Viewing 37 posts - 1 through 37 (of 37 total)
  • Direct Debits and the unique way that the BBC is funded
  • MrNutt
    Free Member

    Well, after a number of issues with Direct Debit payments being abused by companies that I’d given Carte Blanche to I decided to cancel all Direct Debits and instead set up Standing Orders as that was I’m the one in control of what and when leaves my account.

    “good morning Mr Nutt, I’m calling from TV licensing, you are two months in arrears of your payments, we need you to make a payment today?”

    “I beg your pardon, I’ve not missed two payments, I have however cancelled my Direct Debit, but there will only be one payment outstanding”

    “Hold on, let me check, oh yes, sorry you have one payment outstanding, can you pay now?”

    “certainly, let me give you my Visa details hold on..”

    “Sir I’ll also need to take your account number and sort code to set up the Direct Debit again”

    “No you won’t, I’ll happily pay by Standing Order but I’m not paying by Direct Debit, It’s a system openly abused by businesses, I don’t see why I should give you or anyone else free reign on my bank account”

    “sorry sir, we don’t accept Standing Orders, I’ll issue you a refund”

    “You’ll what?”

    “You’ll be due a refund if you’re not paying by Direct Debit”

    “How much?”

    “About seventy pounds”

    “what? WHY?!?”

    “Because if you pay by Direct Debit you have to pay SIX MONTHS in advance”

    “How? what? why? why if you’ve got instant access to my bank account would you need to be taking half a years payment in advance?!?”

    “I don’t know, but if you pay by payment card then you just pay as you go, that’s what I’ll set you up on, the refund will be back in your account within five days, sorry sir”

    Good grief.

    scotroutes
    Full Member

    ?

    In 38 years of having DDs on my accounts I’ve never experienced this. What happened?

    scaredypants
    Full Member

    I don’t get it – you have to pay for TV ? 😯

    kimbers
    Full Member

    so you get 70 quid in yer pocket

    this is bad because?

    Northwind
    Full Member

    Direct debits are one of the hardest payment methods to abuse! And if you pay by standing order, you’re giving them enough information to access your bank account anyway, since they’re a paperless operator.

    Most companies don’t accept standing orders because it’s a total bollocks, everyone puts the wrong references on the payments so the’d end up with thousands of unapplyable payments that just say “MR SMITH” or “TV LICENCE”. And as a customer, there’s weak protection and no claimback system.

    martinhutch
    Full Member

    Yeh, but the flipside of DD being abused by companies is, that if you pay by DD, and they are being naughty about refunds owing when you stop a service, you don’t have to ring their ‘customer service’ line 20 times, you just ring your bank once.

    mikewsmith
    Free Member

    🙄

    with Northwind on this one

    The missus doesn’t like Direct Debits and then stresses about making sure things are paid on time

    vorlich
    Free Member

    I remember thinking it was absurd when I set up DD for TV licensing. Have been thinking about cancelling for a while now TBH. Rarely watch TV and would rather support the good BBC output by buying a DVD or BluRay.

    nealglover
    Free Member

    Well, after a number of issues with Direct Debit payments being abused by companies

    Such as ??

    MrNutt
    Free Member

    Because they’d never made me aware that I was paying 6 months in advance, Whats the point in giving direct access to your bank account if they’ve just going to syphon off money like that?

    scotroutes, I’d prefer not to discus all the ins and outs of my bank account, in fact if you’re after an example see my post about TV Licencing’s activity!

    scotroutes
    Full Member

    I’m not after the “ins and outs” of your personal finances, just looking for an example of the DD system being “abused”.Like I say, I’ve never had such a thing happen to me and I (and others) might benefit from your experiences.

    FWIW, I pay the TV license annually by DD.

    Frankenstein
    Free Member

    If you actually read the payment agreement before ticking I have read and agree to the terms…

    TV licence takes small amounts each month that surpasses the one year premium so that you’re in credit for the
    following year. It’s on the paperwork and online forms.

    Personally I don’t watch hardly any tv so I’d rather subscribe than be forced to pay for the BBC.

    bencooper
    Free Member

    DDs are okay, Continuous Payment Authorities are the really dodgy ones…

    Flaperon
    Full Member

    NTL / Virgin didn’t stop taking payments for broadband after I cancelled the service and moved out. I was probably remiss in not cancelling the direct debit myself but the moment I told the bank I received 18 months worth of payments back in the account within 3 days.

    Standing order? If I’d forgotten to cancel that there’s no chance of getting the money back.

    gonefishin
    Free Member

    Because they’d never made me aware that I was paying 6 months in advance, Whats the point in giving direct access to your bank account if they’ve just going to syphon off money like that?

    Umm did you not read the information that was sent out? I remember reading it when I set up my direct debit.

    From the license website.

    You’ll usually pay for your first licence within six months, in instalments of around £24 per month. (If we have to spread the cost into four or five monthly instalments, each payment may be slightly higher). From then on, you pay for your licences in 12 monthly instalments of just over £12 – six before your licence is due and six after.

    trail_rat
    Free Member

    why would you want to be in credit to the tv licencing folk……

    mikewsmith
    Free Member

    Yearly You automatically pay the full TV Licence fee of £145.50 in one go.
    Monthly*
    You’ll usually pay for your first licence within six months, in instalments of around £24 per month. (If we have to spread the cost into four or five monthly instalments, each payment may be slightly higher). From then on, you pay for your licences in 12 monthly instalments of just over £12 – six before your licence is due and six after.
    Just one of the ways to help make paying more convenient at no extra cost.
    Quarterly* You pay instalments of around £37 every three months. By paying quarterly the majority of your licence is paid for as you use it. This differs from our other instalment schemes, where at least half of the licence fee is collected in advance. As a result, quarterly payments incur a small premium of £1.25 per quarter which is included in your payment.

    By never tell you do you mean you didn’t read the info?

    MrNutt
    Free Member

    agreed payment amounts being ignored and other (lesser and greater) amounts being taken by more than one company as well as irregular transaction dates. This “6 months in advance” bullshit is the icing on the cake.

    nealglover
    Free Member

    Because they’d never made me aware that I was paying 6 months in advance

    Yes they did.

    You just ignored it.

    Their fault or yours ?

    …I’d prefer not to discus all the ins and outs of my bank account,

    You started a thread about it.

    gonefishin
    Free Member

    Just to be clear you think that paying six months in advance and six months in arrears is “bullshit” and paying 12 months in advance is somehow better?

    trail_rat
    Free Member

    i read the above as first 12 months of your TV licence direct debit you pay for 18 months worth of TV licence – i cant see how at any point you end up in arrears – they just have a 6 month buffer of your money.

    am i wrong ?

    MrNutt
    Free Member

    Point noted about standing orders, I’ll pay by card over the phone once a month.

    As for “not being aware” – I signed up for DD over the phone, I have never contemplated visiting their website and as for any postal correspondence from TV Licensing, I don’t read it, it’s filed under “not important”, the drawer above B1N.

    And yes, why would I want to be in credit/debit with TV licensing? I’d prefer just to pay with it’s due.

    Northwind
    Full Member

    MrNutt – Member

    And yes, why would I want to be in credit/debit with TV licensing?

    It seems that there’s surcharges for the other options.

    ScottChegg
    Free Member

    and as for any postal correspondence from TV Licensing, I don’t read it, it’s filed under “not important”

    That’s your problem; right there.

    Who knows how many other vital clues are in this mystery drawer?

    I always wonder who falls for all this PPI nonsense; it’s folk who don’t/can’t/won’t take the time to read and understand what they are taking on.

    scotroutes
    Full Member

    The latter issue is usually caused by the intervention of weekends and bank holidays. Clues to the former may be contained in that mysterious pile of unopened mail?

    I’m not suggesting you’re not, in a sense, handing over control in some way but personally I prefer that on the basis that I’ve never been screwed over.

    MrNutt
    Free Member

    It seems that there’s surcharges for the other options.

    I’ve no problem paying a little extra for service on my terms.

    nealglover
    Free Member

    As for “not being aware” – I signed up for DD over the phone,

    Fair enough.

    and as for any postal correspondence from TV Licensing, I don’t read it, it’s filed under “not important”, the drawer above B1N.

    That would be the Payment Schedule and the Direct Debit Guarantee then.

    “Not important” enough to read, but then you moan when you don’t know the details of what was sent 🙄

    So it’s your fault.

    Glad we cleared that up.

    ninfan
    Free Member

    Direct debits are one of the hardest payment methods to abuse!

    Not if you’re the CSA they’re not!

    I had them create a new Direct Debit, withdrawing money from an old account (ie. I changed banks but kept the old account open with about thirty quid in) on four separate occasions, each time cancelling the new DD after getting a snotty letter from the bank about going overdrawn, before finally closing the account – despite the fact that I was still paying (by standing order) on another account!

    As for TV licensing – well, feckem, I only use my big TV to watch iplayer and love film!

    Northwind
    Full Member

    But every time they do that, you call your bank and make an indemnity claim and immediately get the money back. It’s inconvenience but they can’t profit from it and they can’t take and keep your money. Therefore, impractical to abuse.

    (there are some dd abuse methods which are much cunninger but they can only hurt banks, not customers)

    soobalias
    Free Member

    As for TV licensing – well, feckem, I only use my big TV to watch iplayer

    lulz

    I always wonder who falls for all this PPI nonsense; it’s folk who don’t/can’t/won’t take the time to read and understand what they are taking on

    oh i can help you there, would require a thread of its own tho.

    ohnohesback
    Free Member

    It’s remarkable in this day and age that the BBC can compel people to pay for a service that they neither watch nor want. The present TV licence should have been replaced with a subscription dongle when tv went digital. It would be interesting to see the results of ‘market testing’ the BBC when the audience is given a choice as to whether to fund it without compulsion.

    kimbers
    Full Member

    would the bbc website iplayer etc not have to go behind a paywall then too?

    personally im happy for my license fee to go towards great TV for everyone,bbc3 for comedy, bbc4 for awesome factual stuff, newsnight, questiontime, the way iplayer has revolutionised tv viewing and radio, even jools holland, plus radio 4, 6music, excellent podcasts etc etc

    aracer
    Free Member

    It’s remarkable in this day and age that the BBC can compel people to pay for a service that they neither watch nor want.

    You do know that it’s not compulsory to watch TV?

    scotroutes
    Full Member

    But it’s also possible to watch TV and not watch the BBC – other channels are now available 😉

    MrNutt
    Free Member

    scotroutes? Woppit? is that you?

    MrWoppit
    Free Member

    No, mate.

    jambourgie
    Free Member

    They should be happy you’re actually paying them anything. It’s a bloody racket.

    I kind of understand the DD abuse thing. I used to have my Electricity/Gas on DD and they were always upping the amount, giving me weird reasons like ‘we’ll charge you more now so you’ll pay less in the future’. I cancelled it and pay them once a month, by how much I’ve used.

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