Energy Companies Allegedly Misuseing Direct Debit Scheme

billsavings

" A senior MP has said he believes energy companies are boosting their cash flow by increasing customers' direct debit payments even when they are in credit.
Conservative Peter Luff, chairman of the business and enterprise select committee, is calling on the energy regulator Ofgem to launch an inquiry.
Energy suppliers have denied profiting by increasing direct debit payments.
The trade body, the Energy Retail Association, said companies were acting in customers' best interests.
Millions of people pay their gas and electricity bills by direct debit but two price rises this year alone mean many consumers are unclear how much they should be paying each month to ensure they clear the amount due on their bills.

Mr Luff, MP for Mid Worcestershire, believes
firms have been raising direct debit payments even when customers' accounts are in credit and warns this practice may be widespread.
"There's a real temptation for the companies to boost their cash flow at a time of economic recession," he said.
"I think things are getting worse and there will be people in fuel poverty who are paying by direct debit who can't afford these huge increases.
"So I think Ofgem need to investigate urgently to see if they think this is correct - that the fuel companies are using this quite a lot. And we need to do something about it." Ofgem said it has not received any evidence of the misuse of the direct debit scheme."

Source: http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/business/7743272.stm

10past6

Our DD increased from £60.00 to £112.00 :eek: :mad: :mad: bearing in mind, we've had no additional appliances, our consumption has been more or less the same year in, year out.

After complaining, it's been reduced to £90.00

collnto

Hi all, I owed EON £345.00 from 2 direct debits that didnt go through a couple of months ago, at the time i did contact them and upped my DD from £160 to £180 per month..I received an email yesterday telling me that my DD is to be increased from £180 to a whopping £241. I have been given option of paying the outstanding. But to ensure my furture bill stays a zero balance after the winter my DD will still be £241..I can only just afford the £180 its killing me. listening to the news this morning these companies are doing this to everyone I thought it was just me. When I spoke to the guy at EON they are just concerned I may not be at zero balance by the time June comes next year after calculating my usage.

blue_monkey_2

For the sale of the £1/25 a month saving I am sorely tempted to cancel the DD and pay quarterly. The temptation will then be if I spend the money I guess. Do they increase your rate if you choose to pay another way?

1carminestocky

It wasn't energywatch that needed disbanding, it was OFGEM....

_pete_

Just received a gas bill from Atlantic saying they owe me £16 but intend to double my monthly direct debit. I rang them straightaway (hung on for ages) and they agreed to keep the direct debit at its current level, and explained that there had been "a mistake in the direct debit office". Hmmm.

Geoff_W

The whole purpose of paying by Direct Debit is to smooth out your payments so that you don't get a huge bill after your winter quarter.

Now, under the guise of "helping people to stay debt-free", the utility companies are craftily ensuring that you never have a negative balance, so they are using the customer to get an interest-free loan.

I've just had a demand from E-on to increase my DD from £51 to £67 per month. Having price-capped back in August (regretting it now), the new figure of £67 is probably about right for my consumption, but I object to bankrolling them at a point when prices are likely to fall. I'll give them a call and see if I can persuade them to compromise at £60.

PS - I'm currently £38 in credit after my November statement.

zorber

Scottish power have done this to me they have compared 3 months of bill against 2 direct debit payments if they had waited a week for the next direct debit to go through i would have been in credit. They were having non of it and were hiking my direct debit by 50%. Then they took the biscuit by taking the increased direct debit value a month early then they advised. Have now cancelled the direct debit as i refuse to be in credit with them especially when prices should be decreasing.

Mrs_Boo_Boo

At last!!!!! thought it was only us. We have been paying £90 a month DD and then EDF sent us a letter putting our DD up to £120 a month. The letter also says that if our outstanding amount on the yearly review is over £150 they can also debit the amount from our bank account.
The thing is we have no heating at all. Immersion heater which we stupidly left on all the time because we thought it was more economical (have now had a timer fitted),microwave,small oil heater,computer,general household appliances. There are only two of us and we both work full time so we are out most of the day!!!
daylight robbery

miss_corerupted

i was with npower and they kept upping mine, when i moved they owed me £250 sneaky bar stewrards they were earning interest on my money no doubt. I'm paying when the bill comes in now

MrsFraggle

Us too!!!!!! Long story but due to being billed wrongly (they were converting our already cubic metre meter, into cubic metres....) we had a large credit amount. We did get some back but I purposely left a chunk of cash there as at the time we were heading into winter. Now, having just had current bill, and now almost £300 in credit (but we are obviously heading for winter so I'm leaving it) but on my last login they now reckon our DD should be £126 (currently £114 having been put up from £90 earlier this year)

p.s. we are with Eon and its for both gas and electric. We are being really good, hardly using the heating, have taken on board more energy saving ideas as we all have on here, we work full time, if anything we are far more aware now of our usage than we were a year ago.