Can a company take a direct debit once cancelled?

[kind dilbert]

I wanted to cancel a gym membership so phoned them up to cancel - no such luck, have to go there to cancel, so I stopped the direct debit payments instead.

Can a company reset the direct debit payment once it has been cancelled by the account holder?

[Andy_GSA]

Not according to BACS -

http://www.bacs.co.uk/Bacs/Businesses/DirectDebit/...

However cancelling the debit does not terminate the contract, unless that's a method specified in the contract (which I'm 99% certain it won't be). You will still accrue liability for the payments unless you terminate the contract itself.

[Sarnie]

Andy_GSA said:

Not according to BACS -

http://www.bacs.co.uk/Bacs/Businesses/DirectDebit/...

However cancelling the debit does not terminate the contract, unless that's a method specified in the contract (which I'm 99% certain it won't be). You will still accrue liability for the payments unless you terminate the contract itself.

Yep.

I've seen clients with CCJ's on their credit files they didn't know they had after a Gym has not been paid up for the rest of a contract after they cancelled the DD.

[Piersman2]

Also I found out a few years ago that there are some 'trusted' companies that can electronically set of DD on your account without you filling in or signing anything.

I was not happy when I realised that Virgin had decided to set up a DD for my payments despite my direct specific requests at every communicae with the company that they NOT do this.

When I phoned my bank to ask how they could have set up a DD without my signature, the bank said there is a list of companies that most banks will accept a DD from without a customer signature. I was NOT impressed.

[Simpo Two]

kind dilbert said:

I wanted to cancel a gym membership so phoned them up to cancel - no such luck, have to go there to cancel

I bet you can join up by phone though...

Sarnie said:

I've seen clients with CCJ's on their credit files they didn't know they had after a Gym has not been paid up for the rest of a contract after they cancelled the DD.

The first step to a CCJ is a summons, no? Or were they so stupid they just threw it away?

[maffski]

Simpo Two said:

Sarnie said:

I've seen clients with CCJ's on their credit files they didn't know they had after a Gym has not been paid up for the rest of a contract after they cancelled the DD.

The first step to a CCJ is a summons, no? Or were they so stupid they just threw it away?

Or they cancelled the gym because they were moving?

[mrmr96]

maffski said:

Simpo Two said:

Sarnie said:

I've seen clients with CCJ's on their credit files they didn't know they had after a Gym has not been paid up for the rest of a contract after they cancelled the DD.

The first step to a CCJ is a summons, no? Or were they so stupid they just threw it away?

Or they cancelled the gym because they were moving?

Doesn't matter why they wanted to terminate their contract. They need to do so within the terms of the contract. If they don't, for example by just stopping the DD, then the contract is still in force and the debt will begin to grow. They may well end up with a summons, even if their reason for waning to cancel is genuine. The reason and the method are different.

[maffski]

mrmr96 said:

maffski said:

Simpo Two said:

Sarnie said:

I've seen clients with CCJ's on their credit files they didn't know they had after a Gym has not been paid up for the rest of a contract after they cancelled the DD.

The first step to a CCJ is a summons, no? Or were they so stupid they just threw it away?

Or they cancelled the gym because they were moving?

Doesn't matter why they wanted to terminate their contract. They need to do so within the terms of the contract. If they don't, for example by just stopping the DD, then the contract is still in force and the debt will begin to grow. They may well end up with a summons, even if their reason for waning to cancel is genuine. The reason and the method are different.

Sorry, was replying to Simpo Two - if they've moved they would have never received the summons in order to ignore it.

[mrmr96]

maffski said:

Sorry, was replying to Simpo Two - if they've moved they would have never received the summons in order to ignore it.

Oh I see. Yes sorry.

Best to leave a forwarding address so you can nip these kinds of things in the bud before they get out of hand! Best bet would be to comply with the contract and get yo ass down there to leave properly.

[Simpo Two]

maffski said:

Sorry, was replying to Simpo Two - if they've moved they would have never received the summons in order to ignore it.

Perhaps but wouldn't they have mail forwarded?


NB: Someone I know wishes to sue a cowboy builder (paid deposit, no goods received) but were advised (by a solicitor) that if they didn't have the person's exact/current address you couldn't do it as it was the property that got the CCJ. Or something. Anyway, it sounded daft to me - I would use the address that was on the invoice they issued back in June.

[P-Jay]

I've never seen a CCJ placed for a non-payment of Gym membership, stranger things have happened though - anyway, it would be a right pain, but a judgement in your absence, registered without current contact details is reasonably easy to remove.

In regards to DD, yes and no, the rules say once cancelled they're meant to contact you, but lots of places just re-input the details - banks do not need to see a signature, they don't even ask for the paperwork, the really dodgy ones will set-up a new DD and suck out a pile of money for 'fees' the second it's set-up.

A bigger worry is if they took the details of your debit card - some places do this as you join and say something like "don't worry, it's just for our records" or "it's for ID etc" when it actually fact somewhere you'll be signing a recurring charge agreement. If you give a business your debit card details for a recurring payment is almost impossible to stop it, request a new card and it just gets updated, close the account and they'll still get paid and the bank chases you - you can contact the bank to ask them to refuse payment and rarely works the DD system is weighted towards the consumer slightly, the Card payment systems is entirely weighted in favour of the retailer. The best form or recurring payment for consumers is standing order, entirely at your control, which is why most business don't accept it as method of payment.

I fking detest the 'box gyms' for this very reason, I used to join one every October when we switched back to GMT - I'd say "I need a membership for 6 months whilst it too dark to cycle after work" No problem they'd say and I'd read the contract and it would be for 12 "don't worry, you can leave whenever you want" and omit to mention that the leaving fee was 90% of the cost of the 6 months I wouldn't use it. I use the local Leisure Centre now, pay as you go, it's not as cheap as you might expect, but you're not paying for the "three times a week" you promised you'd go and never did, plus they've got a range of equipment and classes than put Bannatyne's / Fitness First and the rest to shame.

[uknick]

OP, make sure you put EVERYTHING in writing. I had major problems when I cancelled my membership, to the extent they put a debt collector company on me.

This was despite numerous emails and phone calls to them cancelling the membership and handing the gym manager a cheque for the final balance due. Surprise, he lost the cheque, and I had to cancel it. I only got it sorted after paying the collection company, and then got a full refund from the gym company after threatening them with small claims court action.

The final irony is after all this, they still sent me the spam emails asking if I would recommend a friend to join!!

[maffski]

Simpo Two said:

Perhaps but wouldn't they have mail forwarded?

So they are disorganised enough to not correctly cancel their Gym membership, but organised enough to set up mail forwarding? As the old saying goes, a 'Leopard doesn't change it's electoral roll details'.