Am i being Dim or are Atlantic taking the mick ?!

DGJsaver

Morning

I tried to call Atlantic this morning but gave up after 13 minutes on hold, plus I realised it may be a good idea to get an impartial opinion on my problem!

In July , as a `loyal` Atlantic customer , I am due a rebate of DD payments for both Gas and Electric , we always have to call and ask for it mind you , not in 4 years have they ever given it without us having to `remind `them about it...

Anyway , so they gave a rebate on both when I called this July , we have just had both bills through from July through to October , and I can see that we paid two usual instalments of £40 for Sep 1st and Oct 1st , totalling £80 , the total bill for the period is £41.77 , but because they have `given back `£44.58 , my only payment to them is the £40 , so I am left in debit with them , even though my bill was for £41.77 and I have paid £80 !!

Is it just me, or is this not a loyalty benefit? if I knew I would end up owing them money , I wouldn’t take the rebate , I assumed it was a loyalty benefit , not a refund , where’s the `reward `in that ?!

It’s the same with the Electric on the same bill span, we paid 3 £40 = £120, the bill is for a total of £84.05, yet they only `owe `us £12.08! , because they have taken the £35 rebate off my paid amounts! , in reality, surely, they owe us £47.08?

I just wanted to get others take on it; to me it feels not like a reward bonus for staying with them, rather a penalty!!

Any thoughts welcome?

Cheers

DGJsaver

anyone....:(

whowants2brich

£42 for 3 months of gas and electric usage? £14 per month is very low, even if you have minimal gas usage. Also, did you not pay £40 for August 1st?

Also, if you pay £40 a month on your direct debit, that's £480 per year, which, again, is probably too low. But without knowing your usage, building, number of people, then who knows. For a single person in a 1-bed flat, that's not impossible. But you did you use the word "we" so I don't think that's the case...

And forget about looking at the rebate in terms of how you'd have a credit/debit at any one month. I know that Eon look to have a balance of £0 in Spring, build up a credit in the summer, and burn it in the winter. It could be that Atlantic want you to have a £0 balance in October, push you in debit first, and claw it back in the summer.

And finally... if you paid £80 and your bill was £42, then you have a credit of £38. The £44 loyalty fee should not be offset against your account balance, unless it is classed as a refund - usually only if you've paid too much. That's why I prefer getting a x% discount on the unit rate, and the discount taken off each bill, rather than annual "rebates" which confuse people...

DGJsaver

exactley my point , the loyalty rebate is being offset againts my account balance!! surley thats no `reward` !!

P,s , i will be increasing my GAS dd next month

george1939

DGJsaver wrote: »

Morning

I tried to call Atlantic this morning but gave up after 13 minutes on hold, plus I realised it may be a good idea to get an impartial opinion on my problem!

In July , as a `loyal` Atlantic customer , I am due a rebate of DD payments for both Gas and Electric , we always have to call and ask for it mind you , not in 4 years have they ever given it without us having to `remind `them about it...

Anyway , so they gave a rebate on both when I called this July , we have just had both bills through from July through to October , and I can see that we paid two usual instalments of £40 for Sep 1st and Oct 1st , totalling £80 , the total bill for the period is £41.77 , but because they have `given back `£44.58 , my only payment to them is the £40 , so I am left in debit with them , even though my bill was for £41.77 and I have paid £80 !!

Is it just me, or is this not a loyalty benefit? if I knew I would end up owing them money , I wouldn’t take the rebate , I assumed it was a loyalty benefit , not a refund , where’s the `reward `in that ?!

It’s the same with the Electric on the same bill span, we paid 3 £40 = £120, the bill is for a total of £84.05, yet they only `owe `us £12.08! , because they have taken the £35 rebate off my paid amounts! , in reality, surely, they owe us £47.08?

I just wanted to get others take on it; to me it feels not like a reward bonus for staying with them, rather a penalty!!

Any thoughts welcome?

Cheers

The years up to a year ago I also was with Atlantic they have a simple scheme at the end of the 12th direct debit They would place direct into my bank account cash for our use of one month direct debit payment no strings attached and I carried on paying the normal monthly direct debits Without me asking them they always paid the money direct into our bank account. Good staff easy and helpful to deal with. Each year always one 12th of our direct debits straight into our bank account no messing about and no reminders

espresso

DGJsaver wrote: »

Is it just me, or is this not a loyalty benefit? if I knew I would end up owing them money , I wouldn’t take the rebate , I assumed it was a loyalty benefit , not a refund , where’s the `reward `in that ?!

You can calculate for yourself how much your DD payments needs to be to cover your annual usage using your meter. If you don't bother to ensure that you pay enough each month to cover your actual usage, then your loyalty payment will obviously be less than it could have been.

If for arguments sake your DD is £40 per month, that equates to £480 per annum. In month 13 providing you have met their terms, they will refund one montly payment back to your bank account so your annual bill is then £440.

The loyalty payment is effectively a 8.3% discount off your total DD payments made in the previous year.

Would you rather pay £480 or £440?

If you don't understand their loyalty scheme or the way that it operates, then you can obviously switch to another supplier.

meer53

I get a month back for my gas and elctric too from Atlantic every year with no prompting from me. It just goes back into my bank account. I was also in credit recently on both bills by over £200 and i requested a refund. It was back in my account within the week. I pay £85 per month for Gas and £51 per month for electricity, i have a 3 bed semi. OP, your payments seem quite low ? I probably should have left the credit balance where it was bu needed the money ! Will economise this winter !

gas4you

Same as above.

I've been with them for years and have always got a monthly payment back in December/January, on both Gas and electric, automatically.

DGJsaver

espresso wrote: »

You can calculate for yourself how much your DD payments needs to be to cover your annual usage using your meter. If you don't bother to ensure that you pay enough each month to cover your actual usage, then your loyalty payment will obviously be less than it could have been.

If for arguments sake your DD is £40 per month, that equates to £480 per annum. In month 13 providing you have met their terms, they will refund one montly payment back to your bank account so your annual bill is then £440.

The loyalty payment is effectively a 8.3% discount off your total DD payments made in the previous year.

Would you rather pay £480 or £440?

If you don't understand their loyalty scheme or the way that it operates, then you can obviously switch to another supplier.

I think your getting confused , i fully understand how to pay the bills , and keep a running total of all my meter readings and costs , my poiint is regards the `reward` being allocated to my account , rather than being a no strings attached , thank you , from Atlantic , for staying with them year on year

backfoot

What do the Terms and Conditions of your contract say?

Generally in my experience ,'deferred discount' or loyalty rewards get credited to your account. I personally avoid them because they act like an exit fee if the Supplier increases it's prices.

DGJsaver

I think a lot of the posters on this thread are getting confused

A)we stay on the line with our supplier , ie , they never owe us a great deal and vice versa , because i am on the them once a month with meter readings , so i know that side of things

what i am trying to say , is if its a REFUND , then its effectively MY money they are giving back , which means i paid them LESS hence the debit , if , as for the last 3 years , ioyalty payment , no strings attached , then its THEIR money , hence , i get my `loyalty` payment ?

no ?

Anyway , on hold to them now so ill update you all lol