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When living in London I had the council re-open a direct debit on my bank account and effectively withdraw a few hundred pounds towards a council tax bill. I wa
by adam-a 8y ago
When living in London I had the council re-open a direct debit on my bank account and effectively withdraw a few hundred pounds towards a council tax bill. I was in a dispute with the council as I didn't believe I was liable any longer and cancelled the direct debit which had been paying the tax each month. They disagreed and re-opened it without my knowledge or consent. I looked into it and there are a number of institutions that they allow to open a direct debit without proper permission from the account holder, particularly if there has previously been a direct debut on the account. Councils are one, but also large energy companies, phone companies etc.
- jsty 8y agoOut of interest, did you keep a note of where there was information claiming certain entities have the right to continue pulling money after the Direct Debit was cancelled? As far as I'm aware, no organisation has the right to reinstate a Direct Debit on your account without your permission when it has been closed [1]. If you gave notice to your bank that it should be cancelled, and payment was still collected without your subsequent authorisation, you should have been able to request a refund directly from your bank [2]. [1] https://www.directdebit.co.uk/DirectDebitExplained/Pages/Cancellingpayments.aspx https://www.directdebit.co.uk/DirectDebitExplained/Pages/Can... [2] https://www.directdebit.co.uk/DirectDebitExplained/Pages/Cancellationfailed.aspx https://www.directdebit.co.uk/DirectDebitExplained/Pages/Can...