A frugal life is an easy life!

Bank's love to charge for each unpaid direct debit (and knock on overdraft charges, etc), it makes huge profits from them, it knows this, their customers know this, the powers that be know it.

So avoiding running up unpaid direct debit charges (and knock on overdraft charges, etc) is fair game as far as I'm concerned.
Not only is this tip fair game, but it's also a frugal way of saving YOU some of your hard earned cash!

Banks charge you for:

• Standing order non payment - even though it's automated and doesn't pay anything out at all and have to claim it back because funds are unavailable
• Insufficient funds to cover a card payment - even though the card transaction has been authorised at the time you made the purchase and the bank have reused the money taken off your available balance (without your permission) and used it for a direct debit/standing order, leaving you with not enough money to cover your card payment, that the bank themselves have authorised!
• Unauthorised overdraft fees - I have known banks issue a £25 charge for a person going over their limit for just one day to the amount of £3
• Often a combination of some or all of the above!

The tip is simple - if you have a direct debit coming out of your account and for whatever reason, you won't or don't have the funds to cover it, then contact your bank, by telephone banking and tell them you are in dispute with the company that has the direct debit set up and to cancel it.

Then make sure that the banking advisor puts a note on the account that the direct debit is NOT to be paid.

Should they pay it and you incur a charge, most calls are recorded so they can listen in, and have it confirmed by the advisor at the bank that you spoke to - hence the charge is removed.
This will also prevent any knock on charges like an unauthorised overdraft fee.

This process will give you a few days to arrange funds to be in your account to pay the direct debit. When the company notify you that the direct debit has been cancelled, simply fob them off by saying that you've been having problems with your account and your direct debits keep being cancelled.

Courts should be returning all bank charges (of any kind) to customers - if their charges reflect "actual loss" as the law states they should, then all the court needs to ask is for proof that each bank charge is the bank's actual loss - if the bank cannot give evidence that the charges are for actual loss, then I don't see how the court can fail to find in favour of the customer.
Any charge/fee that makes profit for the company/person that applies it, (ie, it is not a charge to recover an "actual loss") is classed as a "penalty charge" - penalty charges are unenforceable in England and Wales under common law.

Play one off against another, this is what they would do to you should a bank charge be issued on your account for a mistake by the bank or a company claiming a payment from your account!

*IMPORTANT:
Common sense should be used as regards this post.
OBVIOUSLY, do not cancel a direct debit that pays your mortgage or a loan, as the company will charge you for it!

This post refers to companies that DO NOT issue their own charges for non payment of a direct debit, like mobile phone companies, gym memberships, etc. Companies that you pay a monthly amount for a service usually.
If in doubt, read your terms and conditions or don't do it!