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Capital letters

I am a professional musician. I used to subscribe to The Strad, a magazine published by a firm called Orpheus. This cost £40.90 a year by direct debit.

Three years ago, I decided to cancel the subscription, while continuing with Opheus's Double Bassist.

I went to my local Nat West branch and watched the clerk expunge the direct debit from my record.

Since then, The Strad has stopped coming. But three direct debits were paid - one since refunded.

Finally, I went to the bank yet again to complain as I did not see why I should have laid out £40.90 on two occasions (£81.80) in this way. But all the bank could suggest was to contact trading standards.

Can you help?

PM

Hertfordshire

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When the magazine publisher became part of a larger group, it moved to a bank system known as AUDDIS (Automated Direct Debit Instruction Service).

This automates the setting up of direct debit between the originator (the publisher) and your bank with special transaction codes.

But you started your debit with an older system which had your details.

It appears something failed in the changeover from legacy system to AUDDIS.

This is all technical - and none of it should have concerned you as you should have been protected by the Direct Debit Guarantee.

This says: "If an error is made by the organisation or your bank or building society, you are guaranteed a full and immediate refund from your branch of the amount paid. You can cancel a Direct Debit at any time by writing to your bank or building society."

The guarantee should have been activated - if only be cause NatWest ought to have been alerted by the number of times you complained. Telling you to go to trading standards was plain stupid. There is no suggestion of fraud - just a computer mess. So, trading standards has no interest.

NatWest now accepts you should have been helped earlier and more effectively. It regrets the wrong advice given and will now refund your £81.80 and send you £100 as a goodwill gesture.

Advance fee basis of scam

My bank says my account would be safe even if I sent details to a fraudulent "Spanish" lottery which is trying to persuade me there is a $615,810 prize for me. Is that so?

DB

Hertfordshire

You, and many others, have received a letter from the "Euromillones loteria international", a totally phoney set-up, based at the end of a Spanish mobile phone. Yours is signed by "Luis Miguel - Vice President." Other letter writers, presumably also hanging on the end of their mobiles, include Jose Miugel (sic) Perez and Juan Gomez.

All suggest sending bank details to Santa Lucia Security Company SA which, for a non-existent company, has a surprising number of addresses in Madrid and Rome.

But this is not a bank account looting exercise. The details requested are no different from those on your cheque.