Direct debit terms

Direct Debit Agreement 

This Agreement, together with the Direct Debit Request, sets out the terms of the direct debit arrangement between South East Water Corporation, ABN 89 066 902 547 (we / us / our) and you, as our customer, (you / your).

1.      Capitalised Terms

1.1.            In this Agreement, words in the Dictionary will start with a capital letter. For example, in the statement, “We will process the Debit Payment” the term “Debit Payment” is capitalised to indicate that it is defined in the Dictionary.  You can find the Dictionary at the bottom of this Agreement.

2.      Debiting Your Account

2.1            By submitting a Direct Debit Request, you have authorised us to arrange for funds to be debited from your Account to pay your South East Water bill.  The Direct Debit Request and this Agreement set out the terms of the direct debit arrangement between us and you.

2.2.            We will still send a quarterly bill for your reference.

2.3.            We will only arrange for funds to be debited from your Account as authorised in the Direct Debit Request.

2.4            The Debit Payment will be processed on the relevant Debit Day. We will not alter the frequency of debit payments without first consulting you and seeking prior approval.

2.5            In the event that a Debit Payment is due on a day which is not a Banking Day, we will process the Debit Payment on the next Banking Day.

3.      Amendments and changes by Us

3.1            We may amend or update this Agreement from time to time by giving you at least 30 days’ notice to the preferred email or postal address you have given us in the Direct Debit Request. You may cancel your Direct Debit Request if you do not agree to the amendments or updates we may make from time to time (see below for information about how to cancel your Direct Debit Request).

3.2            We reserve the right to cease offering direct debit payments at any time by giving you at least 30 days’ prior notice to the preferred email or postal address you have given us in the Direct Debit Request. 

3.3            In the event we cease to trade, all payment plans will be cancelled immediately and both you and your financial institution will be notified.

4.       How to cancel or change Your Direct Debit Request

4.1            You can:

a)    cancel or suspend the Direct Debit Request; or

b)    change, stop, or defer an individual Direct Debit Payment,

at any time by giving us at least 7 days’ notice.  To do so, you can telephone us on 131 851 or log in to my.SouthEastWater.com.au

4.2            You may also contact your own financial institution which must act promptly on your instructions to change or cancel this direct debit arrangement.

4.3            If you want to cancel or defer a payment, we request that you contact us, as the first point of contact, prior to notifying your financial institution.

5.      Your obligations

5.1            It is your obligation to provide us with accurate Account details.  You should:

a)    check that the Account details that you have provided to us are correct by checking them against a recent Account statement issued by your Financial Institution;

b)    check with your Financial Institution if you have any questions about how to complete the Direct Debit Request.

5.2             Additionally, where the Account you want us to take the Debit Payments from is a Bank Account, you should check with your Financial Institution:

a)    that direct debits are available from the Bank Account you wish to use for the Debit Payments (as direct debits are not available on all bank accounts);

b)    if you are unsure about your Bank Account type or other information, such as account number or what a ‘BSB’ number is.

5.3            You must advise us if the nominated Account is transferred or closed or if your details have changed.  You can do this by following the steps above (see clause 4 above).

5.4            It is your responsibility to ensure that:

a)    sufficient clear funds are available in your Bank Account to allow a Debit Payment to me made in accordance with the Direct Debit Request; or

b)    there is sufficient credit available on your Credit Card to allow a Debit Payment to me made in accordance with the Direct Debit Request.

5.6            If there are insufficient clear funds / insufficient available credit in your Account to meet a Debit Payment:

a)    You may be charged a fee and/or interest by Your Financial Institution;

b)    We may charge you reasonable costs incurred by us as a result of there being insufficient funds; and

c)    You must arrange for the Debit Payment to be made by another method or arrange for sufficient clear funds / sufficient available credit to be in your Account by an agreed time so that we can process the Debit Payment.

5.7            We reserve the right to cancel any direct debit request in the event of two or more consecutive Debit Payments failing because of a lack of insufficient clear funds.

5.8            You should check your Account statement to verify that the amounts debited from your Account are correct.

5.9            If the amount remains unpaid, we may list the debt with a credit reporting agency, which could affect your credit rating.

6.      Disputes

6.1            If you believe that there has been an error in debiting or charging your Account, you should notify us directly by telephoning us on 131 851. Alternatively, you can contact your Financial Institution. However, we request that you contact us, as the first point of contact, prior to contacting your financial institution.

6.2            We will investigate your claim that your Account has been incorrectly debited or charged and, in the event that an error has been made by us, we will issue a refund equal to the disputed amount.  This refund will be paid in directly to your Account.  Where relevant, we will credit your next bill with an amount equal to any interest and charges incurred by you as a result of our error.

6.3            If, as a result of our investigation, we conclude that your Account has not been incorrectly debited or charged, we will respond to your query, in writing, and provide you with Our reasons and any evidence for this finding.

6.4            We will, on request from your financial institution, provide information in connection with a claim made on it relating to an alleged incorrect or wrongful debit.

7.      Confidentiality

7.1            We will keep your personal details confidential.  We will make reasonable efforts to keep any such information that we have about you secure and to ensure that it is used only by our direct debit officers for your Debit Payments, or in accordance with this Agreement, or as required by law.

7.2            We will handle all personal information we receive from you in accordance with our privacy charter.  Visit southeastwater.com.au/privacy

7.3            The terms of the customer charter, or any other express agreement between you and us, apply to the services we provide to you, except to the extent that those terms are inconsistent with this Agreement

8.      Contacting each other

8.1            If you wish to notify us in writing about anything relating to this Agreement, you should write to us at support@sew.com.au or by post PO Box 2268., Seaford, Victoria, 3198, and mark your correspondence to the attention of the Direct Debit Team.

8.2            We will notify you by sending a notice to the preferred address or email you have given us in the Direct Debit Request.

8.3            Any notice will be deemed to have been received on the third Banking Day after sending.

9.      Dictionary

In this Agreement: