Can BT take more than the Agreed amount from bank account.

[swampus]

I contacted BT today and we agreed that i would pay £51 towards my bill, However they ended up taking the full amount of just over £120. The person i spoke to apologised that he had made a mistake by not changing the payment amount, But that he could not issue a refund as that is done by someone else higher up. 

So now i am left without a penny to my name, no food and enough electric to last 3 day's at best plus other bills that need paying.

So my question is : am i likely to get a refund and how long does it normally take.

[rbz5416 · Accepted solution]

If this was taken by direct debit you can ask your bank to refund under the Direct Debit Guarantee.

https://www.directdebit.co.uk/direct-debit-explained/direct-debit-guarantee/

[-Richie-]

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@swampuswrote:

So my question is : am i likely to get a refund and how long does it normally take.

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Sadly it's unlikely, BT can refund a positive balance where you're in credit but this has paid your bill in full, there's no overpayment to refund.

What I would suggest is having a look to see if you qualify for Home Essentials if you're in receipt of qualifying benefits, if you do qualify it will save you on your phone/broadband services, there's also a similar social mobile tariff called EE Basics, more info at https://shop.ee.co.uk/basics

[pottyperson]

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@-Richie- wrote:

Sadly it's unlikely, BT can refund a positive balance where you're in credit but this has paid your bill in full, there's no overpayment to refund.

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Fair enough but that's not the point. This is not a refund but the return of an unauthorised DD amount, which the bank is bound to recover if the customer demands.

[StewM]

The customer has not agreed to the payment, therefore the DD could  be recalled by the bank as the claim is unauthorised. That said, reclaiming the DD will put the customer in default with BT as effectively no monthly payment will have been received by BT.

I would contact BT again and explain the circumstances and request a refund of the extra amount you have not agreed to. It is a bit underhand of BT to leave someone in his situation like this and emphasise this point.

Stew

[garybs29]

From the OP is this even a DD payment as they state speaking to someone & the amount not being changed, that sounds more like a card payment to me

[swampus]

It was a debit card payment over the phone.

[StewM]

Then approach the bank and organise a chargeback. They have claimed a sum which you have not agreed.

Stew