direct debits on credit card

london
I had an interesting interaction with my credit card company.
I had this direct debit on it, which simon had accidentally subscribed to. A monthly direct debit of £6.99 for the laptop he bought. He thought it was a one off, but i read his agreement, and it is a monthly support and damage insurance. It was a direct debit. Simon said since he signed for it, he might as well keep it, but i did not want it on my credit card, so he called them and cancelled. But i found the direct debit was still on in this month's invoice.
So I decided to call my credit company to cancel it. The first time i called, i was told that i wll be sent a form which will take 7days to reach me.
I thought about it for a few days, and decided i dont want to bother with all that, so i called them again, and said i want to redeem my points, (there was about 4500 points) and can i close my account. When the chap found out why i want to close it, to stop that direct debit, he said it had been cancelled since i reported the card stolen. (I thought that will deal with it, as normally direct debits are not carried over when u get a new card but i received a letter saying it will be automatically carried over to the new card.) and he pointed out to me that this present demand for the money was made on 24may, before i reported the card loss.
He said since i was not happy to pay the money, they will refund the money to me, and assured me no more demands for it will be made on my card.
Well, that was quick action. And i redeemed my points. It came to £20 vouchers which i opted to spent in M&S.
I would prefer to spend it in sainsbury or tesco, but they were not in the scheme. Long ago, i joined this credit card to get points that i can offset my electricity and gas bills, but that was long ago stopped and i carried on with the card out of sheer inertia.
I still have the £15 vouchers for john lewis which i redeemed long ago and not spent. The chap said it will have expired, but there was no mention of an expiry date on the voucher, so i hope it is still valid. John lewis has an induction stove which i like to get. though it is not crucial if i get it or not, really.
My advise is not to put direct debits on the credit card. do it on ur bank account, which is easy to remove without contacting the company. With credit cards, u have to get the company to cancel that direct debit, and it takes time, and they may not do it immediately. My gym wanted me to do it on my credit card, and i have to resist their demand. It took some firmness on my part for them to let me.