Cancelling a Direct Debit (2024)

FAQs

Cancelling a Direct Debit? ›

Call the company and tell them you are taking away your permission for the company to take automatic payments out of your bank account. The company's customer service should be able to help you, and there might be an online form you can use. Then, follow up by writing a letter or an e-mail.

If I cancel a Direct Debit, can the company still take money? No, they can't. It's your money and your bank account, so you're entitled to cancel your direct debits. As soon as you inform your bank or the company that you wish to cancel your direct debit, they should immediately take action.

How do I cancel a Direct Debit? Contact your bank or building society and tell them which one you want to stop, or cancel online or via your banking app. It's also worth telling the organisation you were paying that you've stopped the Direct Debit.

Good to know before you start: rejecting a Direct Debit payment does not cancel the contract that you have signed with the company concerned. In order to cancel a Direct Debit, you will need to speak with your service provider directly.

One way is to request that the payer reinstate the DDI themselves through their bank. This must be done within two months of the direct debit's cancellation.

Direct Debit: not for instant, high risk or high value transactions.

You can also ask your financial institution to stop direct debits from your bank account. You can't ask your financial institution to cancel a direct debit from a credit card – you can only do this directly with your telecommunications provider.

Call and write the company

Call the company and tell them you are taking away your permission for the company to take automatic payments out of your bank account. The company's customer service should be able to help you, and there might be an online form you can use. Then, follow up by writing a letter or an e-mail.

Cancelling your direct debit in a branch

You can visit us in a branch or at a business banking centre to cancel a direct debit. You'll need to fill out and submit the direct debit cancellation form to us when you're in the branch.

How do I revoke a Direct Debit authorization? ›

If you authorized the bank to make the transfer to the merchant on your behalf, you need to revoke your authorization with the bank. You will need to notify your bank at least three business days before the scheduled date of the transfer and inform it that you wish to stop payment.

Once the DD is issued by the bank after you pay by cash or by deducting the amount from your account, if the need arises for the cancellation of the DD, visit the bank from which the draft was issued. You may have to write an application addressing the bank or branch stating the need for the cancellation.

I withdraw my authority for you to directly debit my account effective from date/immediately. Delete one. If you are cancelling your agreement with the merchant then you should say this by including the next sentence. I cancel my agreement with you for [describe the services] from the same date.

You are perfectly within your rights to cancel a Direct Debit from your bank account whenever you like.

You can cancel a Direct Debit at any time by contacting your bank or via mobile and online banking – often in a section called regular payments. Provided you do this at least a day before the Direct Debit is due, your bank must refund the payment if it's taken.

If you notice an error on the same day a payment was made, you can call your bank and reverse the payment immediately. However, if you notice it at any point afterwards, your bank will need to make an 'indemnity claim' to the collecting organisation on your behalf.

You'll need to fill the DD cancellation form and submit it along with the original DD. The amount will be credited into your account after the bank deducts the cancellation charge. If the demand draft has expired and has not been encashed by the payee, the amount is not automatically credited back into your account.

How direct debits could help your credit score. Setting up direct debits to pay things like utility bills can have a positive impact on your credit score. With direct debits in place there is no chance of forgetting to pay a bill on the due date, so late payments won't be an issue.

A charity Direct Debit also puts your donors in control as they have the right to cancel them at any time by contacting their bank. And the Direct Debit Guarantee protects their money from being taken in error, adding an extra layer of security.

Most banks will retry returned payments at least once but some might retry the payment twice. When you open an account, check with your bank to see what their policy is for returned payments. This way, you can know for sure what kind of fees you might incur and what to do with your payments should they bounce.