How do I change the date to the correct one?

Can i get my bank to change all my bills/direct debits/standing orders to one date?

• Hi. My current bank is Lloyds TSB where i am a silver account holder. Like most people i have bills/direct debits/standing orders that come out on different dates all over the month. I get paid weekly, so it doesnt really bother me, however i am wondering if it is possilbe to talk to my bank and see if i can get them to change the dates all the expenses come out to one day i.e everything comes out on the 1st of the month rather that 7-8 different dates scattered across the month. Also if anyone does this, can you tell me if this is beneficial or not. Thanks, James

• Answer:

  You can change the dates of standing orders - that is an instruction from you to pay a certain amount on a certain date, and entirely up to you. You can't change the direct debit dates without the agreement of the recipient - those are your authorisation to a supplier to take a payment, and although they may have offered a choice of dates their systems will be set up to collect on certain fixed dates, in line with their accounting practices. The only think you can do with a direct debit is cancel it - though you can always ask your suppliers. I don't think it is going to make any difference at all to your finances - in fact, if everything comes out at the same time there is a risk that you forget to keep enough in the account, and end up overdrawn. That's less likely if they are spread out, especially if you are paid weekly.