Ebico/Southern Electric Direct Debit Warning

Nicholas

Just had my electric bill from Southern Electric and they have upped my DD payments from £15 a month to £31 a month, as "I was using more electricity than expected", but this was based on an estimated bill 200 units above what I actually used.

I then provided them with my readings and the DD was going down to £26 a month. It was then I decided I'd had enough of this DD plan and asked to go quarterly billing. They then cancelled my DD's and said I owed them £50.81.

Yesterday, despite the fact that the original bill saying that the next DD would be £31 from 5 June (and this had been overrode with a lower payment of £26 and then the DD was subsequently cancelled), they took £31 out of my bank account on top of the £15 they had already taken. I rang them up to tell them they had broken the DD guarantee, and the cheeky *as*ards said that according to their systems it was to be requested on 15 May. I told them I had it in writing that it should be from 5 June in any event but they said they did not have access to my bill and said this was correct.

I nearly went to the bank to get the money back:mad: as what they did was tantamount to stealing. Anyway, as I actually owed them the money (plus another £19.81 on top), I have reluctantly dropped the matter. Very annoying though as even though I have to get my electric account up to date they will conveniently hold on to the £9 overpayment on my gas until next quarter.

Just wondering if I should make Ebico aware of the situation as they need customers paying by DD to make their system work, but I would never go back to DD with these idiots. (And they have to fudge the bills to get around Southern's system of automatically giving a discount for DD). I nearly switched to British Gas Online for my electric because it is £12 cheaper again a year for me, but as I am now paying quarterly I think I will stay put. But they had better be charging me the correct unit price next quarter.

Sorry for the rant but I feel better now I have got it off my chest.

Wig

DD is easier, you're better off with it imo. You just have to keep on top of the estimated bills by submitting your actuals.

I don't see anything here Ebico should be conerned about, you were paying too little they upped it and then dropped it down a bit, now you should have just sat back and let things sort themselves out.

Nicholas

Wig wrote:

DD is easier, you're better off with it imo. You just have to keep on top of the estimated bills by submitting your actuals.

I don't see anything here Ebico should be conerned about, you were paying too little they upped it and then dropped it down a bit, now you should have just sat back and let things sort themselves out.

Sorry if my points were not clear enough, but my main concerns are as follows:

1. How can they possibly double my payment based on an estimated bill?

2. I do not think it is OK to take money from my account 3 weeks early? What if I was on a budget?

3. If I do not have to pay them for 3 months, I will gain the interest in my bank account, and I do not have to worry about paying too promptly, as there is no discount for prompt payments.

Cardew

Firstly to get an estimated bill to within 200 units is pretty good - it is approx £15.

When you told them the correct readings they dropped your DD £5 a month to £26 - exactly what they should do.

How much extra interest do you calculate you will gain. You will get the interest on £26 for 2 months, and a further £26 for one month. Which at 4%(nett) I make a total of 25 pence. If you delay payments and wait until final - final reminders you could get your savings up to 35 pence or so.

In the grand scheme of things I hardly think their conduct justifies your "rant!" Read some of the other threads on inefficient utility companies and your description of "cheeky *as*ards & these idiots" might apply to those companies.

Nicholas

Cardew wrote:

Firstly to get an estimated bill to within 200 units is pretty good - it is approx £15.

When you told them the correct readings they dropped your DD £5 a month to £26 - exactly what they should do.

How much extra interest do you calculate you will gain. You will get the interest on £26 for 2 months, and a further £26 for one month. Which at 4%(nett) I make a total of 25 pence. If you delay payments and wait until final - final reminders you could get your savings up to 35 pence or so.

In the grand scheme of things I hardly think their conduct justifies your "rant!" Read some of the other threads on inefficient utility companies and your description of "cheeky *as*ards & these idiots" might apply to those companies.

But what about my second point that they took money from my account without notifying me first? I have 14 direct debits on my account, so what if all of them decided to take what they want when they want without letting me know first? They were not apologetic in the least and even insisted that they were right even though I had it in writing otherwise.

I would have thought that at least members on this forum would have stuck up for me on this point alone. Obviously not.

The main point was to warn forum members that if they took money from my account before time, they could well do it to someone else whose account may go into the red. I thought that was the whole point of this forum, to save money and unnecessary expenses.

I'm quite surprised that I have been flammed. Shan't bother again.:(

Nicholas

Cardew wrote:

Firstly to get an estimated bill to within 200 units is pretty good - it is approx £15.
.

As my bills average £60 a quarter, that £15 you so lightly dismiss is a whopping 25% out.

Wig

Which bank account do you have? Cardew gave very favourable int rates - 4% net, not many current accouts with that rate. My curr account pays 0.1% interest so the saving will be zero.

If you just had a payment out on May 5th (as you allude) and always on or about the 5th for previous months, then they can hardly say it has now changed to the the 15th. You could have asked for the money back, but you are 50 pounds in the red (hence the DD increase) so you know you would get a large bill at next quarter, hence, you sensibly decided to let them keep the money.

You owe them money...19 pounds they owe you 9 pounds, all will be sorted at next quarter, until then the net result is that you owe them 10 pounds....so they are taking the fall, not you.

DD helps Ebico keep prices as low as possible, if you don't absolutely need to have quarterly or prepayment, you should for the good of every customer stick to DD. You said

but I would never go back to DD with these idiots. (And they have to fudge the bills to get around Southern's system of automatically giving a discount for DD).

What did they do that was SOOOo wrong **before** you upped the anti (or muddied the waters) by switching to quarterly? There was a shortfall on your account of 50 pounds, they increased you to 26 (5 pounds of which is to pay off your shortfall) so after a year it would have come down to 21. Oh and the DD fudge it not just them SWALEC's system can't cope either, it's no big deal it all works out in the end, infact, it means you pay ever so slightly less than the Ebico rate per kwh. I believe I saved 60p last quarter, compared to the advertised Ebico rates. So if Cardew is right about how much you save on your interest, I think you'll save a similar amout being with DD so there is no actual saving to you anyway.

It sounds to me like they treated you fairly. Then you jumped up and down because of an over estimate, well over estimates/under estimates are a fact of life, they don't have crystal balls....but they do have meter reading correction freephone lines (usually). When you switched to quarterly it sounds like that triggerred some sort of glitch in the system. At the end of the day you owed them the money. and it was because you switching to quarterly which meant it all becomes due immediately or the remainder at next quarter.

And another point

as "I was using more electricity than expected", but this was based on an estimated bill 200 units above what I actually used.

Well you were using more than expected, you were 50 pounds in the red.

Cardew

Nicholas wrote:

I'm quite surprised that I have been flammed. Shan't bother again.:(

Not agreeing with you does not mean you have been 'flammed'.

The vast majority of complaints on this forum are the result of an under-estimation of consumption and the subsequent large debit balance that has to be paid off.

Well in this case Ebico overestimated by £15 in a quarter - it is not as if that £15 is an overcharge - and they immediately rectified it when you informed them.

You seem to be quite content to owe them money, but it is a big deal if it is possible that you might go a few pounds in credit.

I am not a customer of Ebico but from what I have seen I like the principles on which they operate. Direct Debits help keep their costs down, as also does prompt payment of bills although they don't penalise those who take advantage of that facility - which appears to appeal to you.

JohalaReewi

Nicholas wrote:

But what about my second point that they took money from my account without notifying me first? I have 14 direct debits on my account, so what if all of them decided to take what they want when they want without letting me know first? They were not apologetic in the least and even insisted that they were right even though I had it in writing otherwise.

This is against the DD code of conduct and under the direct debit guarantee scheme you are entitled to a full and immediate refund FROM YOUR BANK.

Don't bother contacting the supplier for a refund. Just contact your bank and point out the DD transaction and say that it has been presented too early (or wrong amount or whatever) and you would like a full and immediate refund under the direct debit guarantee scheme. Some slippery bank staff might try and say that you have to wait for them to get the money back first (or put you off) but this is nonsense, and tell them so. If your bank refuse to play ball, you can report them to BACS who are very keen to come down on banks who dishonour the guarantee like a ton of bricks.

ts_aly2000 wrote:

The motto for the OP: Never use direct debits.

The guarantee is worth about as much as the one you get with an expensive vaccum cleaner at Comet or Currys ..a load of hassle and arguing.

The guarantee is real and if you have any trouble, just contact the nice people at BACS who will gladly take up your case and remind the bank of their duties.

Useful links.
http://www.bacs.co.uk/BPSL/directdebit/generalpublic/yourrights/

http://www.bacs.co.uk/BPSL/directdebit/contactus/gettinghere/

http://www.bacs.co.uk/bpsl/bpsl.site/templates/forms/contactwizard.aspx?NRMODE=Published&NRORIGINALURL=%2fBPSL%2fcorporate%2fcontactus%2fcontactme%2f&NRNODEGUID=%7b047FB1E6-28FD-47FC-884F-30FD4D89EC8F%7d&NRCACHEHINT=Guest

http://www.financial-ombudsman.org.uk/publications/ombudsman-news/27/27-directdebit-guarantee.htm

http://www.financevictims.co.uk/direct-debits/index.htm

Did I mention you have to contact YOUR BANK (or building society) to get a refund??

oldwiring

JohalaReewi Good post. I worked for one of the major banks, so some my finf my comment biased, but I have never experienced any difficulty in getting an erroneous payment under the DD scheme recalled/ refunded. There seems to be too much bash the businesses around, as if they were the total and only culprits, when sometimes the fault lies even in part with the consumer.

JohalaReewi

The problem a lot of people have getting a DD refunded, is they contact the supplier and try to get them to refund under the DD guarantee scheme, which of course, they won't. The guarantee is offered by the bank. Hence my reminders to contact the BANK for a refund.