Direct debit madness

I had a phone call form a credit card company. In fact, they called me three times on my mobile phone. One of the first things they asked me when I eventually spoke to them was could they have a mobile phone number in case they needed to contact me in future. They would not believe that they must already have my number because they had already used it three times … but I digress. However, that mistake is not too dissimilar from the one I’m really writing about.
For some reason – and I’m completely non-plussed as to why – my direct debit did not go through. That is going to mean some meaningless conversations with my bank, I guess. But again, I digress.
So, I paid by another debit card. Would I like to pay next month’s payment as well? Well, not really. But apparently, their computer is set to take a double payment from the day after the payment is missed. Well, I know all about the direct debit guarantee and that we shall be informed of all payments etc. But much of that is just back-covering activity anyway. If the computer is programmed correctly, customers can be informed in a fairer way.
“All credit card companies do this,” was the defence. No, they don’t. Many do have unfair practices, but they are not all the same by any means.
And as usual, the junior employee at the call centre can neither give you satisfactory advice nor point you in the direction of someone who can really deal with the matter.