Direct Debits: How to See Them All and Change the Date

Every direct debit and standing order on your account is listed in your banking app or online banking. That list is the fastest way to see what leaves your account each month. If a date does not suit you, you usually change it with the company that collects the payment, and some let you do it in their own app.

This guide shows how to find every regular payment, how to move a direct debit to a better date, and what protection you have.

Direct debit, standing order or card payment?

Three kinds of regular payment can leave a UK bank account, and they work differently:

• Direct debit. A company sets it up using your sort code and account number, and it collects the money. The amount can change from month to month, which is why energy, council tax and phone bills often use it.
• Standing order. You tell your bank to send a regular payment. Only you can change the amount or date. Rent to a landlord is often paid this way.
• Recurring card payment. A company charges your debit or credit card on a schedule. Streaming services and app subscriptions usually work like this.

This matters because each one is changed and cancelled in a different place.

How to see all your direct debits

Open your banking app or log in to online banking and look for a section with a name like “regular payments”, “direct debits” or “standing orders and direct debits”.

At NatWest, for example:

• In the app: tap Payments at the bottom of the home screen, check the right account is selected, then open Regular payments and Direct debits.
• In online banking: go to Payments and transfers, open the Direct debits tab and choose Manage Direct Debits.

Two things to know:

• A newly set up direct debit only shows once its first payment has been taken.
• Recurring card payments do not appear in the direct debits list. Look for them in your card transactions instead.

Write each one down with its amount and the date it leaves. That list is the start of a simple bill system.

How to change the date a direct debit comes out

Your bank collects nothing on its own. The company that set up the direct debit decides when it collects, so the date is changed with them.

Some companies let you change it yourself. In the EE app, for a mobile account, you:

1. Select Billing, then the mobile account.
2. Scroll down to Change your Direct Debit date.
3. Choose a new date from the dropdown list.
4. Select Change payment date.

EE’s broadband accounts and its website have similar steps. Changing the date also changes the date your bill is produced, and EE adjusts the next bill with a credit or a charge for the days in between.

For other companies, look in their app or account settings for “payment date” or “direct debit”, or contact them. Councils work the same way: if council tax is hard to pay, GOV.UK says the council can help, for example by spreading your payments over 12 months instead of 10.

Where to change the date at common providers

Provider	Where to change the date	What to know
Your council (council tax)	Contact your council	GOV.UK says council tax is usually split into 10 monthly payments; councils can help, for example by spreading payments over 12 months
EE	EE app: Manage, Billing, then “Change your Direct Debit date” (mobile); “Change how you pay” (broadband)	You choose from the dates offered; the next bill is adjusted for the days in between
Vodafone	Contact Vodafone, for example by online chat	Vodafone says a change asked for before the payment is due takes effect the following month; on or after the due date, the month after next
OVO Energy	OVO app: Bills, Manage Direct Debit, then Change next to Payment date	OVO says changes made in the 5 working days before a payment take effect the following month

Each provider’s own help page is linked in the sources below. Steps change from time to time, so check the page if the app looks different.

Which date to ask for

Pick a date a day or two after your payday. Bills that come out just after payday are covered by money you already have, so nothing lands in the gap before pay arrives. Our guide to bills before payday walks through this step by step.

How to change or cancel a standing order

A standing order is yours to manage. You can edit or cancel it whenever you like in your banking app. Which? advises giving your bank at least three working days’ notice before the payment is due.

Find the card subscriptions you forgot

Subscriptions charged to a card do not appear in your direct debits list, so they are the easiest bills to lose track of. To find them:

1. Open your card transactions for the last two or three months.
2. Look for the same company name charging on roughly the same date each month, or once a year.
3. Add each one to your bill list, with its amount and date.

Which? explains how these recurring card payments, also called continuous payment authorities, are cancelled. Contact the company first. If that does not work, your card provider must cancel the payments if you ask them to. You may still owe the company money under your contract, so check before you stop paying.

What the Direct Debit Guarantee covers

Direct debits come with the Direct Debit Guarantee. Under it:

• Notice of changes. If the amount, date or frequency changes, the company should tell you in advance, normally 10 working days before your account is debited.
• Refunds for mistakes. If a payment is taken in error by the company, your bank or your building society, you are entitled to a full and immediate refund from your bank or building society.
• Cancelling. You can cancel a direct debit at any time by contacting your bank or building society. Your bank may ask for written confirmation, and you should tell the company as well.

Cancelling a direct debit does not cancel what you owe. If you stop paying a bill, talk to the company first.

Keep your list up to date

When a company writes to say an amount or date is changing, update your bill list the same day. A bill tracker such as Billo keeps each bill’s amount and date in one place and reminds you 3 days before it is due, so a moved date does not catch you out.