They have indeed looked into it and probably are planning to do so again if not already looking at the problem as it has been mentioned in some topics on this forum in the past. To the 2017 Choice topic see:
Recurring payments can be a useful time-saving tool, but it can also be a real pain if you want to cancel a service and the bank or the merchant won’t play ball. You can get stuck chasing unwanted payments that are automatically withdrawn from your account.
Our direct debits guide can help you navigate the pros and cons of automatic payments, and we’d also like to hear your stories about direct debits.
Let us know if you’ve ever had trouble cancelling a recurring payment in the comments below. …
For some others on this forum that reference the DD problems:
If you find the direct debits recommece, try speaking to your bank about placing a block/stop on the direct debits on your bank account .
While I am and have never been a union member, one gets the feeling like many other institutions, some unions are about themselves rather than those who they are alleged to support.
I phoned my bank (Commonwealth) to cancel the direct debit and they told me they couldn’t do it, I would have to organise it with the HWU. They said the only way I could stop the payments otherwise was to cancel my credit card and get another card! How ridiculous and inconvenient. What the Commonwealth bank told me is quite different to what it says in that ASIC link you posted.
I personally don’t have a problem with automatic renewals but as a safeguard to be able to switch off any supply of goods or service when I determine so, is I never allow or set up direct debit for payment.
I always pay renewals auto’s or otherwise by other means, as Direct Debit is much harder to stop even if you have cancelled a service automatic payments can still be removed from your account/s.
dannykane
You were wise to purchase from an Australian store. I ordered and paid $99 for Norton via AMEX for a client approximately three years ago. Now I cannot stop the Direct Debits nor obtain a refund for those charges.
Defender came free with Windows 10 pro, and seems to suit my purposes.
I received a call last night from a company called 24/7 who claimed to be managing an NBN order I placed on line with Optus.
The caller claimed to be from Optus and only when pushed hard did they admit they were 'working on their behalf.
They wanted my identity details for ‘privacy reasons’. I declined.
I asked for the address of their registered office. ‘It’s in Manila’
The address please. ‘It’s Manila. I can’t say more’
How did you get my number? ‘Because you placed an order with Optus’
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We put together this direct debits guide , but to my understanding the issues occur when either a bank or a merchant fail to follow the rules. We’ve heard a lot about underhanded tactics from gyms so your daughter is not alone there.
Thanks for flagging this, I’ll do a shout out on another thread to see what else comes up.
Agree on PayPal. It just gets better all the time. There is now an option to pay by direct debit from your bank account as well as by card. I just don’t deal with companies who don’t offer PayPal
Energy Australia have admitted that they cancelled our direct debit without informing us . Because of repeated billing errors from them, such as trying to bill us after 11 months, as well as being so far in credit due to their estimated payments required, we only check that we are still in credit. When we weren’t we contacted them, and were met with unhelpful and rude call centre staff that gave conflicting stories. When I requested the bill be wiped, the woman told me that she was only authori…
A family member told me how their bank withdrew two extra fortnightly payments for a personal loan, after she had finished paying it off. Probably would have kept happening if she hadn’t noticed it and called the bank. Apparently the bank’s system freaks out when the last automatic withdrawal isn’t the exact amount still owing on the loan, and the onus is on the customer to cancel the direct debits. This also happened to my brother a few years ago.
Has anyone else had this happen to them, or do…
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