Maintaining payment records

Service user’s role in maintaining accurate payment records

As a service user it's your role to ensure your payment records are kept accurate and up to date.

There are a number of reasons your payment records might need to be updated. For example:

• If one of your customers uses the Current Account Switch Service to move their current account from one payment service provider (PSP) to another they do not need to inform you of the change and you may therefore be paying into their old account
• If a PSP moves customers' accounts then the customer may be issued with a new sort code and account number
• If there was a typo in the payment details but the correct account could be identified.

When a payment is made to, or collected from, an old account, an Automated Direct Debit Amendment and Cancellation Service (ADDACS) message or an Advice of Wrong Account Credits Service (AWACS) is generated.

The Service User's Guide and Rules to both the Direct Debit Scheme and the Bacs Direct Credit Scheme require you to collect and action advices within three working days of them being available to you.

If you fail to action advices within the given timescales, not only are you breaking the scheme rules, but you risk the payments you process being unsuccessful.

How to collect reports

We have prepared a number of helpful tools demonstrating the step-by-step process to collect messaging reports. If you are using a bureau you should speak to them to confirm whose responsibility it is to access and action reports.