Originally Posted by
callum9999
Unless you're wearing a tin-hat, it doesn't really rely on a particular level of trust. If they're a legitimate business then unless there is some catastrophic error somewhere they'll take the right amount and the right amount only.
I must have made well over 1000 Direct Debit payments in the last decade and not one single one of them has been incorrect. And if it ever was incorrect you are entitled to a "full and immediate" refund.
You are right that you need to ensure you can always cover it though.
I beg to differ. A few years ago, I got a new smartphone from AT&T. Now most people would classify AT&T wireless as a legitimate business with procedures in place. I believe, I had a monthly rate that allowed me 5GB data and 1000 minutes per month for - I don't remember - $80 or something. Being the nice guy I am, I had signed up to auto-pay AT&T from my credit card. When I received my first month's invoice, I noticed that they had charged me $1800 for data. Apparently there was a glitch in the system and they charged me by kB used. Of course, since this was auto-pay, AT&T had already charged my card this amount.
I must have spent at least 3 hours over 10 phone calls explaining to the call center #$^@% at AT&T. The most they could do was give me credit for the $1800 overcharge and not a refund. I was so pissed that I have not gone back to AT&T in the seven years since then.
Moral of the story: No more direct-debits. Or receive the invoice a good one or two weeks before the direct debit.