Why has a customer's Direct Debit payment been refunded?

If a Direct Debit transaction shows as "Refunded" on the Payments page, it is likely that the customer has submitted a Direct Debit Guarantee claim. The Guarantee protects customers from payments taken in error and allows them to request a full refund.

What happens next?

The customer's bank will refund the customer and debit the same amount from your account. You'll also be charged a £5 fee from our payment processor.

If you believe the refund is an error, the customer's bank may have raised an indemnity claim in which case we can assist you in disputing the refund.

However, if the bank finds the claim is legitimate, the refund is final and cannot be reversed. This is beyond our control and is an accepted risk amongst businesses that choose to accept payment by Direct Debit, in exchange for the convenience of automatically taking payments from the customer's account. To learn more about the Direct Debit Guarantee, see this article from our payment processor.