BT managed to get a direct debit out of my business account without authorization? HOW?
Jason Arthurs
for £25/month from my NatWest Business account to pay the phone bill.
Shortly before I moved I closed the NatWest Business account (horrific
bank charges) and opened a Bank of Scotland Business account (only
charged for writing cheques). I cancelled all my direct debits prior
to closing the NatWest account just in case.
I received a letter from both BT and Bank of Scotland this week
regarding a failed direct debit (the account is empty) and I have no
recollection of ever setting up a direct debit from my new business
account. Looking at the online accounts it appears they took £25 in
August as well although on this occasion there was enough to pay the
DD.
When I phoned to complain the BT customer service person said that
according to their records it was all set up over the phone and that a
confirmation would have been sent for my signature. The only
documentation I have is the original contract for the new house and a
phone bill shortly after we moved in.
I don't even know how BT got my new bank account details because the
old direct debit was with NatWest and I don't even have that account
any more.
Who should I chase up first, and who is likely to have a copy of the
signature that authorized the DD payment, is it the Bank or BT?
Regards,
Jason.
Hiram Hackenbacker
<har...@vitae-services.co.uk> wrote:
>Who should I chase up first, and who is likely to have a copy of the
>signature that authorized the DD payment, is it the Bank or BT?
On the face of it both - write and ask both to send you a copy of the
mandate.
--
Hiram Hackenbacker
Hiram Hackenbacker
wrote:
>dont know if business a/cs work the same, but direct debits
>can be disputed, and the paying bank (rbs) has to credit your
>account then take it up with whoever took the cash....
Your post has just given me an idea why this error happened - I will
repl again to the original poster.
Business accounts (we have three) have direct debits on them live
personal accounts. The bank is supposed to check the DD mandate and
whoever signs it, against the mandate which provides a list of
authorised staff. The trouble with this arrangement has always been
that DD's are for varying amounts and in theory an unlimited sum.
Whereas the mandate normally has the names of people who can sign up
to certain amounts only.
--
Hiram Hackenbacker
Hiram Hackenbacker
<har...@vitae-services.co.uk> wrote:
>Shortly before I moved I closed the NatWest Business account (horrific
>bank charges) and opened a Bank of Scotland Business account (only
>charged for writing cheques). I cancelled all my direct debits prior
>to closing the NatWest account just in case.
The clue is above. We also moved to BOS (from HSBC) last year. As
part of that process, BOS took complete control of the migration to
their systems, including the setting up of direct debits, standing
orders, etc. We signed to allow this. This then allowed BOS to
re-create all the old DD's and STO's on their system without us having
to contact any third parties. The transition was very smooth and we
didn't have to have any further dealings with HSBC.
Is it possible they did this for you and they inadvertantly set-up the
new DD with BT on your behalf?
--
Hiram Hackenbacker
Joe Lee
"Hiram Hackenbacker" <bra...@sky.com> wrote in message
news:3f71711e...@news.claranews.com...
Admirable work Mr. Hackenbacker, i'm impressed.
Joe Lee
>
> --
> Hiram Hackenbacker
Jason Arthurs
wrote:
This may well be the case, I have a letter from BoS thanking me for
using their 'Easy to Join' service. I did specifically cancel all my
direct debits prior to closing the NatWest account but if they had
already moved the direct debit to the new account they would have
effectively resurrected it.
Looks like I can wave goodbye to my Ł30 admin fee for returning the
unpaid DD payment then...
Regards,
Jason.
Terry
While I am a retiree/pensioner myself and use anything I can to
'keep on top of money matters' one can almost understand why some
still prefer to cash a monthly pension cheque, keep the money
'under the mattress' and pay their bills, in cash, as they come
along. Simple and you know exactly where you are without any of
those extra charges and misunderstandings etc.! Terry.
Jason Arthurs
wrote:
>Jason Arthurs wrote:
>>
>> On Wed, 24 Sep 2003 10:29:06 GMT, bra...@sky.com (Hiram Hackenbacker)
>> wrote:
>>
>> >On Wed, 24 Sep 2003 10:42:39 +0100, Jason Arthurs
>> ><har...@vitae-services.co.uk> wrote:
>> >
>> >>Shortly before I moved I closed the NatWest Business account (horrific
>> >>bank charges) and opened a Bank of Scotland Business account (only
>> >>charged for writing cheques). I cancelled all my direct debits prior
>> >>to closing the NatWest account just in case.
>> >
>> >The clue is above. We also moved to BOS (from HSBC) last year. As
>> >part of that process, BOS took complete control of the migration to
>> >their systems, including the setting up of direct debits, standing
>> >orders, etc. We signed to allow this. This then allowed BOS to
>> >re-create all the old DD's and STO's on their system without us having
>> >to contact any third parties. The transition was very smooth and we
>> >didn't have to have any further dealings with HSBC.
>> >
>> >Is it possible they did this for you and they inadvertantly set-up the
>> >new DD with BT on your behalf?
>>
>> This may well be the case, I have a letter from BoS thanking me for
>> using their 'Easy to Join' service. I did specifically cancel all my
>> direct debits prior to closing the NatWest account but if they had
>> already moved the direct debit to the new account they would have
>> effectively resurrected it.
>>
>> Looks like I can wave goodbye to my £30 admin fee for returning the
>> unpaid DD payment then...
>>
>> Regards,
>> Jason.
>
>While I am a retiree/pensioner myself and use anything I can to
>'keep on top of money matters' one can almost understand why some
>still prefer to cash a monthly pension cheque, keep the money
>'under the mattress' and pay their bills, in cash, as they come
>along. Simple and you know exactly where you are without any of
>those extra charges and misunderstandings etc.! Terry.
It's a very tempting way to live to be honest. I did investigate the
possibility of living without a bank account (after a bad run in with
HSBC) and whilst it is *possible* it would make life rather difficult
by todays standards.
As a self employed person I get paid by cheque or occasionally regular
clients set up BACS payments. Short of taking my cheques down to the
local Cheque Cashing emporium and paying the sizeable percentage they
demand for the service, there is little way of operating without a
bank account. The percentage you would lose to cash the cheque would
probably exceed any occasional bank charges.
Unfortunately as a self-employed person you regularly find yourself
being screwed by the banks (unless of course your business is
fabulously lucrative). They are unwilling to entertain the fact that
some self employed people don't have a 'regular' income and really
can't get their heads around the fact that some months I make
thousands and some months I make nothing. Of course all banks,
utilities and finance companies want monthly payments and when they
don't arrive on time they insist on worsening the problem through the
use of admin fees.
On a reasonable year I earn between £25-30K but the majority of that
(probably 60-75%) is made between September and December, the rest of
the year I only occasionally generate enough cash to pay all the
monthly bills. Naturally where possible we put away cash during the
good times to subsidise the lean times. But if money gets tight you
can expect to have the situation worsened by anyone whom you owe money
as they pile on the admin fees and hide behind their 'terms and
conditions' if you try and plead poverty.
This year we have finally managed to clear all arrears and outstanding
debts, and with the exception of the Inland Revenue (yet another
organisation which deals with the self employed but whose
administration has no comprehension of people without a regular
monthly income) we don't owe a penny. So hopefully when the cheques
start trickling in we'll be in a position to put the money aside to
pay for next years bills before the banks can screw us again.
Regards,
Jason.