When a Direct Debit counts as paid

If you pay by Direct Debit, your invoice doesn't turn to Paid the moment we ask your bank for the money. This article explains what it says in the meantime and exactly when it changes.

The short version

A Direct Debit counts as paid once the money has actually left your account and our payment provider has confirmed it. That is normally the working day after the collection date on your advance notice. Until then your invoice says Collecting.

Step by step

1. Advance notice. At least three working days before every collection we email you the amount and the date. Advance notice is part of how Direct Debit works, and it's there to protect you.
2. Collection date. On that date your bank takes the money from your account. If the date would fall on a weekend or a bank holiday, your notice and your invoice name the next working day instead, because that's the day your bank takes it.
3. Confirmation. Our payment provider confirms the money has been collected, normally the next working day and occasionally a little longer. At that point your invoice is marked Paid (for example "Paid 7 Jul 2026 by Direct Debit", the day your bank took the money) and your receipt follows by email, unless your operator has switched receipts off. If your access was held back for that balance, your operator is told to restore it; see How overlock works.
4. Payout. A few days later the provider pays the money out to your storage operator. That happens between them and changes nothing on your invoice.

Why we don't say "Paid" at the start

Direct Debit is a request, not an instant transfer. When we have asked your bank, the money hasn't moved yet, and a small number of collections don't go through: not enough in the account, a cancelled Direct Debit instruction, or a bank query. We'd rather tell you exactly what's true right now than something we might have to correct later, so your invoice says Collecting until the bank has actually taken the money, and Paid only after that.

If it doesn't go through

• A failed collection is usually reported within a few working days of the collection date. The invoice stays outstanding, and your portal always shows where it stands. If we try again automatically you'll get fresh advance notice first.
• A collection returned after your invoice already says Paid is rare. The invoice reopens and the balance is due again; see What a late Direct Debit reversal means.

For the full first-collection walkthrough, including worked dates, see Understanding your first Direct Debit collection.

Who to contact

If your invoice still says Collecting a week after the collection date on your advance notice, contact your operator with your invoice reference and ask them to check where the payment stands. Their phone number and email address are on Help & contact in your portal, where they've added them.