large increase in electricity direct debit payment - help

cornholio

hi guys,

we've been paying £50 per month via DD to EDF for electricity: at statement dated every 3 months over the last 3 periods we have been 50, 54 then 92 in debit on the account (92 was in Dec 09). they have now put the DD up to 110 now, which seems a bit of a large jump..

we also have gas with them, balance last statement of 281 credit......

am i missing something with the jump in the electricity DD ?

is it not possible to give readings each month and pay for what you have used in that month ??

cheers
Stu

Premier_2

cornholio wrote: »

...is it not possible to give readings each month and pay for what you have used in that month ??...

Not usually, but I think BG have started offering that ... and maybe Eon to new customers?

You can of course pay for what you use every 3 months. Why not do that and work out for yourself what you've used each month and put that in a savings account for when the quarterly bill arrives? Better to have the money in your account than in the supplier's account. :beer:

Of course that defies the basic reason many people like paying a common amount each month though! Most people have a regular monthly income, and so like a regular monthly outgoing. Paying for what you consume will give rise to higher bills in the winter months compared to the summer months.

cornholio

thanks guys, have asked the question of EDF about the increase in DD

dogshome

Hi cornholio -The reason for the jump to the £110 D/D level is that EDF are trying to recover the debt, and set the D/D at a level which pays for what you are using
Whilst that's fair enough, your annual spend of £600 a year on Elect when you have gas heating is rather high - but all depends on the size of dwelling, residents and life style.

If you have a small family in a smallish dwelling, it is worth looking at the bills to check if EDF have based thier figures on Estimated billings, if they haven't then you should look excessive use of a Tumble Dryer and/or an Imersion heater being left on for long periods, and computer Set-ups/TV's being left on stand-by 24/7

If the £281 Gas credit was on a bill dated early December, then the D/D level you are paying is about right - If it's on a January bill the chances are the gas D/D is set too high
Good Luck

cornholio

interesting thing is that our usage hasn't altered really since last year, but we changed to EDF last summer from our previous supplier where we paid about 110 a month for gas and electric, now we're asked to pay 110 just for electric ! i know prices have altered but seems excessive.....

Mankysteve

Get an online account with variable direct debt and enter a reading each mouth and then you only pay what you use simples. Put a bit extra side to cover your winter bills before hand your onto a winner I really don't know why anyone puts up with estimated bills nowadays it just asking for trouble.

PennyForThem_2

Tell them you are not paying that but will pay X amount of pounds over what you were paying.

In my opinion this is not what a DD account is about. You will be in debit inthe winter and as long as it isnot excessive the company will get it back in the summer. This depends on accurate meter readings.

For instance I am £77 pounds in debit for gas and £ 40 for electricity from an actual (meterman) reading in middle of January. I expect for my DD to pay for this in next 2-3 months and I will be in credit in the summer.

Today CH is off because it is mild (and I am mean).

I used to be on Sainsbury which was EDF (I think) and when they tried increasing DD to preposterous amounts used to ring them and say 'no' - they always accepted.

JennyR68

Mankysteve wrote: »

Get an online account with variable direct debt and enter a reading each mouth and then you only pay what you use simples. Put a bit extra side to cover your winter bills before hand your onto a winner I really don't know why anyone puts up with estimated bills nowadays it just asking for trouble.

Unfortunately not all suppliers do variable monthly bills. I was happy doing so with BG but could save hundreds going to EDF so it didn't make sense to stay just for that facility. I would also prefer to pay my bills as I get them but once again a 6% reduction for paying DD isn't easy to ignore. Feels like your penalised for being able to manage your money!

iamcornholio

LOL ... excellent name OP!

Anyway, I had this same problem this week with Scotish Power

They've bumped up my monthly DD by 50% to £120, based on my reading this week. Obviously this reading reflects higher winter use, so what they have now done is used this [winter] reading to estimate usage over 12 months and divided by 12 to get £120/m.

My argument is that, even when paying the original £80/m, my account was showing a credit balance for 9 months of the year.

Their CS agent did not seem to understand that a 50% hike is not acceptable, and just tried to waffle about how they worked it out.

Anyway, looks like I'm off to Eon .... with £70 cashback via quidco ...... and cheaper monthly payments

Premier_2

iamcornholio wrote: »

LOL ... excellent name OP!

Anyway, I had this same problem this week with Scotish Power

They've bumped up my monthly DD by 50% to £120, based on my reading this week. Obviously this reading reflects higher winter use, so what they have now done is used this [winter] reading to estimate usage over 12 months and divided by 12 to get £120/m.

My argument is that, even when paying the original £80/m, my account was showing a credit balance for 9 months of the year.

Their CS agent did not seem to understand that a 50% hike is not acceptable, and just tried to waffle about how they worked it out.

Anyway, looks like I'm off to Eon .... with £70 cashback via quidco ...... and cheaper monthly payments

Haven't you recently been transferred to a new tariff following expiration of the former deal? Could that be the reason, at least in part, for the revised monthly payments?

Anyway, the £70 bung should pay for the early exit fees you'll experience ... if you actually get the £70 as it is never guaranteed.

Chrysalis

closed wrote: »

Paying a fixed monthly direct debit is usually much cheaper than paying actual bills, and the discount outweighs any interest in a savings account. It also makes budgeting easier.

The DD should reflect your actual usage, taking into account any arrears built up, if it doesn't argue about the amount, and ask for any significant credit to be refunded.

dont forget that on quarterly you effectively getting 3 months credit so you have 3 months worth of bills cash to use on other stuff whilst with dd that wouldnt be the case, and especially isnt the case for those in credit.