"talk to your bank and see if they can help you out."

There is no if about it. The DD Guarantee states:

"If the amounts to be paid by Direct Debit or the payment dates change, the organisation collecting the payment will notify you normally 10 working days in advance of your account being debited or as otherwise agreed.

If an error is made by the organisation or your bank or building society, you are guaranteed a full and immediate refund from your branch of the amount paid.

If any payment is made in error, you should contact your bank or building society who are responsible for giving you a full and immediate refund - even if the original error was made by the organisation collecting the payment."

http://www.bacs.co.uk/BPSL/directdebit/generalpublic/yourrights/


Everyone with DDs with Pipex need to be very wary. They ride roughshod over the DD rules. Even when customers cancel DDs to protect themselves, Pipex illegally create new ones pretending that they have the customer's authority for this.

Among the DD FAQs:

Q. Can money be collected from my/our account after I have cancelled a Direct Debit Instruction?

A. No. The organisation would have to get your authority to reinstate a cancelled instruction.