Direct debit reserved 5 days early?

Call me Al

I just joined eircom, and had my first bill two days ago. My bill was wrong. I had been put on the wrong bundle (much higher as always seems to be the case), and I was also being charged for services they haven't installed yet (another rant but that one can wait).
Anyway, my bill says that the debit will be applied for on or after 20/10 which is next Monday.
You can imagine my confusion when I logged on to my eircom account this morning to see I had a zero outstanding balance! How can this be when eircom have told me that the direct debit wouldn't be applied for until on or after 20/10?

So I call the customer service and she was quite adamant that, under the guidelines of SEPA, Eircom can block the funds a full 5 to 6 business days prior to the direct debit due date, and this is what they have done.

Now I am familiar with direct debits being blocked on my account the evening before it's due to be be deducted, but a full 5 days?
How can their line that it wouldn't be applied for until on or after 20/10 be true?

I'm hopping mad over the disaster that has been my eircom sign up. It's been a fiasco from beginning to end between losing online service orders that they have confirmed, overcharging substantially on my first bill, and engineers not turning up for appointments as if I've nothing else to do all day but waste MY precious time sitting at home to wait for them.
And it's only been three weeks :mad:

slimjimmc

Since your issue is about SEPA I've moved the thread to Banking & Insurance & Pensions.

Legislator

Eircom cannot reserve funds in your account 5 days in advance of the debit date. if you were advised of a debit date then those funds cannot be debited or reserved / earmarked before that date. If your account was actually debited then you should instruct your bank to refund the money.

28064212

Call me Al wrote: »

So I call the customer service and she was quite adamant that, under the guidelines of SEPA, Eircom can block the funds a full 5 to 6 business days prior to the direct debit due date, and this is what they have done.

Never heard of that, I'd be on to the bank immediately to see why your funds aren't available. A direct debit can either be collected or not, funds can't be reserved prior to collection

Sparko

I wonder if the eircom system has it recorded as paid as they have submitted it to the bank already (generally submitted to the bank for processing under SEPA 3-6 days in advance of collection but doesn't hit your account until the specified date).

Do you have online banking? It might be clearer to check your statement to check that the dd has not hit yet and that the funds are not reserved.

homer911

I'm surprised this has not come up before - surely others have experienced this?

What bank?

When I was with Danske, after SEPA came in they would text me in relation to some of my DDs to say that x amount would be deducted from my account in y days time by zz, but the funds to my knowledge were never blocked

Call me Al

Sparko wrote: »

I wonder if the eircom system has it recorded as paid as they have submitted it to the bank already (generally submitted to the bank for processing under SEPA 3-6 days in advance of collection but doesn't hit your account until the specified date).

Do you have online banking? It might be clearer to check your statement to check that the dd has not hit yet and that the funds are not reserved.

I think this might be it.

Icant check online banking until this evening.
What makes me doubt though is her adamance that the funds had been blocked on my account, and that sepa rules allowed eircom to do so.
My experience has been do negative so far that I don't know what to believe from them.

BazzaDP

I suspect what she meant was that, due to the fact they have to send the collections it to your bank 5 days early, they can't change it to you correct amount (for the bundle you're supposed to be on).

So the full, incorrect, amount will come out of your bank on the 20th.

Why your Eircom account shows 0 could either be because they haven't billed you yet, or they've assumed the DD will go through and they'll reverse it if it doesn't.

I'd be surprised if they've actually taken the full amount out. Actually not that surprised cause it's Eircom ;-)

Nervous Wreck

BazzaDP wrote: »

I suspect what she meant was that, due to the fact they have to send the collections it to your bank 5 days early, they can't change it to you correct amount (for the bundle you're supposed to be on).

So the full, incorrect, amount will come out of your bank on the 20th.

Why your Eircom account shows 0 could either be because they haven't billed you yet, or they've assumed the DD will go through and they'll reverse it if it doesn't.

I'd be surprised if they've actually taken the full amount out. Actually not that surprised cause it's Eircom ;-)

In which case, you can call your bank beforehand and get them to refuse the payment.

BazzaDP

Nervous Wreck wrote: »

In which case, you can call your bank beforehand and get them to refuse the payment.

True but it may block future collections for Eircom and/or cause more hassle than it's worth with Eircom accounts department if the see it as a missed payment. So while you might be in the right to do this, it can sometimes mean it takes even longer to sort out.

I've no affiliation to Eircom btw but do help manage Direct Debits for another company, so am a bit more sympathetic to the companies point of view in these matters...

Call me Al

The money hasn't been taken, but it has been credited to my eircom acct. I amnt going to refuse the dd. They said they have applied a credit to my account.

I will wait and see if they've managed to right their wrongs before I go down that route.

jahalpin

Under the SEPA DD scheme, first time presentations must be submitted six business days in advance of the date of the direct debit payment

They must have used the DD submission date on their system, the money won't be taken from your account until the agreed date

You can do a no questions asked DD return upto 8 weeks after the DD has been taken from your account

If they have applied a credit and amended future charges, it would probably be better just to let the DD go through as they would probably require an immediate payment from you if the DD was returned

skippy2

Change from Eircom if you can.......................Vodafone is cheaper as far as i am aware

Call me Al

Ive just left vodafone.

I was sick to the back teeth of them not sending me out my bills. We've been disconnected twice because, despite making complaints, several times they just never sent me out my bill.
Never again.
I appreciate that Eircom have a bad rep, but at least I've been sent my bill to query in time.

dub45

Legislator wrote: »

Eircom cannot reserve funds in your account 5 days in advance of the debit date. if you were advised of a debit date then those funds cannot be debited or reserved / earmarked before that date. If your account was actually debited then you should instruct your bank to refund the money.

I have found with Ulster Bank that a dd amount due on a Monday is actually reserved over the weekend.

Call me Al

dub45 wrote: »

I have found with Ulster Bank that a dd amount due on a Monday is actually reserved over the weekend.

Yes, and this is why when she told me that eircom could technically block the funds on my account up to five or six days in advance it has some credibility.

We are with UB and this happens every weekend when the direct debit is due the following Monday.