Direct Debit

At least 30% of British Gas, Octopus Energy and Shell Energy customers who were in credit and on price-capped tariffs told the UK's biggest consumer website, MoneySavingExpert.com (MSE), that they've seen their direct debits double – even though the price cap rise is half that, at 54%. Across all firms, 25% of customers in this situation reported direct debits doubling or more.

Insurance firm Admiral has apologised after hundreds of its customers had their monthly direct debit payment doubled in February as the result of an IT error, MoneySavingExpert can reveal.

A pensioner has managed to reclaim a whopping £1,120 after doing an audit of her direct debits and realising she'd been paying for more than five years for broadband she didn't use.

A billing error which led to British Gas customers having their direct debit payments taken twice may have affected thousands of people, MoneySavingExpert.com has learned.

Some Nationwide customers have found that payments due to leave their accounts today don't appear to have done so – though Nationwide insists outgoing direct debits have reached their destinations and customers' balances are simply failing to update due to technical problems.

All Vodafone customers are urged to check their bills for errors after a MoneySavingExpert.com investigation uncovered huge numbers of problems with billing, incorrect tariffs, customer service and other issues – including some reporting that their credit score has been wrongly hit – following the mobile giant's move to a new billing platform last year.

Thousands of former BT broadband customers who have switched to a different internet service provider but pay to keep their BT email account will be hit with a steep price hike in May, with the monthly usage charge rising from £1.60/mth to £5/mth.

Households who've switched energy providers only to have their direct debits increased – particularly over the recent summer months when you typically use less – can challenge any unfair increases. Here's what you need to know.

Bank customers who replenish their accounts on the same day a direct debit or other payment is due should be spared some charges, after an agreement was reached between the regulator and major banks.

Traders may be misleading consumers by not making it clear they have signed up to regular card payments, or that these can be cancelled, the Office of Fair Trading says.