What happens if you cancel a Direct Debit?

Paying your bills by Direct Debit can mean it’s easier to stay on top of everything you owe. After all, if your bills leave your account automatically, you don’t need to worry about paying them manually.

But what happens if you don’t want to pay a Direct Debit anymore? If you no longer want services from a company, can you just cancel the Direct Debit? And will the company still be able to take money from you if you do this? Let’s take a look at what happens when you cancel a Direct Debit.

How to cancel a Direct Debit

You can cancel Direct Debits by logging into your online banking and removing the payment, or alternatively, you can call your bank and ask for it to be cancelled. After you’ve cancelled the Direct Debit, keep an eye on your online banking to make sure your bank doesn’t pay any more money out. If they do, you should be able to get this back.

If you’re a thinkmoney Current Account customer, you can cancel a Direct Debit through the app, by logging into online banking, or by calling or texting us. Read the full details on how to cancel a Direct Debit with us in our guide.

Can the company still take the money?

The company you had the Direct Debit with shouldn’t be able to take any money from you after this except if you had an ongoing agreement with them. If this is the case, they might be able to chase you for further payments. For example, if you’re only six months into a 12-month gym contract, the gym might pursue you for the rest of the year’s membership fees.

Added to this, if you cancelled the Direct Debit just a few days before it was due, the last payment might still be taken as the cancellation process can take a few days to go through.

What can you do if the company still takes the Direct Debit?

If your account provider makes a mistake and lets the company take money after you’ve cancelled a Direct Debit, you can ask them for the money back. Under the Direct Debit Guarantee, account providers should provide an immediate refund if they pay out in error. You might still owe the company money but this is for you to sort out – it’s nothing to do with the Direct Debit directly.

Your account provider should pay the money back if it’s made a mistake but until this happens, it might mean you don’t have enough money to pay other bills. If you’d planned to put that money towards another payment, you might now have to find this from somewhere else.

That’s why it’s really important to contact the company you’re cancelling with as well as your bank. This will avoid any confusion and should mean you won’t end up out of pocket at any stage of the process.