Notes

To whom this may concern,

I am emailing you to raise a formal complaint in regards to a recent incident that I have suffered due to an administration mistake on your behalf.
Please see my customer information below to proceed with raising the case:
Name:
DOB:
Postcode:
Contact telephone:
Email address:
Vehicle Registration
I had called your customer service line to enquire about changing the date of my direct debit payment for my insurance policy, one of your advisors told me that to change the date I would have to make two payments within a single 30 day period totalling just under £344.00, one on the 18th and one on the 28th as to commence my new monthly date, so I declined as I could not afford to take that financial hit just to change a date. Your advisor understood the situation and was not able to help me any further so we ended the call.
The original reason I wanted to change the date was due to my “payday” at work being the 27th so having a large bill coming out one day before getting paid was not something I wanted to deal with every month so I wanted my direct debit to come out on the 28th instead.
I understood that due to your company policy you were unable to make the change without charging me for two periods within one month and I respected that decision so I left it at that, although I did think that maybe you could have done more to assist with the situation as I mentioned to the advisor that this would mean that some months I may need to use an overdraft facility which I did not want to use but they did not seem interested.
Fast forward to Monday morning, I received a text from my bank to inform me that I was now in my overdraft, which surprised me as I definitely had a plus balance earlier that morning so how could almost £200 disappear from my account like that…
The answer laid in a direct debit payment of £191.21 from yourselves, my actual payment isn’t due until the 26th. I then immediately recalled my conversation with your Customer Service Team where your advisor mentioned a first payment on the 18th of March if I wanted to change the date, but I refused so why did this come out? Why was this processed when I explicitly declined changing the date on the phone call?
I was at work so I had to wait till my next break, where I spent the full length of it, contacting your customer service line and a very helpful lady, who unfortunately I have forgotten her name, was able to identify the problem and give me a solution but her explanation wasn’t very clear.
I was told that I would have to contact my bank for a refund and then you would contact me later on this month to collect the payment again but that you would also cancel my payment due on the 28th, but I don’t have a payment due on the 28th so I remain confused about this. I then had to go back to work as I ran out of time so I wasn’t able to proceed with any more information or register my complaint.
I have since then spoken to my bank who have kindly processed the refund but have also helped me understand the situation more clearly.
The Direct Debit Guarantee to which you must adhere to when collecting payments via that method states that “If there are any changes to the amount, date or frequency of your Direct Debit the organisation will notify you (normally 10 working days) in advance of your account being debited or as otherwise agreed”; I was not notified so I did not consent for this money to be taken from my account.
This payment has put me into my overdraft to which I did not want to enter and has jeopardised any chances of me gaining the higher interest rate from my account over the rest of the calendar year due to its terms and conditions.
I no longer feel confident in trusting you to take payments on time and in an orderly fashion as this incident really frustrated me when I did not request for any of this to happen which I cannot simply forgive from such a massive company.
And finally I find it quite suspicious that as soon as I decided to call and raise the matter that you had taken a payment incorrectly my payment date was change back to its original, the 26th, without any questions asked yet when I originally requested this you said company policy did not allow it and you had absolutely no way of changing it when I wanted it pushed to the 28th.
I am aware of The Financial Ombudsman Service service where I could proceed with my complaint if I desired to but I would prefer to have it solved between yourselves and I so it is easier for all parties as I’m sure you would agree.
I look forward to your response and overall just some clarification on the whole situation.
Kindest regards,
Byron