topic Re: Billing notices in Plusnet Feedback

Billing notices

glloyd — Sun, 01 Aug 2010 09:38:45 GMT

Every month a notice is sent out stating your next subscription for your BB is due on such a date. There is no mention of the amount due and if you also have home phone no mention of that is made either. Surely that cannot be right, if a varying amount is to be deducted from your account you should be told in advance how much it is so you can dispute it if necessary. I have to say the billing system at PlusNet leaves a lot to be desired and is one thing that letss it down badly.

Re: Billing notices

Peter_Vaughan — Sun, 01 Aug 2010 09:47:00 GMT

Are you paying by Direct Debit or some other method?
my 'Advanced notice of your direct debit payment' emails from plusnet include the amount, the date and the DD ref number. These I receive 5 days before the payment date (although I think when the email arrives the payment request to the bank has already been sent by PN so you can't actually change it if the amount is in dispute).
Don't have any other services from PN so don't know if that changes anything regarding notices for payment.

Re: Billing notices

glloyd — Sun, 01 Aug 2010 09:58:09 GMT

I pay my account by credit card but I have also started paying my son's account by DD. It does not seem right that you cannot dispute a DD payment (or a credit card payment for that matter) before it is taken. It could put somone in a very dodgy situation if a very large amount is requested by mistake.

Re: Billing notices

nadger — Sun, 01 Aug 2010 10:09:43 GMT

The short DD notice period has been debated numerous times but has never been lengthened
Plusnet are, however, within their rights to only give a couple of days notice as opposed to the 14 days that most of us receive from other suppliers.
It has been pointed out, to Plusnet, that the current system could cause problems for a great many customers on a tight budget.

Re: Billing notices

glloyd — Sun, 01 Aug 2010 10:38:56 GMT

The DD rules say ten working days. I've not seen anything where customers have agreed otherwise.
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 change 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. If you request the organisation to collect a payment, confirmation of the amount and date will be given to you at the time of the request

Re: Billing notices

nadger — Sun, 01 Aug 2010 11:27:31 GMT

Quote from: glloyd
The DD rules say ten working days. I've not seen anything where customers have agreed otherwise.

Here is where you agreed

Quote
The Direct Debit Guarantee
* This guarantee is offered by all Banks and Building Societies that take part in the Direct Debit scheme. The efficiency and security of the Scheme is monitored and protected by your own bank or Building Society.
* If the amounts to be paid or the payment dates change PlusNet plc will notify you 3 working days in advance of your account being debited or as otherwise agreed.
* If an error is made by PlusNet plc or your Bank or Building Society, you are guaranteed a full and immediate refund from your branch of the amount paid.
* You can cancel a Direct Debit at any time by writing to your Bank or Building Society. Please also send a copy of your letter to us.

Re: Billing notices

pierre_pierre — Sun, 01 Aug 2010 12:00:04 GMT

but PN will not issue the refund until they have received the money, then they take an over long time, it can be nearly two weeks after they snatched it, several people have indeed charged PN with there out of pocket and bank charges. The next time they do it to me (had a bad spell last year), they will be getting a bill from me

Re: Billing notices

magnetism2772 — Sun, 01 Aug 2010 12:22:43 GMT

three days advanced warning is not enough time
if you have an auto withdrawal coming out of your account then it usually takes 24-48 hours to cancel it ,before it comes out of your account.
the reason is that the banks too need a day or two warning of a DD cancellation so that it totally registers and processes through the system.
they could even say three days are needed.
Plusnet are making it hard for customers to cancel direct debits
the bottom line is
plusnet must give you enough warning in advance that the/ a DD can be canceled

Re: Billing notices

magnetism2772 — Sun, 01 Aug 2010 12:31:46 GMT

If the bank wants the Direct Debit cancellation in writing then 3 days ,if you include the time the bank needs for any processing
then 3 days would not be enough
First thing to do is if this problem occurs consult the CAB - citizens advice -

Re: Billing notices

magnetism2772 — Sun, 01 Aug 2010 12:32:58 GMT

then look to a new phone supplier

Re: Billing notices

magnetism2772 — Sun, 01 Aug 2010 12:38:04 GMT

Dont let corporations mistreat you, bribe you, or blackmail you.
If you have problem with them , complete a small claims form and send it into your county court
have at least one day in court , its cheaper

Re: Billing notices

glloyd — Sun, 01 Aug 2010 13:34:54 GMT

I don't remember seeing that when I filled in my bank details. Three days is just plain daft, what happens if you are on holiday? It also says immediate refunds but people are saying they have to wait two weeks. I must to admit to hating DD after BT took £850 by mistake which I only discovered whilst on holiday and tried to draw out some spending money. Apart from mucking up our holiday it took weeks to get the money back.

Quote from: nadger
[Here is where you agreed
Quote
The Direct Debit Guarantee
* This guarantee is offered by all Banks and Building Societies that take part in the Direct Debit scheme. The efficiency and security of the Scheme is monitored and protected by your own bank or Building Society.
* If the amounts to be paid or the payment dates change PlusNet plc will notify you 3 working days in advance of your account being debited or as otherwise agreed.
* If an error is made by PlusNet plc or your Bank or Building Society, you are guaranteed a full and immediate refund from your branch of the amount paid.
* You can cancel a Direct Debit at any time by writing to your Bank or Building Society. Please also send a copy of your letter to us.

Re: Billing notices

gswindale — Sun, 01 Aug 2010 14:41:10 GMT

I think one of the problems relates to

Quote
If an error is made by PlusNet plc or your Bank or Building Society, you are guaranteed a full and immediate refund from your branch of the amount paid.

Most of the problems with incorrect billings relates to the fact that everybody contacts PN to obtain the refund. This is incorrect - you should contact your bank who will deal with the refund:

Quote
To request a refund under the Direct Debit Guarantee, contact your bank in person at the branch, by phone or write to them (use the link below to download a standard letter template in Word format for this purpose).

http://www.bacs.co.uk/Bacs/Consumers/DirectDebit/HelpCentre/Pages/IncorrectPayments.aspx
People are having to wait because they are not following the procedures correctly.

Re: Billing notices

pierre_pierre — Sun, 01 Aug 2010 14:45:45 GMT

the trouble is that numerous people have tried this and the expertly PN programmed computer says, hey this person is a bad risk and cuts then off

Re: Billing notices

magnetism2772 — Sun, 01 Aug 2010 14:54:00 GMT

the direct debit guarantee details posted up here is the bacs DD default guarantee for the company that uses it
it has (no default advanced customer warning time on any DD changes)
plusnet have just added their own 3 day customer warning time into it
DD info @
http://www.bacs.co.uk/Bacs/Consumers/DirectDebit/HelpCentre/Pages/CancellationFailed.aspx
but DD also acts to defend the customer which you can read at their above website

Re: Billing notices

magnetism2772 — Sun, 01 Aug 2010 15:08:14 GMT

in this DD instruction case
plusnet allow the same time to warn a customer as the time it may take for the customer to cancel

Re: Billing notices

magnetism2772 — Sun, 01 Aug 2010 15:29:31 GMT

I've just looked at my ACCOUNT details
it shows the same 3 day advanced warning or agreed too time? DD guarantee
I will report it to my bank

Re: Billing notices

magnetism2772 — Sun, 01 Aug 2010 15:54:06 GMT

from
Online banking Payments & Transfers - Direct Debit Information
Nationwide - Canceling a Direct Debit Arrangement -
If the payment you wish to cancel is due to leave your account on the next working day, you must cancel the direct debit arrangement by 3.30pm.
If this deadline has passed or the payment is due out of your account today, please do not continue with this request online.
Please call the bank
Please note that when you cancel a Direct Debit, all payments within this arrangement will cease. It is not possible to cancel just one month's payment and then reinstate the arrangement from the following month. Once a Direct Debit has been cancelled, we are unable to reinstate it unless the originator contacts us with your authority.

Re: Billing notices

adamwalker — Mon, 02 Aug 2010 08:28:53 GMT

Morning all,
As giro states there the direct debit guarantee is in place to protect the customer, it's not there to give leverage to companies like us to cause problems for customer. As an ISP that's won awars for customer service that's in the least of our interests.

Quote
the trouble is that numerous people have tried this and the expertly PN programmed computer says, hey this person is a bad risk and cuts then off

Customer's who do this are not automatically flagged as 'bad payers' we do have a failed billing process which does rely on some automattion but whether a customer is repeatedly having issues making payment for any reason human discretion is used on a case by case basis.

Quote
don't remember seeing that when I filled in my bank details. Three days is just plain daft, what happens if you are on holiday? It also says immediate refunds but people are saying they have to wait two weeks. I must to admit to hating DD after BT took £850 by mistake which I only discovered whilst on holiday and tried to draw out some spending money. Apart from mucking up our holiday it took weeks to get the money back.

Just wanted to reply to this too, at the moment if we have to refund a customer via direct debit the lead time is 7 to 10 working days as it has been for a very long time. However if you request a refund via the bank as part of the direct debit guarantee it can be quicker but this is dependant largely on the bank themselves.
All feedback is being taken on board as usual here and I invite anyone with any specific concerns or issues about their billing (such as giro's multiple direct debit notifications) to shout up and I'll be more than happy to look into it.

Re: Billing notices

glloyd — Mon, 02 Aug 2010 09:49:25 GMT

My orginal comment was the lack of detail of how much is going to be charged.
As usual this month I received notice that my subscription for my broadband would be deducted on the 4th. However, there was no mention of my home phone or how much was going to be deducted in either case. We have to place our trust in PlusNet to get it right but would PlusNet trust us the customer to pay dues without checking? I rather think not.
If you bill someone you tell them how much you are billing them and what for, at least that's how I've always conducted business. I can just imagine the response if someone sent a notice to PlusNet to say on the 4th August we are going to deduct an unknown amount from you account.