Revoking a standing order or direct debit (Greece)

Published byDocMuse

The letter by which an account holder in Greece stops a standing order or a direct debit: the account, the payee, the mandate reference and the date the revocation takes effect. Under Law 4537/2018 a payment made after consent is withdrawn is unauthorised, and the bank refunds it. The letter works even if it arrives too late for the next debit: it then counts for all later ones. The contract with the supplier is not ended by it.

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Common questions

Until when can a direct debit be revoked in Greece?

Under the EU Payment Services Directive, transposed by Law 4537/2018, the revocation must reach the bank by the end of the business day before the agreed debit day at the latest. So send it a few business days earlier. If it arrives later, the coming debit may still go through, and the letter says the revocation then applies to all the following ones.

Does revoking a Greek direct debit at the bank also end the supplier contract?

No. Revoking stops only the payment from the account; the contract with the supplier — electricity, phone, insurance, a subscription — stays in force and its bills are still owed. To end it, send the supplier a separate notice, and tell them how you will pay from now on so you are not charged for paying late.

Can money already taken by direct debit in Greece be refunded?

For an authorised SEPA direct debit you can ask the bank for a refund within 8 weeks of the debit (Law 4537/2018, arts. 76 and 77). If the debit was taken without a mandate or after revocation, it is an unauthorised payment: tell the bank without delay and within 13 months at the latest, and the bank must refund it (arts. 71 and 73). A refund does not, however, cancel any debt still owed to the supplier.