Tantrum about RNLI membership renewal - some forum flak will hit me I'm sure

[MM5AHO]

What were your problems with the direct debits? You will be aware of the Direct Debit Guarantee / indemnity scheme, which makes it one of the safest forms of payments ....
https://gocardless.com/guides/intro-to-direct-debit/guarantee/

All charges must be pre-notified, and if any dispute you should immediately get your money back whilst investigated.
Scheme works on the basis that Direct Debit Originators need to be approved, to some degree, before being allowed to use this scheme.

I twice (separate deals) found that the DD system and its guarantee doesn't work. Money debited when told not to, and bank would not correct the error. Plenty of notice given, in writing, but still debited. Bank said was up the supplier who had debited me.

 

[RIBW]

The thread is drifting into a debate on one method of payment. There will never be an agreement on that subject so let's go back to the original point.

Why doesn't the RNLI allow a simple method of payment that is the benefactor's preferred method ?

Answer: We all know, from very recent events, that charities are an 'industry' nowadays. Revenue is a priority. Someone in the RNLI will have decided, rightly or wrongly, that offering the OP's preferred method of payment is inconsistent with maximising overall revenue.

Where is the discussion?
Cheers
Bob

 

[dunedin]

I twice (separate deals) found that the DD system and its guarantee doesn't work. Money debited when told not to, and bank would not correct the error. Plenty of notice given, in writing, but still debited. Bank said was up the supplier who had debited me.

The bank was clearly in breach of the DD Scheme Rules - did you formally complain?
Name and shame them.

 

[superheat6k]

After many years as a member then Governor member, I resigned membership in December following the Jersey fiasco and was very sad to have to do this. But any charity that can pay its Directors a salary of 6 figures starting with a 2 or higher I figure likely does not need my contribution - as also Save the Children (after you have saved the CEO mega lifestyle) and Oxfam (can't think of anything to say that does not involve swear words for these people).

I advised the RNLI I would leave if they had not resolved the Jersey situate nay Christmas. I then advised the by email I was resigning. Having stopped the DD I got an email from the same email address asking why my payment had ceased.

At no time has any one taken time to consider my reasons for leaving or in any way tried to persuade me to stay, or I suspect even read the emails sent.

My contribution is now going to Hamble Lifeboat where there are to my knowledge no salaried staff, let alone anyone on £250,000 +.

I expect the entire Charity gravy train is just about now experiencing the long past due train crash into the buffers that will see these (not) so altruistic folk who are fleecing everyone's decency and goodwill get their comeuppance. In the case of the RNLI I hope the crews will come through it all OK. Once sensible governance returns so will my contributions.

I do think a minimum qualification for any RNLI Director is that they should spend a month on a full weather station, with at least one shout aboard in at least a force 7. Then and only then would they have an inkling of the experience required to sit in the ivory tower.

 

[Lucky Duck]

I stopped doing direct debits when O2 emptied my account whilst i was sailing abroad for 6 months. I had not received the advance notification as I was not at home & did not use the account for 5 months as I had cash. When suddenly i went to draw out cash in an emergency i found I had none.
Try dealing with that from abroad in an emergency with no phone & little money
Took me 11 months to get the cash back.

I had always resisted paying my gas and electricity bills by DD due to reports of similar issues or the energy company 'sitting' on surpluses in the account but late last year I bowed to the inevitable and signed up to a DD tariff rather than quarterly payments in arrears.

 

[ghostlymoron]

If you want to live in the dark ages, that's up to you. I renew by DD and have done for years with no problems. We also pay as many of our regular bills by the same method. Don't renew insurance that way though - insurance companies need reminding who's boss every year.

 

[prv]

Don't renew insurance that way though - insurance companies need reminding who's boss every year.

A couple of times I've put insurance renewal paperwork aside to do later - run through two or three comparison sites and choose the best deal - and then discovered it at the bottom of a pile months later. When that's happened, I've been glad that the existing policy auto-renewed and I wasn't driving illegally or risking losing my house, even if I was paying a few quid more than I ought to have done.

I do normally shop around for car and home insurance every year, but I consider auto-renewal to be a useful backstop in case I fail to do so. I've never had any trouble with the outgoing company trying to charge me when I've found a better offer and declined the renewal.

Pete

 

[dom]

I do normally shop around for car and home insurance every year, but I consider auto-renewal to be a useful backstop in case I fail to do so. I've never had any trouble with the outgoing company trying to charge me when I've found a better offer and declined the renewal.

Pete

Certainly true for ins/fin firms regulated by the Financial Conduct Authority. The flipside is the many firms, wine clubs, Specsavers, publishers, etc. where salesfolk are financially incentivised to sign new customers up to DD Agreements on the basis of their higher inertia. These types of companies often make it much more difficult to cancel.

 

[prv]

Certainly true for ins/fin firms regulated by the Financial Conduct Authority. The flipside is the many firms, wine clubs, Specsavers, publishers, etc. where salesfolk are financially incentivised to sign new customers up to DD Agreements on the basis of their higher inertia. These types of companies often make it much more difficult to cancel.

I've had a couple of things like that; I told the bank to stop paying them and they did, as the Direct Debit scheme requires. The companies sent me a couple of whiny letters and then went away.

The more difficult one is where you give Continuing Authority (I think that's the correct term) on a credit or debit card - the only requirement on the bank then (unlike a Direct Debit) is not to pay fraudulent requests. Provided you did genuinely sign up in the first place, the payment is a matter between you and the payee and the bank doesn't have to do anything to help stop them billing you.

I did read something from my bank saying they would accept instructions from me not to pay Continuing Authority requests on my debit card, but I haven't tested it, as I'm wary of setting up such agreements in the first place. I believe this feature is unusual, with most banks saying it's up to the customer to make the payee stop billing.

Pete

 

[snowbird30ds]

I find it complete incompetence that the rnli online shop has been out of action for so long now as it must be such a good fund raiser, I live 100 miles inland so no local proper rnli shops and if I am going to wear anything with a logo emblazened on it it will either be free or a charity I support (any "designer" that puts the label on the outside isn't much of a designer to me and I won't pay extra to advertise for them) so half of my wardrobe is help for heroes stuff, I would have bought some rnli stuff if I could.

 

[dom]

I've had a couple of things like that; I told the bank to stop paying them and they did, as the Direct Debit scheme requires. The companies sent me a couple of whiny letters and then went away.

The more difficult one is where you give Continuing Authority (I think that's the correct term) on a credit or debit card - the only requirement on the bank then (unlike a Direct Debit) is not to pay fraudulent requests. Provided you did genuinely sign up in the first place, the payment is a matter between you and the payee and the bank doesn't have to do anything to help stop them billing you.

I did read something from my bank saying they would accept instructions from me not to pay Continuing Authority requests on my debit card, but I haven't tested it, as I'm wary of setting up such agreements in the first place. I believe this feature is unusual, with most banks saying it's up to the customer to make the payee stop billing.

Pete

That's a good point re continuous payment authority (CPA), which phone companies, gyms, etc. do sometimes misrepresent as DDs. It is also correct that a bank must accept an instruction to stop paying a CPA, but it is wise to also inform the company in writing of this cancellation.

 

[MM5AHO]

If you want to live in the dark ages, that's up to you. I renew by DD and have done for years with no problems. We also pay as many of our regular bills by the same method. Don't renew insurance that way though - insurance companies need reminding who's boss every year.

Can't see why using direct banking on line in preference to an untrusted system of allowing someone else control of my account (Direct debit) is "living in the dark ages"?

 

[RIBW]

If you want to live in the dark ages, that's up to you. I renew by DD and have done for years with no problems. We also pay as many of our regular bills by the same method. Don't renew insurance that way though - insurance companies need reminding who's boss every year.

-1 (If that is short hand for taking the totally opposite view)

It was in the Dark Ages that we peasants yielded everything for the lairds. I cannot see why my supplier thinks it is reasonable that I should let him dictate what is drawn from my bank account - given the simplicity of receiving a bill, mentally checking it to be about right then doing a transfer online.
I only have DDs on services that make them obligatory and there is no alternative supplier. Those are the ones I spend most time dealing with!

I'm with prv on the insurance renewal. A couple of days before my recent house insurance renewal my only two close relatives were independently rushed to hospital in one day (with blues and twos) for different reasons to different hospitals. My day-to-day went severely off normal. 5 days after the renewal date I suddenly remembered it. I was so thankful I was on auto renewal.

But I do agree with ghostly - the "that's up to you" bit
Cheers
Bob

 

[ghostlymoron]

Glad we agree on something.?

-1 (If that is short hand for taking the totally opposite view)

It was in the Dark Ages that we peasants yielded everything for the lairds. I cannot see why my supplier thinks it is reasonable that I should let him dictate what is drawn from my bank account - given the simplicity of receiving a bill, mentally checking it to be about right then doing a transfer online.
I only have DDs on services that make them obligatory and there is no alternative supplier. Those are the ones I spend most time dealing with!

I'm with prv on the insurance renewal. A couple of days before my recent house insurance renewal my only two close relatives were independently rushed to hospital in one day (with blues and twos) for different reasons to different hospitals. My day-to-day went severely off normal. 5 days after the renewal date I suddenly remembered it. I was so thankful I was on auto renewal.

But I do agree with ghostly - the "that's up to you" bit
Cheers
Bob

 

[Seajet]

After many years as a member then Governor member, I resigned membership in December following the Jersey fiasco and was very sad to have to do this. But any charity that can pay its Directors a salary of 6 figures starting with a 2 or higher I figure likely does not need my contribution - as also Save the Children (after you have saved the CEO mega lifestyle) and Oxfam (can't think of anything to say that does not involve swear words for these people).

I advised the RNLI I would leave if they had not resolved the Jersey situate nay Christmas. I then advised the by email I was resigning. Having stopped the DD I got an email from the same email address asking why my payment had ceased.

At no time has any one taken time to consider my reasons for leaving or in any way tried to persuade me to stay, or I suspect even read the emails sent.

My contribution is now going to Hamble Lifeboat where there are to my knowledge no salaried staff, let alone anyone on £250,000 +.

I expect the entire Charity gravy train is just about now experiencing the long past due train crash into the buffers that will see these (not) so altruistic folk who are fleecing everyone's decency and goodwill get their comeuppance. In the case of the RNLI I hope the crews will come through it all OK. Once sensible governance returns so will my contributions.

I do think a minimum qualification for any RNLI Director is that they should spend a month on a full weather station, with at least one shout aboard in at least a force 7. Then and only then would they have an inkling of the experience required to sit in the ivory tower.

:encouragement: Top Post !