Household Charge: DD option. Im very wary.

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ajapale

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Im very slow to set up Direct Debits to any outfit be they in the public, private or charity sectors.

I have had really bad experiences with Eircom, Chorus and other service providers in the past an always avoid DD's if at all possible. The only company I really trust with DD's are the ESB. I have standing orders set up for a number of charities.

In relation to the HC are there safeguards in place to stop them whipping out increased amounts in the future?
 
I agree with your anxiety re Direct Debits but if we cannot trust a Government Body it is a sad state of affairs.
 
I would agree with you aj, not a fan of the DD, it puts someone elses hand in your pocket. I won't be giving them any permission to take a DD just yet!
 
ajapale said:
In relation to the HC are there safeguards in place to stop them whipping out increased amounts in the future?
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Just unilaterally cancel the DD if/when it doesn't suit you?



How do I cancel a direct debit?

You can cancel a direct debit by writing to your bank. It is also advisable to inform the originator of the cancellation.
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Emphasis is mine. "Advisable" but not "mandatory".

Also - from the Household Charge website:

Direct Debit Guarantee

This is a guarantee provided by your own Bank as a member of the Direct Debit Scheme, in which all Banks and Originators of Direct Debits participate.

If you authorise payment by Direct Debit, then;

  • Your Direct Debit Originator (Household Charge) will notify you in advance of the amounts to be debited to your account
  • Your Bank will accept and pay such debits, provided that your account has sufficient available funds.
If it is established that an unauthorised Direct Debit was charged to your account, you are guaranteed a prompt refund by your Bank of the amount so charged.
You can cancel the Direct Debit in good time by writing to your Bank.
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While some people may prefer not to use DDs in order to maintain manual control over their cashflow management (I've been in this position myself in the past) I don't really understand why some people seem so suspicious of them in general (allowing that mistakes sometimes can happen).
 
ClubMan said:
Just unilaterally cancel the DD if/when it doesn't suit you?




Emphasis is mine. "Advisable" but not "mandatory".
Click to expand...

You can cancel a direct debit by simply clicking the "Cancel" button on the list of your direct debits if your bank has an online banking facility.
 
Direct Debits

I have received a letter from Household Charge confirming my set up of direct debits to be withdrawn on the following dates:

13/03/2012
14/05/2012
13/07/2012
10/09/2012

It also says:

You have the right to cancel your Direct Debit at any time by writing to Household Charge, PO Box 12168, Dublin 1 and informing your bank or Building Society in good time.
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Marion
 
MeathCommute said:
You can cancel a direct debit by simply clicking the "Cancel" button on the list of your direct debits if your bank has an online banking facility.
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This I believe relates to Standing Orders and not DD's

DD's on Credit Cards are not subject to the same rules as DD with Sponsoring Banks as in link above: the originator must agree to its cancellation
 
Not true - you can unilaterally cancel a DD by contacting your bank (possibly via online banking). The IPSO DD website makes this clear. also covers this but seems to be down lately for some reason. If the payee tries to draw the DD subsequent to it being cancelled by the payer then it will fail and there will be no repercussions (e.g. charges) on the payer. Obviously if any money is contractually outstanding between payer and payee then that remains to be dealt with separate from the DD.
 
I won't be paying the household charge by direct debit but I pay numerous personal and household bills by DD. I have never had any DD problems or errors so far over the last twenty years or so.
 
Its good to hear that posters have been using DD's for years without problem, however there are scores of threads here on AAM detailing nightmare experiences with DD's. In fairness to the public sector nearly all relate to private sector utilities and financial institutions.

I had one particularily bad experience with BT (remember that outfit?) which was shared by many AAM posters. If I can find the old links Ill post them here.

If you are going to use a DD make sure that it is "real" DD and not a credit card DD which does not have the same protection as a real DD.

so-crates said:
.. DD, it puts someone elses hand in your pocket....
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+1
 
I set up the DD AJ, on a current account tho. I also had huge problems with BT, I remember that shower well, and also UPC and recently airtricity... don't get me started! I've never had a CC DD, are they completely different?
 
hastalavista said:
This I believe relates to Standing Orders and not DD's

DD's on Credit Cards are not subject to the same rules as DD with Sponsoring Banks as in link above: the originator must agree to its cancellation
Click to expand...

No. On Banking365, you can go into your list of Direct Debits, and tick the box of the direct debit that you wish to cancel. Your bank will write to the direct debit originator and will put a stop on your direct debit, so that it doesn't hit your account again. You are SUPPOSED to contact the originator and let them drive the cancellation, but you can still do it yourself manually this way, and if the originator doesn't have a problem with it, what about it. P.S. you probably don't have a leg to stand on legally if you don't notify the originator first !
 
Just recently I had a friend who stopped a couple of DD by informing the service provider before going to Ausralia for awhile, only to find on their return that the DD were still being deducted.
 
Yes and Ive read here on AAM cases of cancelled DD's being reactivated by (private sector) providers. I cant see any evidence that the public sector would be any better/worse than their private sector counterparts.
 
I can't see how they can be reactivated if they have been cancelled by the bank as well as the service provider.

Marion
 
I also read a case where a new DD account was set up after the old one was cancelled and payment made.
 
roker said:
Just recently I had a friend who stopped a couple of DD by informing the service provider before going to Ausralia for awhile, only to find on their return that the DD were still being deducted.
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The best way to stop a DD is to call your bank. The bank will usually then inform the service provider.

ajapale said:
Yes and Ive read here on AAM cases of cancelled DD's being reactivated by (private sector) providers. I cant see any evidence that the public sector would be any better/worse than their private sector counterparts.
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Public / Private doesn't matter. If you've cancelled a DD with your bank, it cannot be reactivated without your permission. The cases you are talking about is where service providers have been asked to cancel a DD on their side.
 
Ill try and find and link to the cases where posters have stated that the DD was reactivated unilateraly.

Is there a difference between the way a regular DD works and a CC DD?
 
I also avoid DD's like the plague due to a couple of bad experiences.
What the rules say and what actually happens are 2 very different things in my experience
 
Agreed - I've had similar bad experiences in the past.

I would not be at all surprised to hear of DD being "re-activated": I'd certainly believe it's happened.
 
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