We'd like to remind Forumites to please avoid political debate on the Forum. This is to keep it a safe and useful space for MoneySaving discussions. Threads that are - or become - political in nature may be removed in line with the Forum’s rules. Thank you for your understanding.
We're aware that dates on the Forum are not currently showing correctly. Please bear with us while we get this fixed, and see Site feedback for updates.
Energy Direct Debits: Get money back & your payments lowered Discussion
Comments
-
Following publicity on MSE I challenged my direct debit from Shell Energy, who had been steadily increasing it despite there being a surplus of £500 on my account.
They agreed to refund this sum without any query, and were unable to explain why they were repeatedly increasing my direct debit when there was a growing surplus.
It does make me wonder how many millions of pounds are sitting in their account when they should be returned to customers.
1 -
swfcowls said:Of course it is by definition, taking more than is needed to pay a bill. Can't think of anyone else who takes more money that is needed and builds a pot of cash in the account and still increase direct debits. My in-laws have over £600 in credit, yet they doubled their direct debit from £250 to nearly £500 a month and they are pensioners.
If the £250pm was based on real meter readings over a year and reflects the current unit prices then you wouldnt expect an increase. However, if it is based on estimated readings, then the direct debit has a high chance of being higher than it should be.Can't think of anyone else who takes more money that is needed and builds a pot of cash in the account and still increase direct deb
You pay for your usage. If you don't pay enough then you need to pay more. It really is as simple as that. Then if you chose to budget your annual costs over 12 months, then there will be months you go into credit and there will be months you will spend more than you pay by direct debit and eat into that credit.
If someone cannot understand how budgeting workings then they can always move to variable direct debit and pay each month based on their actual use that month. In the summer, they may only pay £100 in a month (instead of £250) but in the winter they may pay £750 in a month.
I am an Independent Financial Adviser (IFA). The comments I make are just my opinion and are for discussion purposes only. They are not financial advice and you should not treat them as such. If you feel an area discussed may be relevant to you, then please seek advice from an Independent Financial Adviser local to you.0 -
conned_2 said:Following publicity on MSE I challenged my direct debit from Shell Energy, who had been steadily increasing it despite there being a surplus of £500 on my account.
They agreed to refund this sum without any query, and were unable to explain why they were repeatedly increasing my direct debit when there was a growing surplus.
It does make me wonder how many millions of pounds are sitting in their account when they should be returned to customers.According to Ofgem's research in 2018, an estimated £1.4bn was held in surplus account balances. It sounds an awful lot (equivalent to 1% of the 2018 NHS budget), but averages to about £65 per account according to Ofgem. Of course this mean is only a 'crude' statistical descriptor of central tendency.I wonder to what extent any interest accrued on these credit accounts is reduced by the costs of administrating and recovering debts on accounts in debit.---
100% debt-free!0 -
And by the impact of £1.4bn of unsecured liabilities on the companies’ balance sheets.0
-
I've just been advised by my supplier (Shell) that my monthly DD will need to increase by >150% from £144pm to £364pm which is, to put politely, freakin unbelievable.
Using their own figures for my predicted annual consumption, I used the tool found here and it calculates an approx annual bill of £3240 (before the £400 reduction) which is approx £270pm. So where oh where have they got £364 from? Especially as I'm currently £400+ in credit.
Still reeling...0 -
If you're in credit call them up to discuss the increase. They should be open to your request to pay what you believe to be a fair figure.
Although you may find the initial customer services advisors will say there is nothing they can do or that they can only consider a 15% reduction on the increased DD amount.
Stick to your guns and ask for a complaint to be put through.
I had exactly the same with OVO, although in the end I had to cancel my DD to get them to be reasonable and when their customer relations/complaints management department called a few days later they agreed to reinstate my DD at the amount I thought was fair and then also freeze that for 3 months.
I do not agree that they can have hundreds of pounds of my money sitting there when a month in hand is more than enough !
I will pay extra as and when it comes to it because I know how to manage my house accounts.1 -
annemariee1978 said:If you're in credit call them up to discuss the increase. They should be open to your request to pay what you believe to be a fair figure.
Although you may find the initial customer services advisors will say there is nothing they can do or that they can only consider a 15% reduction on the increased DD amount.
Stick to your guns and ask for a complaint to be put through.
I had exactly the same with OVO, although in the end I had to cancel my DD to get them to be reasonable and when their customer relations/complaints management department called a few days later they agreed to reinstate my DD at the amount I thought was fair and then also freeze that for 3 months.
I do not agree that they can have hundreds of pounds of my money sitting there when a month in hand is more than enough !
I will pay extra as and when it comes to it because I know how to manage my house accounts.
I also cancelled my direct debit because their website states that they will not penalise those who do not pay by DD. Paying by DD with Octopus gains no special favours, they don't deduct anything because they say that their prices are fair and low enough already so they don't have to.
I don't ever want my energy account to be in credit, whoever supplies it to my home. If most of their customers have credit in their accounts, that's more credit for them. I don't want to be brainwashed by the well-known phrase or saying, "building up credit in summer is good because then you can spread payments over winter". I'd rather have my own money in my own bank account.
I'm now paying when the bill comes in by debit card - immediately after I've submitted my meter readings at the end of every month. It's easily done online and it's no more time consuming than submitting meter readings.
When I login to my energy account they still try to encourage me to sign up to DD but I won't. Now my account's in credit by £66, courtesy of the government and I'll just leave that in situ until the end of the month when I'll settle up again. That suits me fine. Like you (and after a long struggle with my financial situation) I now know how to manage my household bills.Please note - taken from the Forum Rules and amended for my own personal use (with thanks) : It is up to you to investigate, check, double-check and check yet again before you make any decisions or take any action based on any information you glean from any of my posts. Although I do carry out careful research before posting and never intend to mislead or supply out-of-date or incorrect information, please do not rely 100% on what you are reading. Verify everything in order to protect yourself as you are responsible for any action you consequently take.1 -
Octopus do now charge more if you don't pay by DD.
You should probably ring them and set up a VARIABLE DD, which means you will pay the bill in full each month, but Octopus will claim this by DD around 10-14 days after each bill is issued.Barnsley, South Yorkshire
Solar PV 5.25kWp SW facing (14 x 375) Lux 3.6kw hybrid inverter installed Mar 22 and 9.6kw Pylontech battery
Daikin 8kW ASHP installed Jan 25
Octopus Cosy/Fixed Outgoing0 -
Given the pressure we're all under that's the best way to go.
I'm battling OVO still regarding them using inflated estimated readings every month to generate my bill despite me supplying a customer reading. They've just moved me off my fix and onto the new capped variable rate so I'll no longer be penalised if I leave.
I'll have to take a look at Octopus. Sounds a much better way of doing things.0 -
MalMonroe said:annemariee1978 said:If you're in credit call them up to discuss the increase. They should be open to your request to pay what you believe to be a fair figure.
Although you may find the initial customer services advisors will say there is nothing they can do or that they can only consider a 15% reduction on the increased DD amount.
Stick to your guns and ask for a complaint to be put through.
I had exactly the same with OVO, although in the end I had to cancel my DD to get them to be reasonable and when their customer relations/complaints management department called a few days later they agreed to reinstate my DD at the amount I thought was fair and then also freeze that for 3 months.
I do not agree that they can have hundreds of pounds of my money sitting there when a month in hand is more than enough !
I will pay extra as and when it comes to it because I know how to manage my house accounts.
I also cancelled my direct debit because their website states that they will not penalise those who do not pay by DD. Paying by DD with Octopus gains no special favours, they don't deduct anything because they say that their prices are fair and low enough already so they don't have to.
I don't ever want my energy account to be in credit, whoever supplies it to my home. If most of their customers have credit in their accounts, that's more credit for them. I don't want to be brainwashed by the well-known phrase or saying, "building up credit in summer is good because then you can spread payments over winter". I'd rather have my own money in my own bank account.
I'm now paying when the bill comes in by debit card - immediately after I've submitted my meter readings at the end of every month. It's easily done online and it's no more time consuming than submitting meter readings.
When I login to my energy account they still try to encourage me to sign up to DD but I won't. Now my account's in credit by £66, courtesy of the government and I'll just leave that in situ until the end of the month when I'll settle up again. That suits me fine. Like you (and after a long struggle with my financial situation) I now know how to manage my household bills.0
Confirm your email address to Create Threads and Reply

Categories
- All Categories
- 348.4K Banking & Borrowing
- 252.2K Reduce Debt & Boost Income
- 452.5K Spending & Discounts
- 241K Work, Benefits & Business
- 617.4K Mortgages, Homes & Bills
- 175.7K Life & Family
- 254.2K Travel & Transport
- 1.5M Hobbies & Leisure
- 16K Discuss & Feedback
- 15.1K Coronavirus Support Boards