Account closed with a balance at GoCardless

What is happening

GoCardless closed your merchant account, and Direct Debit payments it collected from your customers were never paid out to you.

Its current self-serve General Terms (UK & rest of world, and Europe) say that when the agreement ends, "you will not be automatically entitled to be paid those funds". GoCardless "will only be required to pay all sums to you once it is satisfied" that what you owe it has been paid. The terms set no fixed period for holding the funds.

Its Bank Debit Terms say that when the agreement ends, if GoCardless is unable or unwilling to pay you because of concerns about fraud, insolvency, anti-money laundering or other legal or regulatory requirements, it may reverse or cancel transactions, or advise your customers to do so. It may also suspend payouts. So some money may have gone back to your customers. Check your closure notice for what it says.

The terms also say you lose access to the dashboard.

Common triggers

The Bank Debit Terms give these examples of reasons to suspend payouts:

• Excessive Chargebacks or Refunds, or the expectation of them.
• Pending disputes.
• A deterioration of your financial situation or credit standing.
• Suspected fraudulent or suspicious activity.

For withholding payment when the agreement ends, they name concerns about fraud, insolvency, anti-money laundering and other legal or regulatory requirements.

What to do in the next 72 hours

1. Find the closure email. Search every mailbox, including spam, for "gocardless". Note its date and what it says about payouts or refunds to customers.
2. If you can still log in, open the Payouts section. Click each payout, then payout breakdown and export. "Bounced" means a payout was sent back to GoCardless.
3. List the payments collected but not paid out: date, customer, amount, GoCardless reference.
4. Send the letter below through the complaint form and keep the ticket number. Copy it by email to [email protected], the address the terms give for notices.
5. GoCardless says a first reply comes within 1 working day. Its terms say it will try to reply within 15 Business Days, with a full response no later than 35 Business Days.
6. Write now. The current terms say a claim for Losses not notified within one year of the Loss arising is waived. Which version applied to you, and how, is for you or a lawyer to check. Older versions: gocardless.com/legal/old-terms.
7. Ask a few customers whether their bank shows a refund of their payment. Note each answer.

If you are not satisfied with the final response

GoCardless's escalation page says, for eligible organisations:

• United Kingdom, United States, Canada: the UK Financial Ombudsman Service, within six months of GoCardless's final response.
• Australia: AFCA, generally within two years. Complaints about the bank debit service go to the UK Financial Ombudsman Service.
• New Zealand: FSCL, generally within two years. Direct Debit complaints go to the UK Financial Ombudsman Service, within six months.
• Europe: Avenir Conso, which GoCardless says handles individual consumers only, not business issues.

Documents to gather

• The closure email, with its date.
• Every message and ticket number exchanged with GoCardless.
• Payout exports and your list of unpaid payments.
• The invoices you issued for those payments.
• Customers' written confirmations that they were not refunded.

Letter template (editable)

Copy it, replace the parts in braces, and send it yourself through the official channel. The free plan fills in your own facts.

Subject: Complaint - funds collected for {business_name} and not paid out

Hello {platform} team,

I am writing about the merchant account of {business_name}, registered under {account_email}.

Since {started_on}, payments you collected from our customers, about {amount}, have not been paid out to us.
The reason given for the closure, if any: {reason_given}.
The payout date we were given, if any: {announced_release_on}.

Please tell me:
1. The reason for withholding these funds, if you are allowed to share it.
2. The exact amount you hold for our account, payment by payment.
3. The date you expect to pay it to us.
4. Which documents I can send so that you can review this.
5. How the balance will be returned to us, and whether any payment
   was reversed or refunded to a customer (date, amount, reference).

Please treat this message as a formal complaint.

{your_name}
{business_name}

Keep selling while you wait

• Move to another payment provider that accepts your real business profile.
• The Bank Debit Terms say GoCardless will use commercially reasonable endeavours to help you move to another bank debit supplier. You can ask.
• After closure, the terms say you cannot start new transactions. Tell customers in writing how to pay you now.