Direct debits are convenient but can cost you Take insurance. The data released by Halifax shows that this has become overwhelmingly the bill most commonly paid via direct debit. One reason could be that we all have several types of policy covering our homes, cars and holidays. But direct debit is also a tool increasingly treasured by insurers. Consider home insurance. One way of ramping up profits was to let customers spread their payments over a year, paying a little every month - but with a punishing rate of interest applied on top. Bills were sometimes pumped up by 30pc with these interest charges applied. Then it became more sophisticated. Many insurers now prefer instead to let you pay by direct debit for the first year without an interest charge but then, with you safely signed up to monthly payments, apply a punishing rate of interest in the second year. The direct debit automatically rolls on - unless you spot the difference in your renewal documents. The other big pushers of direct debits, behind insurers, are mobile phone companies, where the typical payment is £36, followed by television/broadband suppliers, with £40 as the average. On car insurance we typically pay £38, and £23 on car insurance. All of these companies love inert consumers - those who loyally stay with the same bank and are happy to blithely renew the same insurance deals year after year, even if they could save by moving elsewhere. This is why the industry sings, in chorus, the same merry tune about the benefits of direct debit. Anthony Warrington, director of Halifax current accounts, said in a statement accompanying the release of the data: "The simplicity and security afforded by direct debits has helped the volume of transactions to increase significantly in recent years. Most customers appreciate the convenience and understand that paying regular bills by direct debit means it is easy for them to see what disposable income is left to spend after all other commitments have been met. The convenience of these payments is clear, but their popularity has also improved the armoury of banks, and aided the battle to keep you locked into poor-value deals. The release of this information is timely. A new phase in the battle for your custom will break out among the banks next month. The industry has agreed new rules, which, as telegraph.co.uk/money disclosed earlier this week, will be enforced from September 16. Under the new rules, customers should be transferred between banks in no more than seven working days, compared with between 18 and 30 days at present. It also shifts responsibility on to the new bank to make sure payments, such as direct debits and salary payments, are safely transferred. Payments wrongly deposited into the old account for up to 13 months after switching will be redirected into the new account. Consumers will be refunded interest and charges if anything goes wrong. This is all great but quite frankly these standards should have been achieved long before now. The reason the vast majority of Britons never switch banks is purely the fear that it could all go wrong. It's not worth the aggravation. In particular, the concern is that our direct debits will suffer in the process. It's therefore easier to stay put. The pledge from the banks on switching could also, of course, be treated with a degree of scepticism: the great British public, mindful of so many recent scandals, may not wholeheartedly believe every promise from this industry. Either way, direct debit continues its relentless expansion and life is made easier. But every time you see that regular payment on your bank statement, use it as a trigger to at least check you are getting a decent deal. For more money advice and tips: sign up to our weekly email