THOUSANDS of households have been charged double for this month’s rent, after a major glitch saw payments taken twice.
The error affected customers of Clarion Housing Association, who claimed they’d been left “overdrawn” and out of pocket, as they were overcharged yesterday.
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Most renters pay their bills on the first of the month, but the bank holiday this weekend will have interrupted direct debit payments.
It means many payments will have come out on May 3 instead – two days later than usual.
But thousands of Clarion residents were in for more confusion when their bills were taken twice.
The housing association manages around 125,000 properties across the country, and said around 6,250 households were caught up in the payment blunder.
On Twitter, customers shared their frustrations as they woke up to check their bank accounts and find the balance lower than expected.
One user addressed the housing association as they asked: “Can you explain why you’ve charged me rent twice this month, Clarion?”
“They’ve taken over £1000 out of my account today,” another said.
Another renter said: “The same has happened to me and it’s left me overdrawn.”
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In a statement the housing association said: “We know that on Tuesday 3rd of May, an error in our system meant that some Clarion residents were overcharged for their rent.
“We apologise unconditionally for this mistake, but can assure anyone who has been affected that they will have their money returned to them.”
The company is investigating why the problem occurred in the first place, and is looking to fix it so it won’t happen again, next time payments are due.
But you can get your money back in the meantime, if you were affected. Here’s how.
How to get your money back
The good news for Clarion customers is that they are protected by a direct debit guarantee.
It means you will get a full refund for the extra money that was taken out in error.
But to get it promptly you have to take action yourself, and get in contact with your bank.
It won’t be done automatically, so you’ll need to ring them up and claim back the error payment.
Martyn James, consumer champion at Resolver said: “If you’ve been overcharged on rent – or anything else – by direct debit, contact your bank asap and ask them to ‘charge back’ the difference.
“Under the direct debit guarantee, it says you must get a ‘full and immediate’ refund.”
The housing association itself urged consumers to call their bank “at the earliest opportunity” to get the refund too.
Otherwise if you have been left overdrawn from the mishap, you could end up paying MORE in interest for the time you’re left with no money in the bank.
Or you could run into problems with other payments due to go out around the same time if you now don’t have enough in the bank to cover them.
Martyn said: “If payments have bounced as a result of Clarion’s overpayment, then let the other businesses know what’s gone on.
“Clarion can issue a letter confirming their error so you should not be penalised by the other businesses or charged.
“But you may be able to seek compensation from Clarion if late payment fees have been applied as a result of their error.”
And if you are struggling to afford your next rent payment you should talk to your landlord and let them know as soon as possible.
Typically you can find their contact details on your tenancy agreement or any letters you’ve had from them.
You can get in touch with Clarion Housing Association on 0300 500 8000.
You’ll be able to ask if they can give you any extra time to get help paying your rent or any other assisatnce.
You can also get help with cash from your local council.
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To help hard-up families, the government announced £65million of extra funding for those in arrears last year.
And there’s also help from the £500million funded Household Support Fund, distributed by local councils too.
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