What is a direct debit?¶

A direct debit is a collection made by an organisation under a mandate linked to a bank account. The account holder does not freshly approve every collection.

Mandate and collection are separate records¶

The mandate authorises an originator to request fixed or variable payments. Records can include originator ID, mandate reference, setup and cancellation, notices, collection amounts, failures and returns. The collecting entity or statement descriptor may differ from the customer-facing brand.

Establish authority and underlying service¶

Obtain mandate information from the bank and customer, contract, order and communication records from the collector. A successful collection does not prove knowing agreement, while denial alone does not prove fraud.

Stopping the mandate prevents future requests but does not itself reverse earlier payments. Preserve cancellations, refunds and disputes as separate events and report collection under the recorded mandate unless evidence supports more.