About to switch - will I get my credit balance returned?

mwinter

Hi all,

I currently get dualfuel from Southern Electric for my one bedroom flat. Just realised that I have been paying £76 a month direct debit for electricity - quite a bit more than I thought.

I rang Southern Electric and the (very helpful) guy on the phone did some "manual calculation" to discover that my direct debit only actually needed to be around £63 a month - so he reduced it for me with effect from next month (I've already paid this month)

He then asked if I wanted him to do the same for the gas, so I agreed, and he calculated that this DD payment should also be reduced slightly.

He mentioned that I had a pretty big credit on my gas bill at the time of the last bill (over two hundred pounds). I said I thought this was normal, since I believed it was usual practise to build up a credit balance in the summer months and then use it up during the cold winter months. He agreed, but still felt that my credit balance was quite big.

Having spent the whole morning reading this rather excellent site, it turns out I can probably get a cheaper supply of gas / electricity AND get some free cashback in the process. I'm quite keen to do this, and am just making a final decision about which supplier to use.

My question is - assuming I did decide to switch, and kicked the process off sometime this week, what happens to my "large" credit balance on my accounts? Do these get transferred to my new supplier? Or do I get a cheque in the post from the old supplier and start again at zero with the new supplier? Anyone had any experience of this before?

Many thanks in advance for any insight anyone may be able to offer.

Matt.

Quentin

You get it repaid to you from the "old" supplier.

ex-energywatch_adviser

Any credit/debit will be calculated when your new supplier takes over, obtains a meter reading for that date and passes it to your old supplier so they can issue a final bill.

Any credit should be automatically refunded by the old supplier following the final bill.

Vestra

And if you leave your direct debit open your old supplier will refund this into your bank account saving you getting cheques.

Quentin

You don't need a direct debit in place to be refunded direct to your bank.

If you cancel the direct debit, it stops them taking any more out!

Vestra

Quentin wrote: »

You don't need a direct debit in place to be refunded direct to your bank.

If you cancel the direct debit, it stops them taking any more out!

If the direct debit is closed money cannot be put back in.

Quentin

Why not?

You can pay money into anyones account without having a dd set up. They are to let you remove money, thats why they are called direct debits.

Vestra

Quentin wrote: »

Why not?

You can pay money into anyones account without having a dd set up. They are to let you remove money, thats why they are called direct debits.

Yes but if you have money owed to you by a company they can only refund it straight to your account if you left your DD open, if it is closed they will only be able to send a cheque, just saying.

Quentin

You are mistaken. No point continuing the argument though!

Anyone who told you that has mislead you. Companies are happy to pay direct to creditor's banks, and a direct debit is not necessary for this. (eg quidco pay into their members accounts, but have no dds set up)

If you are switching and leave the dd open, the danger of them taking another month's payment is far greater than the inconvenience you suggest may happen by them sending a cheque for any credit remaining!

Vestra

Quentin wrote: »

You are mistaken. No point continuing the argument though!

Anyone who told you that has mislead you. Companies are happy to pay direct to creditor's banks, and a direct debit is not necessary for this. (eg quidco pay into their members accounts, but have no dds set up)

If you are switching and leave the dd open, the danger of them taking another month's payment is far greater than the inconvenience you suggest may happen by them sending a cheque for any credit remaining!

Yes but I was advising the OP that Southern Electric won't do this if the OP closed the DD with their bank the refund will be delayed as a cheque will need to be sent out.

Incisor

Rian1988 wrote: »

Yes but I was advising the OP that Southern Electric won't do this if the OP closed the DD with their bank the refund will be delayed as a cheque will need to be sent out.

To pay a salary into a bank, all an employer needs to know is a sort code and an account no. An employee does not give an employer a Direct Debit in order to be paid salary. So it is possible to pay directly into a bank account without a direct debit from that account and without using a cheque. Southern Electric will know the account no and the sort code [from the Direct Debit, even if it is cancelled], so they can do this.