Direct Debits

[HelpingMeMam]

Hello - I am trying to help my Mum with a bank query, it seems she has a direct debit setup which is (probably) fraudulent, but conceivably could be a company she does deal with.

She is 80, and doesn't bank online, and was looking through her paper statements when she saw an initial payment leave her account for £299 as a direct debit.

The company name is DOM R&G and we have been given a London contact number (which just rings out) and an address on Eastcheap by the bank.

I just wondered if there was anyone who could track down the company or even recognised them as a web search just seems to bring up irrelevant information for me.

I have asked for a refund of the money under the direct debit guarantee scheme but just wanted to understand what might have happened.... and try prevent it happening again if it is a fraud.

I assume if fradulent her details will be circulating in those circles :-(

Welcome any advice or sleuthing!

Hi from a quick Google it seems to be Domestic and General and related to applicance insurance

It's domestic and general, probably for some insurance she has long since forgotten about for an applicable.

I googled that reference and it came up with this

www.domesticandgeneral.com/direct-debit-guarantee

I suggest you/your mother speak to them

I think it’s domestic and general. But the bank should be able to give you all the info. And stop the direct debit.

The direct debit scheme guarantees that basically it can't be used fraudulently, but if a company used misleading tactics
to get her to sign an agreement to pay for something then it's less clear cut e.g. gyms often use smallprint in their Ts&Cs that mean that people can't cancel their Direct Debits and have to keep paying for things they never wanted. It will come down to whether she signed up for something and she may not be aware if she did. She can get the bank to cancel easily enough but if she agreed to something then that could trigger punitive extra charges.

Is it just one payment? Has she recently bought a new appliance? Has she had any letters from domestic and general?

£299 sounds like an awful lot of money. You could nearly buy a whole new appliance for that, if whatever she's unintentionally insured breaks.

Thanks for all the pointers, not made any sense of it yet but will spend some time looking through paperwork to make sure in the next few days.

I agree the amount seems high for appliance cover, it was marked as initial payment and doesn't tie up with a recent purchase.

If it's genuine, I would expect the company to contact my mother and ask if she still needs the cover/service provided.

Thanks again everyone.