**Tony Hetherington: Fighting for Your Financial Rights**
Tony Hetherington is the Financial Mail on Sunday’s ace investigator, dedicated to championing readers’ causes, uncovering the truth behind closed doors, and securing victories for those left out-of-pocket. Find out how to contact him at the end of this article.
—
### Missing Money from Your Halifax Account?
**F. P. writes:**
I printed out a mini-statement of my Halifax account, now operated by Lloyds Bank, and to my horror, it showed that on September 10, Philips Domestic took £4,399. I have had no dealings with any company of this name. Can you help me, please?
**Tony Hetherington replies:**
I’ve been doing this job for a long time, but even I was shocked by this case.
You are an 85-year-old pensioner, living alone, and the missing money was about half the total amount in your Halifax account. You were upset, worried, and scared that whoever took your cash might come back for more. You even began to blame yourself, thinking you must have given your card details to a scammer.
With your permission, I contacted the Lloyds Bank debit card fraud line. I was told this was not a one-off debit card transaction. The £4,399 had been taken from your account under a direct debit, implying it was a regular bill payment—and that Philips Domestic would likely be back for more.
Lloyds said it was up to us to contact Philips Domestic. Yet, according to Companies House, no such British company exists.
You might wonder how your bank could allow any payment when you never signed a direct debit authorising it. Well, under a scheme called the Automated Direct Debit Instruction Service (AUDDIS), companies simply inform your bank that they have your approval, and the bank hands over your cash. What could possibly go wrong?
I asked Lloyds to disclose exactly where your money had gone, but it said: “We wouldn’t be able to share that information.” However, to give Lloyds its due, it refunded your £4,399 within a day or so — so well done to them for that.
The Philips electrical giant is based in the Netherlands. When I contacted it, I was told it had licensed a company called Versuni to use its name—so this was my next stop, again in the Netherlands.
And this is where your bad dream has turned into what could be a nightmare for many more people.
Worryingly, Versuni told me someone ordered high-end products and provided your bank details for payment, but with a delivery address that was not your home.
The company explained:
“We are aware of recent third-party fraud associated with some direct debits and have launched an investigation.”
You are not the only victim, and Versuni has notified the police.
But should it be this easy to fool AUDDIS into dipping into anyone’s bank account, no questions asked?
Pay UK, the banking body which oversees AUDDIS, commented:
“If there is an error in the setup or collection of a direct debit, customers are fully protected by the Direct Debit Guarantee.”
Fine words, now that we know how AUDDIS can be used fraudulently.
On the other hand, just how reliable is AUDDIS when something simply goes wrong without any fraud? And how easy is it for the ordinary customer to stand up against big banks and businesses?
I’ll give you the answers next week—and, again, they will not make for easy reading.
—
### Months Without a Pension Thanks to an IT ‘Update’
**S. L. writes:**
I was resources director at a housing association, and last year the chairman gave me notice on the grounds that my age, 67, did not fit with his succession plan. I left in January and have been trying to access my pension.
The scheme is run by TPT Retirement Solutions, and it closed access to the fund for four months on ‘administrative grounds’. I tried again in June but still find it difficult to get any information.
You worked for the Cottsway Housing Association, which told me:
“TPT have been carrying out work on a new online portal since December 2024. They contacted our staff in advance with information about the changes, including steps to take and deadlines to meet if they wanted to access their pension fund before the work was due to complete in May.”
Cottsway washed its hands of any responsibility to you.
TPT confirmed it warned it would not process any new pensions before the end of April. It added:
“Unfortunately, it seems that Mr L was made redundant in January during this transition period.”
And then, of course, the work overran.
Even after you resubmitted your application, TPT delayed paying you. It told me this was “because of a reconciliation of post transitional annual management charges that needed to be undertaken.”
I’m sure you were not impressed with this gobbledegook as a reason for living without your pension for months!
But miraculously, two days after I contacted TPT, it sent you all of your outstanding pension.
—
If you believe you are the victim of financial wrongdoing, write to Tony Hetherington at Financial Mail, 9 Derry Street, London W8 5HY or email [email protected].
*Because of the high volume of enquiries, personal replies cannot be given. Please send only copies of original documents, which we regret cannot be returned.*
https://www.thisismoney.co.uk/money/experts/article-15139487/TONY-HETHERINGTON-4-399-direct-debit-set-without-signature.html?ns_mchannel=rss&ns_campaign=1490&ito=1490