Eon putting up Direct Debit

TIGs

Just got gas and electric bill and Eon have mailed me saying they will be putting up my Direct debit by £45 a month, i am £200 under in my account because of this bill, but i think £114 a month is rediculaous.
I'm gonna ring them first thing in the morning, does anyone have any suggestions?

No way can i afford £114 a month on gas and electric :-(

Magentasue

If you have a debit balance, you are using too much or paying too little.

You have underpaid this quarter and the increased DD reflects this. Unfortunately, the DD is set at what you use rather than what you can afford.

Other way to to pay the £200 as a lump sum and renegotiate the DD.

SkintButHappy

Renegotiate. I was told ALL Eon direct debits got increased, i even came accross some people in credit who had their DDs go up. ridiculous

dursley.donkey

Magentasue wrote: »

Other way to to pay the £200 as a lump sum and renegotiate the DD.

Theoretically not a smart move. You have a £200 interest-free loan from Eon. Why pay it back before they demand it? Just keep an eye on the balance and make sure you don't over-shoot.

Magentasue

dursley.donkey wrote: »

Theoretically not a smart move. You have a £200 interest-free loan from Eon. Why pay it back before they demand it? Just keep an eye on the balance and make sure you don't over-shoot.

Agreed - was pointing out as only way to keep DD the same if you have a debit balance. Makes more sense to increase DD but OP reluctant to do this.

SkintButHappy wrote: »

Renegotiate. I was told ALL Eon direct debits got increased, i even came accross some people in credit who had their DDs go up. ridiculous

Disagree - OP does not have a credit balance - the increase in necessary to clear the debt.

TIGs

I don't like owing anything to anybody so I was going to ring and pay off the £200 debt to them an renegotiate the monthly D/D it definatley won't cost that much next time, told kids its candles and hot water bottles from now on lol

i don't mind increasing DD just can't afford an extra £50 a month on top of what i already pay.

Thanks everyone for your advice gonna ring and see what they say

Magentasue

TIGs wrote: »

I don't like owing anything to anybody so I was going to ring and pay off the £200 debt to them an renegotiate the monthly D/D it definatley won't cost that much next time, told kids its candles and hot water bottles from now on lol

i don't mind increasing DD just can't afford an extra £50 a month on top of what i already pay.

Thanks everyone for your advice gonna ring and see what they say

As said, if you have the £200, you'd be better off earning a little interest from it, and putting an extra £45 a month into your current account to settle your DD. If you couldn't trust yourself to keep it set aside, pay now and negotiate your DD - it may still be a bit higher though to reflect your higher than predicted usage/price rises that caused the debit balance.

TIGs

I've paid off what i owe, not cos i don't trust myself but would rather pay it than owe and they have lowered the DD, apparently my last bill was higher than normal, so why didn't they put up my DD then instead of waiting till i owed them even more.

Anyway sorted now, thanks again everyone xx

Magentasue

TIGs wrote: »

so why didn't they put up my DD then instead of waiting till i owed them even more.

Probably because 'they' are computers - your account probably has operating limits and, so long as you don't go above the upper limit, nothing happens until your next scheduled review. At least you're aware of it now - might be worth looking back and working out whether the increase is due to prices hikes or your household using more energy than you used to. If the latter, there may be a way to reduce this.

SandC

Oh I had the same stuff from Eon. Despite being in credit, last October they saw fit to increase my DD from £67 per month to £127!!!!! The first phone call was useless but the second one the lady agreed wholeheartedly with me and factored in price rises and last years total usage and we settled on £72 per month - a rise of just £5.

Imagine my surprise when the next bill comes in December and I still have a credit, but a smaller one than before and they inform me that my DD is coming DOWN to £15 per month!!!!!!!!!

Numpties. I was informed firstly it was because I had a credit and then I pointed out to them what the bill actually was for the previous period and then she blamed the 'system'. Deary, deary, dear.

Thing is, someone else who might be struggling a bit with finances at the moment might have well thought 'great, only £15 per month' only to be hit with a whacking great increase some months down the line to cover the deficit in the account.

kurjam

SkintButHappy wrote: »

Renegotiate. I was told ALL Eon direct debits got increased, i even came accross some people in credit who had their DDs go up. ridiculous

mine dd with e-on as not increased, well not that i know of i just had my bill and i am still in credit !!