nPower refuse to change monthly payment

DirectDebacle

bettyboo71 wrote: »

Sorry, perhaps I need to clarify this.
I do understand that if my monthly payments are too low I can end up with a large bill but the bill to the end of January is based on accurate readings and has a £54 credit on it. I always check if its an estimated bill and give them updated readings if the reading isnt very close to the actual use.
So, over the next 3 months they expect me to use the addditional £14 per month that they want to charge me plus another £17 (one third of the current credit balance) on top of the amount I am paying at the moment - which has already been a sufficient payment to leave me with a credit of more than one monthly payment at the end of one of the coldest winters in twenty years.
And the discount I get every year for paying by direct debit is because they have that money paid in advance of any bill being issued, earning interest in their account rather than mine.

When is your anniversary date for a zero balance. If it is very close npower may well feel that this increase is necessary to ensure the account is not in debit by the next anniversary date.

If it is in the summer months then you are correct to question this increase.

Unfortunately some of the energy companies at the moment are abusing the DD scheme in order to improve their cashflow.

If you switch, be aware that E.ON for example are trying to move all their DD accounts to achieve a zero balance in the spring. This is causing some customers extraordinarily high DD increases to achieve this. E.ON also have a policy of not applying any discounts to final bills. It is possible therefore to make 12 monthly DD payments to E.ON, switch and find you have received a DD discount for 9 months, not 12. Carefully read T&Cs before signing up. This can help avoiding nasty surprises.

Cardew

maxmycardagain wrote: »

except with a DDM they only have to TELL you its going up, not get your acceptance, its part of why a standing order is better than a DDM, no variations!

They have to tell you so you can discuss, or leave the DD scheme.

As said above, there is no way a standing order is a cheap as a direct debit; check it out.