BG direct debit increase when in credit!

Cardew

MarkyMarkD wrote: »

Maybe people will stop alleging it's all a conspiracy by the energy suppliers. :rolleyes:

You really ought to stop using logic in your explanations!

It doesn't lie easily with the 'rant against Utility companies' mentality that seems to have taken over on this Forum.

There is another issue on credit balances that seems to confuse some people.

They cannot seem to grasp the concept that monthly payments are credited immediately to an account, yet the bills are debited quarterly. e.g. if I look at my account balance today it might show me as £300 in credit. Tomorrow my £350 bill will be debited and I will be £50 in debit.

Obviously the above does not apply to those who only look at balances at the date of a quarterly bill.

Also my annual settlement date for gas is late Autumn. At the end of the 2 winter quarters I have a large debit balance, which is gradually reduced over the next 2 quarters; I am rarely in credit.

Cardew

selbmag wrote: »

Since in step 1 you only agreed to them taking what you said if they take more then they are in breach of what you allowed them to take.

That is not so! Read this;

http://www.bacs.co.uk/BACS/Consumers/Direct+Debit/FAQ/

Your agreement is that they will take £xx initially and that if they calculate that sum is not sufficient, you have agreed they can increase the payments as long as they notify you of that increase.

That is what you authorise when you sign the DD agreement.

This is exactly the same as all variable DD payments with any organisation - not just gas/electricity companies. - Council Tax, Telephone, Insurance, Sky, Water, TV licence, etc

You seem to be arguing that a DD is a Standing Order.

MarkyMarkD

backfoot wrote: »

So if there is a price decrease would you still think it was possible for DD to go up? It did for us by 50% on gas and 66% on electricity despite being in credit on both accounts.

That looks conspirital to me.:eek:

Yes, despite a price decrease your DD could go up, if you were not previously paying enough and your account was either in debit or not sufficiently in credit for the point in the annual cycle you had reached.

backfoot

MarkyMarkD wrote: »

Yes, despite a price decrease your DD could go up, if you were not previously paying enough and your account was either in debit or not sufficiently in credit for the point in the annual cycle you had reached.

A £98 credit with a 25% price reduction on a £360 annual bill. Now you are quite sure that is tenable?

1carminestocky

Just a reminder: People who work for a utility company (or even in a related field) MUST declare this in their posts. It's a site rule.

selbmag

Cardew wrote: »

You seem to be arguing that a DD is a Standing Order.

I understand the difference. I am saying if they notify you of an increase and you do not accept the increase but they take the money anyway you have a right to reclaim under the DDB guarantee.

I did this with Sky when they continued to incorrectly calculate my monthly fee. It took 4 months of me reversing £3.50 from the DDB before they decided I was correct. Whereas if I had cancelled the DDB they woudl have ceased service immediately.

I did this on the advice on Consumer Direct and it worked.

I am only commenting by experience. :cool:

Cardew

selbmag wrote: »

I understand the difference. I am saying if they notify you of an increase and you do not accept the increase but they take the money anyway you have a right to reclaim under the DDB guarantee.

I did this with Sky when they continued to incorrectly calculate my monthly fee. It took 4 months of me reversing £3.50 from the DDB before they decided I was correct. Whereas if I had cancelled the DDB they woudl have ceased service immediately.

I did this on the advice on Consumer Direct and it worked.

I am only commenting by experience. :cool:

With respect your case is different to that being discussed.

If the payment is incorrect(as with Sky) then it is a dispute. Sky still could have cancelled the agreement.

However a variable Direct Debit for an non-fixed annual bill is another matter.

If the company say £xx and the customer wants to pay £yy, at the end of the day if you can't reach agreement, the company will remove you from the DD tariff.

If that were not the case I would pay a nominal £1 a month on all my many DDs and let huge Debit Balances build up.

After a year I would owe, say, £1,000 on my gas but insist that my DD stayed at £1 a month.

Obviously a silly example, but it illustrates the principle that the company agreeing to let you pay by DD has the final word on the size of the DD.

P.S.
What is DDB?

saying how much a month you will be paying via DDB

MarkyMarkD

backfoot wrote: »

A £98 credit with a 25% price reduction on a £360 annual bill. Now you are quite sure that is tenable?

As I've said before, there's no reason why your mid-point credit shouldn't be a huge proportion of your annual bill. In my example, the mid-point credit is £180 on annual consumption of £600 = 30%. In your example, your credit is less than 30% and hence it's possible that you'd be less in credit than they'd expect.

I'm not saying your case is 100% definitely right - you know more about that than I do. But in many cases people can be in credit and STILL get an increase in DD, and it can be completely valid.

1carminestocky wrote: »

Just a reminder: People who work for a utility company (or even in a related field) MUST declare this in their posts. It's a site rule.

Who on earth could you be making insinuations about? I haven't had any involvement with the energy industry since 1996 when I audited an electricity generator. Oh, apart from my brother who currently works for a (relatively small) electricity generator.

Strangely, you'll find that there are people on MSE who simply know what they are talking about, without having a vested interest.

And there are dozens of people on MSE who simply don't know what they are talking about, who do seem to think they have a vested interest in slagging off their suppliers (for some reason).

selbmag

Cardew wrote: »

What is DDB?

Direct Debit

I refered to them as DDB as that is how they are labelled on my statements. Same as a DD

1carminestocky

MarkyMarkD wrote: »

As I've said before, there's no reason why your mid-point credit shouldn't be a huge proportion of your annual bill. In my example, the mid-point credit is £180 on annual consumption of £600 = 30%. In your example, your credit is less than 30% and hence it's possible that you'd be less in credit than they'd expect.

I'm not saying your case is 100% definitely right - you know more about that than I do. But in many cases people can be in credit and STILL get an increase in DD, and it can be completely valid.

Who on earth could you be making insinuations about? I haven't had any involvement with the energy industry since 1996 when I audited an electricity generator. Oh, apart from my brother who currently works for a (relatively small) electricity generator.

Strangely, you'll find that there are people on MSE who simply know what they are talking about, without having a vested interest.

And there are dozens of people on MSE who simply don't know what they are talking about, who do seem to think they have a vested interest in slagging off their suppliers (for some reason).

Pray tell, why on earth do you believe I was making insinuations about you or any other individual? Did I specifically name you in my post? All I'm stating is that, contrary to what certain posters on this board would have you believe, people who work for a utility company (or even in a related field) MUST declare it in their posts. It's site rules, not something I've instigated.