First of all, thanks for your swift reply - and apologies for the numerous typos in my original post. I was so flabbergasted and at the same time almost relieved to find that some other poor person has been in the same position - I just typed at full speed ahead and neglected to read / see my typos!
I can answer your questions, and also now have an update since I have since gone back to the bank, and had another email from worldpay....
We use a terminal to take payments/ give refunds, and the monies for the rental of this should be paid direct to Worldpay on the same DD instruction as any monies that we might owe them (due to us refunding security deposits our customers ).
With regard to streamline having bought out worldpay, or vice versa, I cannot argue that it used to work and now doesnt, since I left streamline and went to barclaycard as a service provider in the meantime, before coming to worldpay (at the time, Barclaycard was offering a better deal, and subsequently worldpay trumped them both, so we switched to them when our previous contract expired)
After another hour long conversation with Barclays bank after I wrote my first message above, they have yet again confirmed that the DD is set up, but is indeed "bouncing" the refunds back to our account, since Worldpay are submitting each DD tot the bank with a different reference each time. The reference must be the same as the original mandate in order for Barclays to be able to authorise funds to leave our account. Our account is in credit, so the fact that we have not paid Worldpay is not because we didn't have the money to do so (at the time), it was because they were asking for it using the wrong reference (in fact the references they were using were completely different each time). Barclays confirm that the error is caused by Worldpay. Worldpay insist its Barclays fault The one persons whose fault is isn't, is yours truly. Whilst we don't contest that the money is owed, the situation we now find ourselves in is not of our making.
Just to complicate things further, the DD was working ok up until 19th May (for the hire of the machine only - no transaction charges since the first machine we had never worked - thats one of the reasons that I am so keen to leave Worldpay - as we are fighting with them over having to pay rental on a machine that we couldn't use - they have since swapped the machine for a working one, obviously).
Post May '15, apparently Worldpay had some kind of internal reorganisation, which coincided with us being supplied with a working terminal - and from that point onwards, they have not managed to take a single penny from us (for the hire of the machine, the % payable on each transaction or from the refunds which we make to our customers after they bring back the equipment they have hired.) The invoices say that they are taking the payments via DD and correctly list our bank details though.
When I questioned the unhelpful man at worldpay, asking him why no one had alerted us to what was happening and why hadn't they chased this debt before, he said that someone had phoned from worldpay in "April" in the morning (we don't open till 1pm, and all landline calls are diverted through to a mobile number for emergencies etc prior to that time) and was told that they would have to phone back later when we were open (that makes sense, since without any paperwork in my car . at the beach or wherever else I might have been when they called, I would hardly be in a position to discuss anything unless I was at my workplace). I then asked him if they called back after 1pm, and he said that no one from worldpay had called back from that day, till last week, some five months later.
Exasperated doesn't even cover it.
Since my contract ends next month and I don't want to carry on with World pay, they are saying I have to pay the whole £4k now. No can do. They are saying that the only way we can pay in instalments is if we stick with them for a further year and complete a financial assessment form, which when I asked to see in advance, I was told that wasn't possible. At that point I said that we have recorded the conversation with Worldpay and I would be seeking advice. On hearing that, they have managed to send me the form, but are still saying that if we cancel with them, then the whole £4k is payable now.
