'fone' contract direct debit issue

the_pen_turner

basically long story short.
my 'fone' company stopped my DD for some reason on there end. didnt properly tell me ( text isnt enough surely , considering all the crap they text you weekly)

i got cut off for not paying due to not knowing i had to pay manually.

got it reconected but with 15 euro reconect charge but never paid that

months later bill was late coming to me and then i forgot to pay and couldnt due to a long weekend . paid tuesday but cut off a few days later because the post office takes a few days to go through against the bill.

rang up to see whats going on. got told they changed policy months before which caused the first cut off. basically blaming me and demanding i pay to reconect dispite telling me its their fault. another 10 on top of the 15

i tell them im leaving if they dont sort it . a bit of back and forth and she had a chat to her manager.
all sorted, no charge but DD set back up. even apoligised


roll on to yesterday and a bill comes in the post for monthly contract plus 25 reconect fee. due to be DD next week

im raging. 100% leaving on tuesday



how many days do you legaly have to pay a bill

how do i stop a DD that hasnt started yet. can the bank stop it without knowing the details .

CeilingFly

So your DD didn't go through one month a while ago (possibly funds weren't there, but could have been an error), they text you wit details and you didn't read the text.

Then you realise its disconnected and find out why by either reading the text you didn't read or calling them.

Then rather than set up a new DD (takes 30 seconds) you continue to pay manually and then when you are late with a payment it gets cut off again.

But rather than be peasant and accept some of the blame, you possibly rant at the call centre staff member with the juvenile "i'm leaving you" threat (they don't really care) and they placated you on the phone to get you off the phone, but couldn't be bothered.

As for leaving - if you are in a contract, you'll be liable for the whole contract.

Now, you could try a different approach. Be nice and pleasant. Make them WANT to help you. Don;t give the crap "i'm leaving" or "I want a supervisor". You'd be surprised at how much a customer service person can do for you if you are nice to them.

the_pen_turner

you couldnt be further from the truth with your post

CeilingFly wrote: »

So your DD didn't go through one month a while ago (possibly funds weren't there, but could have been an error), they text you wit details and you didn't read the text.
well over a 1000 euro in my account for all that month . no attempt made to do DD. i admit i didnt see the text (if they even sent it) . surely you cant change someones contract by text

Then you realise its disconnected and find out why by either reading the text you didn't read or calling them.

i did call them but assumed it was my fault. i was busy and just reconected it. i checked the bank afterwards and saw that the money was always there and thought it must have been a mistake on their end.

Then rather than set up a new DD (takes 30 seconds) you continue to pay manually and then when you are late with a payment it gets cut off again.

i would have re set it up if i had known. i paid manually so that i could only pay the monthly charge and not the reconect fee. the reason i was late paying the second time was because the bill was very late , i got it thursday or friday and forgot to pay it before the week end. monday was a bank holiday . i paid tuesday but it took a few days to go through . cut off in that few days

But rather than be peasant and accept some of the blame, you possibly rant at the call centre staff member with the juvenile "i'm leaving you" threat (they don't really care) and they placated you on the phone to get you off the phone, but couldn't be bothered.

no blame on me whatso ever. 2 days to pay a bill is extreme . a phone call , email , or write it on bill would be the proper way to inform a customer that their contract has changed.
i know they dont care. why should i let them walk all over me. you need to stand up to these companies

As for leaving - if you are in a contract, you'll be liable for the whole contract.contract is up , i can leave at the end of any month

Now, you could try a different approach. Be nice and pleasant. Make them WANT to help you. Don;t give the crap "i'm leaving" or "I want a supervisor". You'd be surprised at how much a customer service person can do for you if you are nice to them.
i tried being nice. nice is alright untill they tell you that they screwed up but its your fault and that you have to pay for their mistake.
i didnt ask to talk to the superviser, she went and talked ( or said she did)
but i will be talking to th esuperviser on tuesday if its not sorted
, they are effectivly steeling 25 euros off me. it was agreed that there would be no charge but now its there on the bill again. .

anyway back on point. how do i stop the DD

Ten Pin

Once the first DD comes through as paid, you can tell your bank to reverse it under SEPA rules.

That will start a messy back and forth with the phone company, so be prepared for that.

the_pen_turner

Ten Pin wrote: »

Once the first DD comes through as paid, you can tell your bank to reverse it under SEPA rules.

That will start a messy back and forth with the phone company, so be prepared for that.

Thanks.
I am hoping to stop that happening. If I could stop it going through at all it would be better. Let them send the correct bill and I will pay that manually.

I will talk to the bank on tuesday

Ten Pin

Just speculating...

It's possible that the DD is notified to bank a day or two before actual payment and if that's the case then it might show in online banking DD list. Depending in which bank it is, it might allow you to block it from there before any payment is made.

28064212

You can instruct your bank to prevent any direct debit payments to that specific company. Your bank is required to provide that facility, see: https://www.bpfi.ie/customer-assist/personal-customers/directdebit/

Under the SEPA Direct Debit Core Scheme Rules and SEPA Regulation 260-2012 consumers can [...] specify creditors who may not collect SEPA Direct Debits from their bank accounts

One thing to note: this does not affect your contract. Any payments that you were previously liable for, you are still liable for, and it is likely the company will chase you for payment.

seagull

If it was vodafone, then the issue was with how they were sending in the DD instructions. I had an issue with that. It was initially flagged as a fraudulent transaction until I called the bank. The bank knew what the issue was when I called as they'd been dealing with it for a while.

the_pen_turner

seagull wrote: »

If it was vodafone, then the issue was with how they were sending in the DD instructions. I had an issue with that. It was initially flagged as a fraudulent transaction until I called the bank. The bank knew what the issue was when I called as they'd been dealing with it for a while.

the DD was working fine for 2.5 years. then they decided to update some policy and that i would have to do organise the DD. no problem with that if they properly told me. a text isnt good enough for that . ring me, or write it on the invoice .

the_pen_turner

28064212 wrote: »

You can instruct your bank to prevent any direct debit payments to that specific company. Your bank is required to provide that facility, see: https://www.bpfi.ie/customer-assist/personal-customers/directdebit/One thing to note: this does not affect your contract. Any payments that you were previously liable for, you are still liable for, and it is likely the company will chase you for payment.

im aware that i would still owe them the money (or not in this case). i would rather they chase me than i try to get back my stolen money.

the_pen_turner

didnt get a chance to ring them today. but was in with the bank. they can email them and instruct them not to take the money.

28064212

the_pen_turner wrote: »

didnt get a chance to ring them today. but was in with the bank. they can email them and instruct them not to take the money.

Don't let the bank fob you off with that. As above, they must not allow a creditor to take a debit if that's what you instruct. Politely requesting that the creditor doesn't send in the debit is not sufficient

the_pen_turner

they said that if i have given them permission to take the direct debit with a contract then they can resubmit the DD or card charge.

28064212

the_pen_turner wrote: »

they said that if i have given them permission to take the direct debit with a contract then they can resubmit the DD or card charge.

Either the person you were talking to didn't know what they were talking about or they're lying. Your bank must provide this facility, it is a requirement of the direct debit scheme. Tell them specifically that you want to blacklist this creditor, and that any future debit requests from them must not be honoured. Make sure to also put it in writing, ideally letter and email so you have a record of it. Which bank is it?

the_pen_turner

aib

GrumpyMe

the_pen_turner wrote: »

im aware that i would still owe them the money (or not in this case). i would rather they chase me than i try to get back my stolen money.

If, for any or no reason, you want your bank to refund a SEPA DD, within 8 weeks of the date it was taken from your account, they are obliged to give you a refund - no questions asked!
It is much easier to deal with a supplier when they have to chase you...

GrumpyMe

the_pen_turner wrote: »

they said that if i have given them permission to take the direct debit with a contract then they can resubmit the DD or card charge.

There is a big difference between a SEPA DD and a recurring debit on a credit card.
You do not have the same rights and protection on the credit card to that which is enshrined in the Rules of the DD scheme.
Did you sign up with a credit card?

28064212

the_pen_turner wrote: »

aib

See here: https://aib.ie/ways-to-bank/aib-direct-debits-and-standing-orders - the "Direct Debit Restrictions" form under Downloads. You want an "Account Level Restriction" + "Add to Blacklist", and you'll need the the OIN of the creditor (also called the Creditor Identifier). It may be available on your online banking under "Pay & Transfer" => "Direct Debits" => "Details", otherwise the bank should be able to provide it

the_pen_turner

GrumpyMe wrote: »

There is a big difference between a SEPA DD and a recurring debit on a credit card.
You do not have the same rights and protection on the credit card to that which is enshrined in the Rules of the DD scheme.
Did you sign up with a credit card?

no debit card

28064212

the_pen_turner wrote: »

no debit card

That changes things drastically. You don't have a direct debit, you have a recurring card payment. Totally different rules and regulations, and a lot trickier to manage cancellations.

Effectively, there's not much to prevent them resubmitting the payment. If you have informed the bank that you have withdrawn consent prior to the payment, they should do a chargeback no questions asked, but you'll likely have to monitor it yourself