[Mad Mick]

Sorry but you're misinformed. I work for a security consultancy and risk and fraud prevention is a major part of the day job.
If money is taken from your account with the appropriate security the burdon of proof of a fraudulent transaction lies with you. You will need full police backing - crime number etc before the bank will even think about giving you your money back. Then you have to have your card cancelled, new card, new pin, etc. Bin there - got the tee-shirt!

As for knowing what is coming out on a dd - it's a variable amount chosen by the third party and doesn't have to tie back to any previous correspondence. So you THINK you know whats coming out.

C'est la vie - You seem happy with dd's and they work for you, so good on ya. I'm just pointing out the risks that customers are rarely made aware of.

I wouldn't give a third party access via dd any more than I'd give you my debit card and pin number.

I think the discussion point here is whether it's reasonable to be charged for not paying by dd. There was no charge to pay your bills before dd's were invented so why have other methods (including electronic bill payment that I use) suddenly started costing money?

As I said - I don't pay non-dd charges because I choose not to use companies that charge.