Energy Companies Allegedly Misuseing Direct Debit Scheme

Toreador

bristolleedsfan wrote: »

I have now applied to switch to Scottish Power who have informed me that they propose to request a monthly direct debit of 32.50 for combined Electricity and Gas.

I hope you're not disappointed with Scottish Power.
Despite my being £27.50 in credit, they've increased by monthly payment from £55 to £98.50! I'm still waiting for a response to my query about this.

logie28

Joyful wrote: »

The Managing director of British Gas was recently on TV. He advised he would check out the concerns of customers who had complained about their Direct Debit reassessments and respond to them. He has given me permission to copy the letter he has sent to them all. Hopefully this will put to rest how British Gas calculate their DD's.



To add some facts – the average British Gas customer starts the winter with a £6.50 credit and ends it with a £70 debit to be recovered over the summer. Customers therefore benefit from this payment arrangement.

. We can, of course, reduce your monthly DD, but if it were to be less, then you would end the summer in debt, which is generally not where most of our customers want to be. However, our 7,000 UK-based front-line colleagues are trained to provide help and if you would like us to reduce the increase, we can do so, provided you recognise that it may not cover your usage. Call us on freephone 0800 048 0101 if this will help at this time[strike].[/strike]






Pity he contradicts what his highly trained customer service staff told me.
I tried giving them my facts. £130 in credit( bit higher than average!!) over 100% increase in 11 months, started January paying £35 a month gas, always in credit, raised by BG September to £49, raised again December to £73.

The highly trained member of his team told me i could not under any circumstances lower my bill, because the computer said so!!

I sent an e-mail to complain, received an apology that i had not receive notice of the increase, but a letter "was definitely " sent, also that i could not lower my payments because this is what their system "predicted" i would use.

I have asked three times to lower my DD to a manageable level and recieved no response!!
I'm going to ring up now and quote the MD. Maybe the highly trained advisor will pull their finger out!!

1carminestocky

Toreador wrote: »

I hope you're not disappointed with Scottish Power.
Despite my being £27.50 in credit, they've increased by monthly payment from £55 to £98.50! I'm still waiting for a response to my query about this.

As BLF does the same as me (switches regularly for cashback trousering purposes ) he won't be with them long enough to get too disillusioned, I reckon.

Lemonade999

billsavings wrote: »

" 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

We are £200 in credit with Scottish Power and they want to increase the direct debit by 68%. I too await a reply from them.

Lemonade999

We are £200 in credit and Scottish Power think they can increase our direct debit by 68% from the 3rd of Jan , despite no change of usage of fuels.
Prices of fuels are reputed to be dropping what is their reasoning in increasing direct debit payments so disproportionately.
I believe they are using us all for cheap credit. I await their response to my objection.

logie28

I wonder what will happen "when" the prices drop??

Will we have to wait for our three/six month review ? I think we will, i believe they are grabbing as much as they can using the DD scheme, then when prices drop, they will a decent amount in the bank off the back of with holding customers monies!

It will be catastrophic, i think the only way round this is switching to standing order or paying by the quarter.

Would really p!ss em off if we cancelled our DD.

1carminestocky

As soon as my energy supplier decreases its prices I'm switching, and I'm going to email them straight away and say I don't accept the decrease and I've switched and would respectfully request they charge me at the old rate until the switch is completed. Wait a minute...

DirectDebacle

1carminestocky wrote: »

As soon as my energy supplier decreases its prices I'm switching, and I'm going to email them straight away and say I don't accept the decrease and I've switched and would respectfully request they charge me at the old rate until the switch is completed. Wait a minute...

Lol. Have a day off. I think you have had an OD on DD plus a touch of PST (Pre Switching Tension):D

dont.panic_3

Hello......
Scottish Power have just upped my DD from £58/mth to £126 !!!!

i have immediately cancelled my DD with them, to hell with the them, I will gladly pay what I owe but no more !

I am BTW £151 in credit with them so my £58/mth is already too much

I have written them a letter asking them to explain themselves

Cheeky so and so's

will keep you posted

MarkyMarkD

Great strategy. Now you'll pay 15% or whatever the DD discount is, more.

Instead you could have asked them, on the phone, to set a more sensible DD amount if, indeed, the new amount is too high. Which it might not be.