Forum Topic

Gas and electric bills

A new month and another increase in the direct debit, although the account is in credit. Does anybody have any other companies it might be worth trying.

John Southey ● 1082d38 Comments

John, I am with Octopus and they will credit your bank a/c if requested.I imagine other suppliers would do the same.

Denis I. Fox ● 1082d

Octopus have been really good so far. And as pointed out they'll happily pop any credit into your bank.

Basil Finnis ● 1082d

John, call your supplier and tell them to stop taking further funds until the credit has been used or ask for a refund. I contacted our supplier and they had over estimated our usage and got the direct debit monthly payments reduced.

Jayne Thorburn ● 1082d

With Octopus I established the traditional arrangement whereby I get a bill for each period, based on readings or estimates, and they debit that amount. No ‘smoothing out the cost’ or building up credit, or arbitrary requests to change monthly payments.  Just send me a bill and I’ll pay it!

Peter Evans ● 1082d

Another vote for Octopus - we have found them very reliable since switching about three years ago.

Mark Edwards ● 1082d

Why would anyone want to move supplier on the basis of a change of DD.  It's up to you what you pay, not up to them.  Just log on if you have online access and change it back OR  ring them up and let them try to justify their change , but don't do that without understanding your existing yearly profile by month else they will have else you will have no ammo to argue with.  Anyway, if you want to run your account so that by the end of the supply year your are likely in Debit , and then will pay a 1 off addition to square it off, then that's also up to you.

Andrew Craig ● 1082d

Also with Octopus, received an email a day or so ago saying they are reducing my direct debit on the 9th October, the usual day of the month I pay.I seldom read the meter thing they gave me, I'm too tight to waste electricity switching it on HaHa

Bob Guyett ● 1082d

I can recommend Utility Warehouse and I can put you in touch with an agent to help answer any questions. I'm not connected to the company or the agent, just like the company

Tim English ● 1082d

Beware OAPs. Last year 5,000 people died living in cold damp homes.This week Rishi is likely to retain the Triple lock (he relies on the grey vote) but may ditch the Winter Fuel Allowance, or reduce it.If these events transpire at the Tory Conference, creditors would be prudent to keep their money with their suppliers, to offset the hit when the mercury spirals down come the deep midwinter.

Denis I. Fox ● 1082d

Thanks for your comments, I think I will stick with Octopus and just keep an eye on the figures !

John Southey ● 1081d

E-on have just refunded our electricity account which was apparently £1,200 in credit. Not sure how that happens but good of them to refund us.

Chris Blackwell ● 1081d

You can absolutely ask for a repayment of any credit from any supplier I’m sure. I’ve been doing it for donkeys years they just don’t make it obvious . It’s just a call. Octopus are the best I’ve ever used and I also received notification that my rate was going down.

Maggie Dodge ● 1080d

It’s your money Chris. but good on them to do it without being asked

Maggie Dodge ● 1080d

"It’s just a call."Just spent some time sorting out a BGLite account - they don't give out a phone number, just a Webchat option.

Richard Greenhough ● 1080d

Hi Peter, do you send Octopus monthly readings so the bill is sent to you and then paid by DD? I do that with my current supplier, but Octopus don't seem to (publicly) offer that way. How did you persuade them?! I'm thinking of changing supplier. Thanks.

Dilys Jones ● 1079d

EDF just did the same for me without being asked - quite impressed as I was gearing myself up for an argument with them !

Simon Tranter ● 1079d

If you can afford to, leave it in credit to offset the nasty bills coming in the next 4 months.

Stephen Gould ● 1079d

That's what I would do.

Janice Evans ● 1079d

Decided to stick with Octopus, just received the advice about a pending DD. I immediately contacted them to cancel the Dd and told them I would pay the bill, in full, each month. They replied to say they could not cancel as it was too late ! Rubbish, of course. A few taps on the keyboard and I cancelled the DD at the Bank. I think, under the general terms of the DD they are required to cancel if instructed ?

John Southey ● 1078d

Good on you.  Time we got feisty with these supply companies.  Not happy with OVO and Octopus get the most recommendations.

Elizabeth Ross ● 1078d

That hasn't done much John.  Your account details are still in their file for this months/weeks DD processing  so it will still attempt to do that at their finance partners systems.  Prob these days it will set to retry after 24 hr  and a further 48hr after that.  If still no success for them they will move your account to uncollected status and will flag you up to be contacted about it.Why you couldn't have rang them up and say look I'm not happy you've raised the DD please put it back  and here's my reasoning why

Andrew Craig ● 1078d

Do I get money back if I cancel Direct Debit?Finally, remember that you can easily cancel a Direct Debit payment at any time before the payment is due to be made, simply by calling your bank. In the rare occasion where a payment is still taken, you are entitled to a full and immediate refund from your bank.

James Roy ● 1078d

You can cancel future direct debits online at your bank (and you should notify the supplier that you have done so and your reasons), but not a payment that is already in the system.If the supplier takes a payment in breach of the Direct Debit Guarantee you can request your bank to reimburse you immediately.

Richard Greenhough ● 1078d

I am sorry people have had trouble with OVO - we were automatically transferred to them from our old company sse.Atlantic.They have been super to deal with. I send in a reading each month (I do not have a smart meter) and although I pay by monthly DD I can change the amount any time I wish if I am overpaying. One month they just did not collect a payment - I could not understand why until I checked my account - I had built up enough credit to cover the payment so they just did not take it.Each month my online account lets me know the least my DD can be (always a bit less than the amount I am paying) and I have a couple of times lowered the amount with no problem but I am never far off the mark anyway. I have heard/read about some awful stories about OVO but thought I would share my own experience with them which has been very happy.

Delilah Hall ● 1078d

Andrew Craig. I contacted them by email, immediately I got the advice,( I prefer e mail as I have a record) they just as immediately said it was too late the Bank had already been informed.I looked at the account, looked into futur/ pending payments and this DDnwas not listed ! At the moment the account is in credit. I am not avoiding payment I just no longer feel happy with aDD system that allows a third party to alter the amount  as they think fit without any sanction from me. They do not even have this months readings which are due on the 11thSo, the payment is based on an annual projected usage. Which may or may not be accurate. I prefer the bill to reflect actual usage rather than informed guesswork.  Personal choice based on my recent experience !

John Southey ● 1077d

Breaking News 7/10/23Power companies hold eight Billion pounds of credit payments !. No wonder they like Direct Debits.

John Southey ● 1077d

Delilah in my experience, most companies are fine until you have a problem. It’s how they deal with the problem that shows their true nature . I sincerely hope you continue to have a good experience 👍

Maggie Dodge ● 1077d

Had a reply from Octopus, DD is cancelled so they are going to change my Tarif, which, they say will cost me £132.00 a year or an increase of £11.00 per month. Either way I have to do my own readings and send them in. These companies are out of control

John Southey ● 1074d

It's extra administration if you are not on DD so it puts up their costs so it puts up yours.  Isn't that how it works?  Did you tell them you would be cancelling your DD and why?

Philippa Bond ● 1074d

Yes I did tell them after they said they could not do it. This whole thing is computerised how can it cost more to record a payment over and above a DD ? This is just a ploy to get you to pay them more than you might owe. No doubt you saw the earlier comment that these companies are holding in excess of 8 billion pounds in surplus payments, what is the interest % on that ?

John Southey ● 1074d

John - the current setup of the energy system is a disaster for users like us. Re Octopus, I owe them money and am happy with that.  When I wanted to reduce the direct debit, I simply logged onto my account and entered a smaller number.  Did this not work for you, causing you to cancel the payment at the bank?

Phil Kay ● 1074d

Well, I was in credit and I wished to reduce my DD, they said it was too late even though I contacted them the same day. I received their notification. Strange thing is after having a credit it £98 it has now gone to a debit of £ 65 ? I have asked fo an explanation, so far, heard nothing.

John Southey ● 1073d

As to creditIt might worth looking at T&C'sYou might have a DD set for say £60 a month and have your Acc in credit by £85 Some in T&C's state you can only geta refund over and above 1 months DD So in the above even tho you have a DD coming out for £60 and in credit by £85they will ok not refund the difference being a refund of £25.Maybe they do this incase you stop DD or default on the DDIf they are allowed to do this over T&C's I'm not sure because if you don't default they are always keeping that £60 of credit incase.Personally I think they state or like the idea of holding one month's money but in reality are not allowed to keep any  credit you have and are entitled to a full refund

Julian Pavey ● 1073d

That should be So in the above even tho you have a DD coming out for £60 and in credit by £85they will only refund the difference being a refund of £25.

Julian Pavey ● 1073d

Roll on ‘real world functional maths’ for all school children so they can work this kind of thing out for themselves!

Peter Evans ● 1073d

Things like the T&Cs for something you signed up for years ago can easily be forgotten.  Also when so many things are online you are in danger of not having a copy of them you can refer back to. Terms and Conditions also change!

Philippa Bond ● 1073d

If you have a mobile make sure you know how to take a screenshot.  It is a very helpful way of keeping a record of something.We now have a very fragmented electricity system for supplying customers.There is an interesting insight of the journey from one persons's point of view here:https://www.bbc.co.uk/programmes/m001r7jj

Philippa Bond ● 1070d

And more info on what is happening here.  There is an awful lot of fuel debt in the UK.https://www.ofgem.gov.uk/publications/ofgem-explores-options-amid-rising-consumer-debt#:~:text=Figures%20obtained%20by%20the%20regulator,wider%20cost%20of%20living%20pressures.

Philippa Bond ● 1067d