Gas and Electric - Direct Debit change and overpayment?

Yellowbug

Hi everyone
Im new on here so please bear with me


right we have been in our house a year so everything is still a bit of a learning curve for us and all help is appreciated


We started off just paying bills as they came through for our gas and electric, but when we got ourselves settled we decided to change to direct debit so I didnt have to think about remembering to pay the bill lol

So anyway, we called and set up the direct debit for both electric and gas.
then went through the winter paying it, after winter we got a bill saying we owed them like £300!!!!!!!! but not to worry they will just leave our dd as it was and it should even out over the summer


no problem!


then we had a man come and read our meters recently, and then got bills through after ... that show that infact we have over paid on both accounts (adding up to about £250) but that they will still keep our dd the same


now what I am thinking is that our dd is clearly too high if we have gone through winter (having the heating on literally all day) and we are now in credit


so i was just wondering what your advice is? should I phone up and say we want to drop our dd's down a bit?
but maybe leave the overpayment with them to cover and extra cost when it does get to winter again?

all advice very greatfully received

Magentasue

Read your meters. Look back at what they were a year ago. Calculate kwh used in a year and multiply by the per kwh cost.

That's your annual bill. Divide by 12. That's what you need to pay a month to see you through the winter. Aim to pay enough to avoid debt but not so much that you end up with a large credit balance in spring. To keep things in line, read your meters regularly so that you know how things are before you get a statement. https://www.imeasure.org.uk may help you here.

Yellowbug

thanks for that

right I will look at my meter tonight and look at the old readings too and work it out

then is it a case of phoning up and explaining I think im paying too much? and I have worked out I should be paying x amount?

jimexbox

Your DD account as of your Spring bill ideally should be zero. Eon have just returned £114 and £34 for gas and electricity respectively, without me even asking. My DD payment should be lowered to reflect the surplus, although you can pay slightly more if you wish to cover a cold winter or change in circumstances.

Why dont you choose online billing? Then you can enter readings directly and monitor your account more closely. Plus you can switch tariffs easily, with Eon anyway. You can also monitor your energy usage, year on year.

Magentasue

Yellowbug wrote: »

thanks for that

right I will look at my meter tonight and look at the old readings too and work it out

then is it a case of phoning up and explaining I think im paying too much? and I have worked out I should be paying x amount?

Yes. Bear in mind that you should be in credit now. If you're building up too much credit, it is reasonable to ask for a reduction. If I remember correctly, with eon, you can change the DD yourself if you have an online account, although there is obviously a lower limit.

Former_E.ON_Company_Representative:_Malc

Magentasue wrote: »

Yes. Bear in mind that you should be in credit now. If you're building up too much credit, it is reasonable to ask for a reduction. If I remember correctly, with eon, you can change the DD yourself if you have an online account, although there is obviously a lower limit.

Hi Yellowbug

Just to confirm. Magentasue is right. If you have an online account you can change the Direct Debit yourself to match your usage. :j

If not, give us a call. This can be done over the phone very quickly.

Hope this helps.

Malc