and not a Continuous Debit?

Is there such a thing on current accounts? I thought it was only on credit cards. Maybe there is a back door into current accounts by setting up a continuous authority on a debit card.

Yup - you can have a CCA on a debit card.

but AFAIU only by providing the 16 digits, not by sortcode and account number

Jim A

These days organisations and companies set up direct debits by a system called AUDDIS. They are not supposed to reinstate d/d that have been cancelled by customers but it is a common occurrence. Bank should immediately refund the amount of direct debit and company should reimburse him the bank charges. Eric

Except where it gets reinstated by customer request?

It's probably more complicated to try to do that than simply to set up a new one.

A 're-instatement' for a DD mandate which has been fully cancelled is in fact a new DD.

Most D/D's these days are set up by a system called AUDDIS. The companies set them up themselves and although if you cancel a DD then that should be it, it does happen that they re-enter the details and debit your account again (and again). It is the Banks of course who get the blame most of the time. I really wish one of the big utilities or mobile phone companies had their AUDDIS licence rescinded as a warning for breaking the rules.

Are you suggesting that a DD mandate can be partially cancelled?

I should have been clearer:

1) Customer signs DD mandate to Acme plc, Acme plc lodges the mandate with the bank through whatever system. 2) Customer may cancel said DD mandate by instructing bank directly. 3) Customer may reinstate said DD mandate by instructing bank directly. 4) Goto (2).

I appreciate that it has to be against the rules for Acme plc to reinstate the mandate by resubmitting it (which appears to be the OP's problem), but I thought what you said three posts back was perhaps too unequivocal.

Sorry, I misattributed RR words to you, JB. That said, you did seem to be reinforcing what he said.

In message , Eric Jones writes

Thanks for the update Eric. If the customer cancels the mandate at the bank, doesnt the bank spot the debit as no mandate held?

In message , Clifford Frisby writes

Yes

No. When you instruct a Bank to cancel your DD Mandate the bank tells the originator that it is cancelled and not to originate any more debits. The system does not allow the bank to then tell the originator to start originating debits. This can only be done by the customer contacting the originator and a new mandate being created. This is one of the crucial differences between DDs and Standing Orders.

In message , Clifford Frisby writes

No problem.

John, As the companies can set them up themselves in many circumstances the bank will have no mandate to check against. This is why the D/D guarantee exists - any problems with the D/D and bank refunds customer immediately by doing a chargeback to originator. It is annoying when lazy gits from telecoms (in the main) have debited a customer in error (and they admit it) but tell their customers to go to the bank to claim the overpayment. So we do their refunds for them in many cases!

Ha insider knowledge. Perhaps you can tell me if a lazy git telecoms company can change the customer reference number and set up a new DD arrangment with the bank withough informing the customer? Well they do but is it right? Every little bit of info helps.

Jim A

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