The Direct Debit guarantee is the Direct Debit scheme’s customer protection.
The guarantee is offered by all building societies and banks that accept direct debits. As a customer, the Direct Debit Guarantee protects you against payments made in error. This means Direct Debit is the safest payment method in the UK.
The Direct Debit Guarantee
The Guarantee is offered by all banks and building societies that accept instructions to pay Direct Debits.
If there are any changes to the amount, date or frequency of your Direct Debit O’Brien Media Ltd will notify you (normally 3 working days) in advance of your account being debited or as otherwise agreed. If you request O’Brien Media Ltd to collect a payment, confirmation of the amount and date will be given to you at the time of the request.
If an error is made in the payment of your Direct Debit, by O’Brien Media Ltd or your bank or building society, you are entitled to a full and immediate refund of the amount paid from your bank or building society.
If you receive a refund you are not entitled to, you must pay it back when O’Brien Media Ltd asks you to.
You can cancel a Direct Debit at any time by simply contacting your bank or building society. Written confirmation may be required. Please also notify O’Brien Media Ltd.
The Direct Debit Guarantee in Plain English
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Advance notice. You must be told about any changes to the amount, date or frequency of payment in advance. You can agree any notice period with a merchant (ours is 3 working days) but if no other time period is agreed it will be 10 working days. If you are not given the correct notice of a payment then you will be entitled to claim a refund.
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Immediate refunds. You can get a full and immediate refund from your bank (also known as an “indemnity claim”) for any payment taken in error.
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Instant cancellations. You can cancel a Direct Debit payment at any time before the payment is due to be made. If a payment is taken after you have cancelled it you will be entitled to an immediate refund from your bank.
How your Direct Debit mandate will be used
We will collect all payments from your Direct Debit mandate unless instructed otherwise. You can choose, via your GoCardless account, to approve each and every payment we request – this option can be set by logging into your GoCardless account, we cannot change this setting on your behalf.
If you need to change your bank details this can also be completed via your GoCardless account – we cannot make this change for you. Should you wish to change your bank details without logging into GoCardless we can cancel your existing Direct Debit mandate and send you a new online setup link for you to create a new mandate using your new bank details.
We cannot do this on your behalf online or over the telephone as a mandate set up by a merchant is prohibited by GoCardless, our payment processor.
How will the payment appear on your bank statement
Payments collected by O’Brien Media Ltd will appear on your account/bank statement differently from bank to bank, but generally, they will appear as “GOCARDLESS” with a reference of “OBRIENMEDIA”.
This may appear as “GOCARDLESS-OBRIENMEDIA” or as “GOCARDLESS” with “OBRIENMEDIA” underneath. How this information is presented on your bank statement or transaction list depends on your bank.
Who is GoCardless
GoCardless is our payment processor, they collect Direct Debits on our behalf and pay the funds to us after taking a percentage processing fee. You can find out more about GoCardless on the GoCardless website, here: GoCardless Payer Frequently asked questions.
GoCardless is similar to PayPal in that they are a payment processor. You enter into an agreement with GoCardless when you create a Direct Debit mandate, this is indicated on the GoCardless hosted payment page when you set up your Direct Debit mandate.