[jo5hm4n]

Just a quickie tip to share if people aren't already doing this.  Whilst i have yet to send out my mass letter offering GoCardless to customers both new and old, i've started telling customers we can setup the direct debit for them over the phone.

I find doing this i don't have to wait for the customer to do it or forget for weeks on end.  I can simply call them up, and then setup the direct debit in about 2 mins on the phone, and also explain the benefits and how it works to them.

Signed up 4 so far since yesterday all on phone, so i will see how it goes.

Just thought i'd put this out there as another method to get customers onto GoCardless.

I'll be doing a big push before end of the year so will see how that goes!!!

[p1w1]

if your filling out their details for them on your website etc your breaking the terms and conditions of gocardless and they will close your account if they find out, I was told this by gocardless themselves.

[jo5hm4n]

if your filling out their details for them on your website etc your breaking the terms and conditions of gocardless and they will close your account if they find out, I was told this by gocardless themselves.

Ahhh, see i wondered about this!  I know you can setup Direct Debits over the phone and was hoping doing this with GoCardless would not be a problem!

Damn.....

[p1w1]

if your filling out their details for them on your website etc your breaking the terms and conditions of gocardless and they will close your account if they find out, I was told this by gocardless themselves.

Ahhh, see i wondered about this!  I know you can setup Direct Debits over the phone and was hoping doing this with GoCardless would not be a problem!

Damn.....

I believe if they see lots of set ups from the same ip address it flags up on their system it's something to do with helping protect from fraud etc especially if your customer is providing you with a password. May be worth a phone call to them to confirm exactly what you can and cannot do.

[The Jester of Wibbly]

Also be careful as this is sharing customers details to a third party without their permission.

Just take the sign up link and mail it over to your customers so they can sign up themselves.   This will give them more confidence in the product and gives you a chance to explain how it works in your email.

[johnwillan]

As mentioned you are not allowed to complete the mandate on clients behalf, however they offer a "Pro" version where you can sign up online, over the phone and via a paper mandate but it's not cheap at £200 per month and 2% per transaction

[jo5hm4n]

Spoke to GoCardless.  They said aslong as the email address of the customer is on the signup form then it does not matter as much if it is registered from the same ip address.  I asked if let's say a customer came to my office and used my computer to fill in the form, or used my smartphone to fill in the form is that allowed.  They said this is allowed, and it's even allowed if your present with customer and you fill it in for them on your own device aslong as the customer has their email address to receive confirmation of direct debit setup and payments.

So it kind of seems like a grey area.  Techincally they would not know the difference between you signing up customers over the phone which is not accepted, or being with them in person and signing up using your tablet/phone or desktop in office.  It's not worth risking though but i wanted clarity.

Some of my customers are too old or not technically up to date enough to setup themselves.  In these instances looks like i will have to find a way to setup for them.

Without paying £200 a month for "Pro" which seems a bit overkill.  If i'm running my business with 10 vans then it wouldn't be as much of a big deal.

[p1w1]

So it seems that it's technically not illegal to do,  but gocardless dont allow it through them unless you pay them an extra £200 a month for the privilege.