British Gas Direct Debit Payments Increased

Carolee_3

Hi, this is my first posting, and I am hoping to reach someone having the same problems as us. British Gas have just put our monthly standing order up by £25. We called as we are always in credit but they revised to put the standing order back down, my husband was trying to rationalise with them on the telephone for half an hour, but the operator had obviously been given a script to follow and told to refuse to reduce our standing orders. Like I said, we are always in credit and have been for the last two years! Any advice on how we get them to put our standing order back to where it was until there is a clear need for it to be increased. Thanks for any help as we were faced with a brick wall.

Cardew

Welcome to the Forum.

I assume you mean Direct Debit and not standing order.(You can pay by Standing Order but you get a lower discount)

With a Standing Order only you can change the amount - with a Direct Debit the utility company can alter the amount.

You don't say if it is gas or electricity? Bear in mind that there were big rises in the summer and it has been a very cold winter.

The Computer calculates that on those factors and your consumption pattern an increase is required.

I suggest that you write to BG(don't phone) with your objections and ask for a full explanation and justification for the increase.

However bear in mind that it may just be justified.

kjsmith7

You don't have to pay by Direct Debit/Standing Order if you are unhappy with the amount. At the end of the day, it is a choice. You would sacrifice your Direct Debit discount, however if you paid quarterly you would get a prompt payment discount if you paid within 14 days (£15 per year per fuel max, as opposed to Direct Debit discount of £35 per fuel per year max (based on consumption though..)).

One option is to set up a Standing Order directly with the bank (using the BACS details for British Gas on your bill) and to pay an amount of your choosing, every month (or, as it is your Standing Order, at a frequency of your choosing). The only downside to this is that you have to settle the balance quarterly if there is one. This does not build up a credit for Winter unless you pay more than you need to and build up the credit yourself in the Summer months. You would get the Prompt Payment discount if you settled quickly, but you would lose the Direct Debit discount and the Standing Order discount (as it is not a Standing Order administered by British Gas).

Make sure you're on the cheapest tariff you can be (or, if you're fixed, consider how likely the prices are to increase and whether you could afford said increase before you decide to cancel and maybe pay an exit fee), and attempt to telephone again (you may get a better explanation) or, as Cardew suggests, send in a letter.

Couple of factors that may have increased your Direct Debit:
- Have you only been with British Gas with your current accounts for the past year? Direct Debits are not reassessed in the first year as there is no consumption history on that account. Therefore it may not be including the price rises last July until now.
- Are you in debit/do you have a debt balance? I know you said you were in credit most of the time, but are you in debit now?
- What tariff are you on? Is it fixed? Could you get a better deal with British Gas or someone else?
- Has your consumption increased this quarter in comparison to last quarter? Use meter readings or kWh as opposed to prices, due to big variations now and then. This could be a big factor in the increase, as it may expect this higher consumption to happen all the time.
- Is your account billed to an accurate meter reading, and billed within the last 28 days (as opposed to 90 days/a quarter).

If you still cannot understand why it has increased, but have checked your consumption, balance, meter readings, etc. I'd advise using this information to your advantage and explain everything clearly

Hope that helps

Vestra

Why don't you work out you own DD? It's a really simple calculation:

Last years kwh consumption x todays unit rates

Add on any arrears from last bill divided by 12 months

= Monthly Direct Debit figure

If you phone them up and you've done the calculation they should move it for you.

We have a really good spreadsheet at work that works it out, but I would get shot if I uploaded it.