As Bank Debit schemes enable merchants to draw funds directly from their customer's bank accounts, the customer claims regulatory process is put in place to protect customers from payments that are taken in error.
There are different rules that are put in place to offer protection to customers paying through Bank Debit and we will cover these in this article:
- Advance notice
- Immediate refunds
- Instant cancellations
- Claims process by region/country
- Instant Bank Pay claims process
Advance notice
You must be informed about any upcoming payments and changes to your payments. This includes being told about any changes to the amount, date, or frequency of a payment.
For recurring payments you will be sent an email at the start of your subscription with the details of the frequency, amount, and date of the payments. Subscriptions are slightly different to one-off payments, as you will not be notified of each individual payment being collected. However, you will be notified if any changes are made to your subscription.
Immediate refunds
You can get a full and immediate refund from your bank (also known as an “indemnity claim”) for any payment taken in error.
To raise an indemnity claim you will need to contact your bank in writing or over the phone.
If they fail to give you a refund, contact them again in writing, escalating to your Branch Manager or Customer Service Manager and referring directly to the Claims process.
| Please note: GoCardless is unable to claim a refund on your behalf as this must be done by the account holder. |
Please inform our team if a payment has been collected from you in error so our accounts team can investigate further.
Instant cancellations
You are able to cancel your payment authorisation at any time by contacting the merchant you’re paying, your bank or GoCardless. You are able to do this as part of the Claims process.
The same applies to payments, however, in the first instance, you will need to contact the merchant you’re paying to request a cancellation or contact your bank to stop the payment from being collected. If the payment has already been collected you will need to raise an indemnity claim with your bank.
| Please note: GoCardless is not able to assist with cancelling payments on behalf of customers. |
Claims process by country/region
| COUNTRY/REGION | PROCESS |
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(BECS) |
To dispute a payment that has been collected, you will need to contact your bank. You will be asked to complete a form (often in paper format, but can also be completed online) providing details about the claim. The claim is then reviewed by the bank and if the request is granted, the funds will be returned to the customer’s bank account. The claim time limit is up to 7 years after the payment charge date. More information on this can be found in the BECS (AU) customer protection & claims guide. |
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(PAD) |
A claim can only be made under the following conditions:
To dispute a transaction you will need to contact your bank. The process for making a claim will vary from bank to bank but you may be asked to submit a claim online or in a bank branch. The claim is then reviewed by the bank and if the request is granted, the funds will be returned to the customer’s bank account. A claim can be made:
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(BTS) |
To dispute a payment that has been collected, you will need to contact your bank to initiate a reversal or rejection (the process varies from bank to bank). If your bank accepts the claim, they will send the valid claim to GoCardless’ Danish sponsor bank. The claim is then reviewed by the bank and if it’s accepted the funds will be returned to you. The claim time limit is up to 13 months after the charge date. More information on this can be found in the Betalingsservice customer claims guide. |
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(SEPA) |
To dispute a payment that you believe was collected in error, you will need to contact your bank and file a claim. In the first 8 weeks, you are able to charge back a payment through your online banking without any further investigation or review. After the 8-week period the indemnity claim will be reviewed before being granted or declined. The claim time limit is up to 13 months after the payments were collected. In the first 8 weeks you are able to request a chargeback with no questions asked. More information on this can be found in the SEPA Direct Debit customer protection guide. |
|
(BECS NZ) |
A claim can be made under the following conditions:
To dispute a transaction you will need to contact your bank. You will be asked to complete a form (often in paper format, but can also be completed online) providing more details about the claim. The claim is then reviewed by the bank and if the request is granted, the funds will be returned to your bank account. The claim time limit is up to 120 days after the charge date. After the initial 120-day period you will only be able to dispute the Direct Debit authorisation, which will dispute all payments collected through the authorisation. More information can be found in the BECS NZ customer protection guide. |
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(Autogiro) |
To dispute a transaction that you believe has been collected in error or wasn’t authorised, you will need to contact your bank. The report is then submitted to Bankgiro by your bank, who will then investigate further. Once the investigation is completed and the chargeback request is granted, you will receive the funds back into your account. The claim time limit for unauthorised payment is up until 13 months after it was collected. For authorised payments, where you believe it was collected in error, you have 8 weeks to make a claim. More information can be found in the Autogiro customer protection guide. |
|
(Bacs) |
To dispute a transaction that you believe was collected in error or was not authorised, you will need to contact your bank and file an indemnity claim. Usually, you will receive the funds bank into your account on the same day. There is currently no time limit for when you can request an indemnity claim. More information can be found in the Direct Debit guarantee guide. |
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(ACH) |
A claim can be made under the following conditions:
To dispute a transaction you will need to contact your bank. You may need to complete a signed form or affidavit, providing the transaction details and the reason for submitting the claim. The claim is then reviewed by the bank and the funds are returned to you. Payments can be claimed back for up to 2 banking days for a business account or 60 calendar days for a consumer, as outlined under the NACHA (National Automated Clearing House Association) rules. Under Regulation E (see below), there is also another 60 day period from when statement is received (Regulation E). Regulation E You are protected by both the ACH network rules and also through Federal Regulation, via Regulation E. Regulation E supersedes the ACH rules and therefore, there can be some differences to how an unauthorised return is processed. In addition to the 60 days, Regulation E extends this period for another 60 days from the point you receive your bank statement containing the unauthorised transaction. Typically, banks issue statements to you monthly, although the longest allowable period is quarterly and therefore, this could potentially allow for returns up to 150 days from the transaction date. |
Claims process for instant payments
Payments made with Open Banking in the UK are via Faster Payments and in Germany and France via SEPA Credit Transfer or SEPA Instant Credit - the same banking rails used to make a bank transfer to a business or friend.
These payment schemes do not have the same automatic payer protections as the schemes listed above. Payers have the same level of protection as they normally would when making bank transfers with their bank. This means payers should first attempt to resolve the issue with the business they purchased from, and if they cannot then they should use their bank's dispute resolution process (which is completely at the discretion of their bank).