Direct debit advice.

[lipschitz]

I read so many posts on here about people who cancel contracts with various companies only to have payments continue to be taken out as direct debit payments. They then have to chase these companies for refunds which are promised during telephone calls but never arrive back in their bank accounts.

When you cancel a contract with a company I advise you to also contact your bank and cancel the direct debit instruction after the last payment has been made. If you do not do this your direct debit with that company will remain active which means any error on their part will result in payment still being collected from you.

When you cancel the instruction with the bank no more money will be paid if the company makes a request for a payment. Remember, it is your money and your account.....take control of it.

[L00b]

The trouble with that is if the company accidentally (or "accidentally") fails to process the cancellation correctly, so that they claim you still owe them money, they will <whatever>

Quote from the Guardian comment:

Perhaps if more people sued the phone company for damages in such circumstances, they would take better care to make sure the data they passed on to the credit reference agencies was correct.

Small Claims Court matter.

 

Provided you cancelled the contract according to the relevant terms (notice period respected, all payments due under contract paid, etc.) and have evidence of the cancellation (don't do it over the phone or by email only - always send a confirmation letter by recorded delivery, and keep copies + a print-out of the RM signature at other end), it's pretty much a slam-dunk, the only variable will be how much of your (small) claim the Court awards, as the fault lies squarely and provably with the defendant.

 

Don't get mad, get (preferably better than-) even