Overview
- Speaking on his BBC podcast, Lewis advised setting up regular bills as direct debits rather than recurring card payments.
- Providing card details creates a recurring card payment where each charge is treated separately and carries fewer consumer rights.
- Under the Direct Debit Guarantee, banks must stop future payments on request and issue an immediate refund for errors or unauthorised withdrawals.
- When switching banks via the Current Account Switch Service, direct debits move automatically, whereas recurring card payments must be updated manually.
- Lewis reported frequent consumer complaints that card-payment disputes can be slower, depend on card-scheme rules, and may require contacting the merchant.