Two professionals examining a digital screen featuring an AUDDIS report with a Payer Reference Not Unique reason code in a server room.

“Payer Reference Not Unique” – AUDDIS Reports and Reason Codes

If your organisation collects income via Direct Debit, you should be used to dealing with your Bacs reports. These reports provide feedback from Bacs about transactions that have not been successful. If you use the AUDDIS service, you will receive AUDDIS reports. These AUDDIS reports provide feedback on new or cancelled Direct Debit Instructions. Recently, we have been asked about the failure code on AUDDIS reports called ‘Payer Reference Not Unique’. If you have received this code, read on for more information.

About AUDDIS & AUDDIS Reports

AUDDIS stands for Automated Direct Debit Instruction Service. It is a business-to-bank messaging service and enables Service Users to send Direct Debit Instruction information (DDIs) to their customers’ bank electronically.

The AUDDIS report contains details of rejected and/or returned Direct Debit Instruction information. It is created after Direct Debit Instructions are submitted to Bacs and explains why certain transactions cannot be lodged.

The AUDDIS report details:

The payer’s name, bank details and reference number.
The transaction submitted (for example, 0N for a new Instruction or 0C for a cancellation).
A specific reason code explaining exactly why the instruction could not be processed.

AUDDIS reports are typically generated and made available two working days after you submit your DDI file to BACS. It is critical to check these reports, as they notify you of failed \direct Debit Instructions before you attempt to collect payments. If there is no live Instruction on the Account, the collection will never be successful.

Common rejection codes on AUDDIS reports

When a DDI fails, Bacs provides a reason code to explain the failure. Some of the most common AUDDIS reason codes include:

1 – Instruction cancelled by payer
2 – Payer deceased
3 – Account transferred to another PSP (Bank)
B – Account Closed
F – Invalid Account Type
I – Payer Reference not Unique

‘Code I – Payer reference not unique’ on AUDDIS BACS reports

The “Payer Reference Not Unique” error is reported when a payer’s bank matches the supplied DDI reference to an existing DDI on the account, with a similar reference that has more or fewer characters.

Every Direct Debit Instruction you submit must have a unique reference for the SUN, sort code, and account number. Banks reject a new instruction using a duplicate reference.

This error usually happens if:

A customer cancelled a previous Direct Debit, and you are trying to set up a new one using their old reference – for example, if a membership number is used as the Direct Debit reference and this hasn’t changed.
Your system accidentally generated a reference number that was previously assigned.
An AUDDIS file or transaction was accidentally submitted twice to Bacs.
There has been an error within a bank

What should I do if I get a rejection for ‘Code I – Payer Reference Not Unique’?

The correct action will depend on why the Code I was generated. You may choose to resolve the issue by:

Assigning a new Direct Debit reference / updating your CRM to generate a brand-new, unique reference number for the customer. A common fix would be to add a prefix to the original reference (e.g., changing REF12345 to A-REF12345).
Attempt a collection using the reference if you believe it’s already live on the account, such as if you realise an AUDDIS file was submitted twice.

Recent Issues with ‘Code I – Payer Reference Not Unique’

Between 24 August and 4 September, there have been issues with Nationwide accounts and AUDDIS transactions. Nationwide have responded incorrectly to some AUDDIS submissions with error ‘Code I – Payer Reference Not Unique’. To address the situation, Nationwide have undertaken to issue ADDACS Code R (Instruction Re-instated) messages. If any Direct Debit Instructions were cancelled in CRMs after receiving the Code I response, use the Code R message to reinstate those instructions.

If DDIs were not cancelled following receipt of the Code I response, no action is required, and the Code R message can be disregarded.

All affected Direct Debit Instructions remained active on Nationwide’s systems throughout or have been reinstated since the issue began, and it is believed this has now been resolved.

Questions?

For information on “No instruction” failures, see here.

If you have any further questions, contact us for more information.