Nationwide charge £30 per rejected direct debit!

Is this your first one ever? Write them a polite letter asking for a refund, explain it was an error on your part/their part/the milkmans/etc

If it's your first time they'll probably let you off. If they don't change bank account.

But if it's not your first time then don't ever do it again. Use it as a reminder not to.

Thank you for the reply. I just found out I have 2 £30 charges, first ones. I will write that letter.

It hardly seems fair though. I don't control when the other company take the money out of my account.. it is an agreement between them and the bank! But I get charged for it. Feeling pretty dishevelled about it to be honest.

Unfortunately there are times when certain accounts of mine don't have the money to cover a direct debit...

Must I really live in fear of direct debits? Do companies get kickbacks for signing people up to them? No wonder they give you £2 a month off....

Actually you should know exactly when the other company are to take money out of you account and how much. If the other company have not provided you with this information I would dispute the payment.

If you mean you did know that the money was to be taken but had not ensured you had enough money to cover the debit then it is your fault.

Personally I avoid direct debits like the plague. But if you do wish to continue using them switch to a bank that does not impose such high penalties.

No it isn't. The company have to tell you the amount they are taking and when they are taking it, at least 2 weeks in advance (IIRC). If they don't then they have broken the DD rules and you are entitled to an immediate refund, including any penalty charges which resulted. Google for the Direct Debit guarantee

So arrange an overdraft! Nationwide don't charge for arranging overdrafts so ask for the maximum they'll give you. Then next time this happens you'll pay a few pence in interest instead of 30.

No it's just cheaper for companies to collect by DD.

Bitstring , from the wonderful person Andy Pandy said

For a recurring (and fixed amount) DD they don't have any obligation to remind you each time though! For a variable amount DD they do have to tell you.

For the OP - this is a downside of having multiple accounts, you need to be able to manage them so they have adequate funds when they need them. Or, as someone said, negotiate an overdraft.

company

taking

Of course not - but they will have told you something like "we'll take

20 a month on the 25th of the month", and a recurring monthly amount shouldn't come as a surprise (the OP seemed to be surprised by the DD).

Although I've got a couple of annual DD's, which I do sometimes forget about, and for which I've been glad about my overdraft.

"GSV Three Minds in a Can" wrote

But if it's recurring & fixed then you shouldn't NEED to be "reminded" to know when & how much will be taken!

Not so. As Mr Pandy points out, if they're recurring but infrequent, they're apt to be forgotten about, unless one uses some kind of planner. He mentioned annual ones, but quarterly ones can also come as a bit of a surprise.

"Ronald Raygun" wrote

*Is* so!

"Ronald Raygun" wrote

"Forgotten about" in which of the following two ways? :- (1) Totally forgotten - can't even remember setting it up! (2) Don't think about it at the time it's due, but do know about it (eg if asked).

"Ronald Raygun" wrote

Sounds like you mean scenario (2). If so, I still stand by my statement -- you shouldn't need to be reminded each time just in order to know about the details of the DD (the reminder would just help you to think about it at the right time).

Or keep more money in the account.

**Isn't!**

Yes, scenario (2). You check your statement and see an unexpected debit, but when you see what it is, you recognise it and realise that, really, you ought to have expected it.

The problem, if you're in the habit of not keeping more money than necessary in what is usually a non interest bearing account, is that you can only work like that if you know what's coming, and unless you have a brain the size of a planet, and know how to use it to keep all scheduled events in your head, you therefore always need to be reminded.

Of course there's no reason why you should expect to be reminded *by the debit originator*, if that's what you mean. You're expected to have your own system in place for managing your budgeting. It's just that the simplest systems tend to cope better with reminding you of (say) monthly regular recurrences, but less well with less frequent ones.

Erm... yes you do. You should know all the dates of your direct debits - in-fact most online accounts show you when and how much. If you don't have enough in your account - that's hardly the bank's fault.

Unless this is a direct debit taken out of the blue in error - then you have every right to get your money back.

"Ronald Raygun" wrote

***Oh yes it IS!!***

"Ronald Raygun" wrote

Exactly. You *did* "... know when & how much [was going to] be taken" -- just as I said earlier!

Hence, you didn't "... need to be reminded, [in order to] to *know*" [the details].

"Ronald Raygun" wrote

That maybe so. But that doesn't invalidate my statement, because I was simply talking about *knowing* (notice the word "know" in my first comment above? ;-)

You see, I *didn't* say: "... you shouldn't need to be reminded to [remember at the right time] when & how much will be taken..."

Well I agree with that, what I don't agree is that 30 is a reasonable penalty for not knowing. Is that not what is going to be discussed in court?

If you say so. Please give an example cos I'd like to use that system. My bank online system doesn't tell me the next payment or payment frequency, only the last payment. And looking at the mandates I can't see where that is specified on the mandate or how the bank would know. Can't actually see where I am supposed to tell.

In fact there is interesting wording on the Guarantee "if the amount to be paid or the payment dates change" the Originator will give the specified notice. Being pedantic the "payment date" has undoubtedly changed, month for quarterly, year for annual, but we've done the weasel worded Guarantee to death several times previously.

that reads two ways.

Jim A

****Oh no it ISN'T!****

But you didn't know it at the time you needed to know.

Of course you did, because you needed to make provision not to let your account balance dip into the red.

Knowing and remembering are synonymous in this context.

The point is that if you don't make sure enough funds are in the account to cover a debit because you've forgotten it was going to happen, then by my definition of "know" [by one of my definitions, the one most appropriate to this context] you *do not know* it at the requisite time.

If you've forgotten something, then for all relevant purposes you no longer know it, even if you previously did know it.

Your definition of "knowing" evidently includes stuff which has been forgotten. Mine excludes it.

Do I remember when my next C2NI payment will be taken? No, but I think it's towards the end of this week.

Q1: Do I know whether it will be taken on Friday 12th? Q2: Do I know whether it will be taken on Thursday 11th? Q3: Will it be taken on Thursday? Q4: Will it be taken on Friday?

The answers are (No, No, I don't know, I don't know).

... ...

Now the answers are (Yes, Yes, No, Yes).

"Ronald Raygun" wrote

It's always on the second Friday of the month...

I use a Moneymanager program and budget at least one month ahead. The only time I was in the red was over 40 years ago, and that was a cockup by Nat West because they confused my initial (G) with my mother's (C), charged me for her coal bill, and put my cash deposit in her account. ;-)

There were no charges...