[TedDoesntTalk]

In the US, debit cards do not have the same consumer protections that credit cards do. If you’ve gotten refunds from your bank for debit card fraud, you are lucky.

https://www.investopedia.com/articles/personal-finance/05021...

“ But if the item was bought with a debit card, it cannot be reversed unless the merchant is willing to do so. What is more, debit card theft victims do not get their refund until an investigation has been completed. Credit card holders, on the other hand, are not assessed the disputed charges; the amount is usually deducted immediately and restored only if the dispute is withdrawn or settled in the merchant's favor. While some credit and debit card providers offer zero-liability protection to their customers, the law is much more forgiving for credit card holders.”

[viraptor]

Direct debit is not a debit card. It's an authorisation to pull funds from your debit account as needed.

[TedDoesntTalk]

If that’s what he’s doing, that’s even worse than a debit card in terms of risk and lack of protection.

[yawboakye]

It might help to read a little about how SEPA Direct Debit works. To begin, it's a European scheme, not American. Not every merchant can sign up for SEPA Direct Debit. They need another bank to be their guarantor (called your SEPA Direct Debit Creditor). When I have issues with a transaction and order a refund within 8 weeks of the transaction, I get my money back, no questions asked. I've used this to recover money from all sorts of businesses and government agencies.

The business can only dispute if I requested for my money back _after_ the 8 weeks. That's when the evidence and back-and-forth with the business comes in.