• Welcome to the LegalBeagles Consumer and Legal Forum.
    Please Register to get the most out of the forum. Registration is free and only needs a username and email address.
    REGISTER
    Please do not post your full name, reference numbers or any identifiable details on the forum.

Refund With SSE - Advice Please

Collapse
Loading...
X
  • Filter
  • Time
  • Show
Clear All
new posts

  • Refund With SSE - Advice Please

    Hi,

    I'm having some problems with M&S Energy and would be grateful for some advice. The background is as follows:

    - I had an account with M&S energy for my gas and electric. The account is in my name but the Direct Debit was in the name of my friend, a fellow tenant at the time.

    - My friend subsequently decided to leave the tenancy early (leaving me picking up all of the bills so we didn't park on good terms!) but as all bills were in his name, I agreed to transfer money to his account until the end of the contract so the existing direct debits could be honoured. He has subsequently left the U.K. and moved abroad and I have no way of contacting him.

    - I requested a refund from SSE earlier this month to cover the credit balance outstanding on the account which was around £400.00.

    · As the account holder, I informed the customer service representative that the bank account used to pay the DD was a historic account used for bills and belonged to a tenant who has left the property and therefore I requested that the refund was sent by cheque to myself.

    - The customer representative informed me that this would be actioned and I subsequently received a cheque for the electricity refund.

    - However, I did not receive a cheque for the gas refund totalling £255, and when I called M&S to enquire, I was informed that it had been sent to the bank account on file, and therefore they could not send me a cheque as the money has already been sent.

    - When I questioned this and asked why this had been done, I was informed that it would have to be returned to the bank account on file, as the DD was not in my name and the DD Guarantee requires M&S to return the money to the account that paid it.

    - I explained to your representatives that I no longer was in contact with the owner of the account who had been paying the DD, and had clearly instructed them of Thai and therefore was now out of pocket by £255 but they say there is nothing they can do.

    Does anyone think I have a case against them? A few questions:

    1. As the account holder, do I have a right to request the money to be returned in the method I prescribe? Surely M&S have a contractual obligation to action my request?

    2. The DD was setup with the account owners permission but payments have been coming from his account. Am I within my rights to ask for the payment to be sent by cheque considering the circumstances even without getting confirmation from the friend whose account payments were sent from? They claim

    3. M&S claim they can't sent it due to the Direct Debit Guarantee but have already sent one of the payments by cheque to me which invalidates this point. Can I use that against them?

    4. M&S have said they might try and claim back the electric cheque from me? Around £137 - do they have any grounds to do this?

    5. They claim they have an obligation to the DD holder but surely they also have a contractual obligation to myself? Would the DD guarantee supersede the contractual obligation or vice versa? If I hadn't of paid then I would have ended up in court/bailiffs would have ended up at my house so surely the money has to be returned where I request?

    6. What avenues are available to me please? Does anyone have any legislation or case law that I can rely on please?

    I would really appreciate any advice that you can offer as I've just bought a house and I was banking on having this money to help with the first few months with all of the costs involved. Any advice would be greatly received.

    Thank you very much for your help!
    Tags: None

  • #2
    Re: Refund With SSE - Advice Please

    Originally posted by gped123 View Post
    Hi,

    I'm having some problems with M&S Energy and would be grateful for some advice. The background is as follows:

    - I had an account with M&S energy for my gas and electric. The account is in my name but the Direct Debit was in the name of my friend, a fellow tenant at the time.

    - My friend subsequently decided to leave the tenancy early (leaving me picking up all of the bills so we didn't park on good terms!) but as all bills were in his name, I agreed to transfer money to his account until the end of the contract so the existing direct debits could be honoured. He has subsequently left the U.K. and moved abroad and I have no way of contacting him.

    - I requested a refund from SSE earlier this month to cover the credit balance outstanding on the account which was around £400.00.

    · As the account holder, I informed the customer service representative that the bank account used to pay the DD was a historic account used for bills and belonged to a tenant who has left the property and therefore I requested that the refund was sent by cheque to myself.

    - The customer representative informed me that this would be actioned and I subsequently received a cheque for the electricity refund.

    - However, I did not receive a cheque for the gas refund totalling £255, and when I called M&S to enquire, I was informed that it had been sent to the bank account on file, and therefore they could not send me a cheque as the money has already been sent.

    - When I questioned this and asked why this had been done, I was informed that it would have to be returned to the bank account on file, as the DD was not in my name and the DD Guarantee requires M&S to return the money to the account that paid it. This might not be strictly true. The individual company's fraud prevention policy may insist that it goes back in to the account it is paid in to. In my various customer service jobs 99% of them insisted the refund was from the source it came from unless POA letter or account holder authorisation was obtained.

    - I explained to your representatives that I no longer was in contact with the owner of the account who had been paying the DD, and had clearly instructed them of Thai and therefore was now out of pocket by £255 but they say there is nothing they can do.

    Does anyone think I have a case against them? A few questions:

    1. As the account holder, do I have a right to request the money to be returned in the method I prescribe? Surely M&S have a contractual obligation to action my request?
    They have a contractual agreement to refund the amount, but can specify how this refund is made! They may process a different form of refund as a goodwill but it is not mandatory

    2. The DD was setup with the account owners permission but payments have been coming from his account. Am I within my rights to ask for the payment to be sent by cheque considering the circumstances even without getting confirmation from the friend whose account payments were sent from? They claim
    No, you could in fact be asking the company to breach it's fraud prevention policy, you can ask to see this and it may be available online. Every company who offers DD offers it with the agreement that they get the account holder's permission to change any detail, including refunds.

    3. M&S claim they can't sent it due to the Direct Debit Guarantee but have already sent one of the payments by cheque to me which invalidates this point. Can I use that against them?
    This sounds like agent error and technically M&S should try and rectify this.

    4. M&S have said they might try and claim back the electric cheque from me? Around £137 - do they have any grounds to do this?
    Yes. They do. They can pull this back and refund it to the correct account!

    5. They claim they have an obligation to the DD holder but surely they also have a contractual obligation to myself? Would the DD guarantee supersede the contractual obligation or vice versa? If I hadn't of paid then I would have ended up in court/bailiffs would have ended up at my house so surely the money has to be returned where I request
    They have a contactual agreement to provide a service, their fraud prevention and anti money laundering policies supersede even the DD gaurentee. The agreement is with the account holder, without speaking to the account holder they will not refund the money to you, and yes I have known this happen on a deceased account too

    6. What avenues are available to me please? Does anyone have any legislation or case law that I can rely on please?
    Ask the account holder to email/phone/write in to authorise the payment,. To the best of my knowledge there isn't any legistlation as M&S are following the anti money laundering and anti fraud legislation themselves. They can claim to be protecting the account holder's information and (to the company's mind) the account holder's funds.

    I would really appreciate any advice that you can offer as I've just bought a house and I was banking on having this money to help with the first few months with all of the costs involved. Any advice would be greatly received.

    Thank you very much for your help!
    Sorry to be such a damp squib, but this is my knowledge as an advisor. It is highly unlikely that you can get M&S to change their mind!

    I know how annoying this is, I have to ask my husband to authorise refunds in to his accounts.. I gave up in the end!
    PLEASE NOTE: I work irregular hours including nights and sleep in shifts. If I have not responded in 48 hours, please ask an admin to Messenger me!

    "If you ever feel alone, remember, I am just the other side of the rainbow, or just south of the North Star. Whichever is closer." - A.J Murphy. 17/3/1974 - 16/03/1997 (RIP babe <3)

    Comment

    View our Terms and Conditions

    LegalBeagles Group uses cookies to enhance your browsing experience and to create a secure and effective website. By using this website, you are consenting to such use.To find out more and learn how to manage cookies please read our Cookie and Privacy Policy.

    If you would like to opt in, or out, of receiving news and marketing from LegalBeagles Group Ltd you can amend your settings at any time here.


    If you would like to cancel your registration please Contact Us. We will delete your user details on request, however, any previously posted user content will remain on the site with your username removed and 'Guest' inserted.
    Working...
    X