Account constantly in credit - Advice

sassyblue

Morning all, just after some advice as l've been doing some housekeeping since times are getting hard....

I'm paying £144 to Scottishpower every month for gas and electricity, however going over the last years bills and direct debits my account is constantly in credit anywhere between £35 and £500. It averages about £250

I saw 6 months ago despite this they upped my direct debit from £122 to the £144. :mad:

I've just paid our bill and we're £250 in credit so l'm asking for it back because l don't agree with them having my money! By the time the next quarterly bill comes in l'll have paid another £432 which will be more than enough for the next 3 months bill.

The last time l did this l got grief from them so l wondered apart from the obvious (it's my money!) what l can do or say. It can't be illegal but it's certainly not ethical, IMO.

If they have a million customers and many of us pay by direct debit they are sitting on an awful lot of interest aren't they?

Or maybe l'm looking at it the wrong way, what do you think?

cally6008

ask them to drop direct debit down slightly

janey183

I had this problem with British Gas, always in credit yet d/d kept going up. When I asked for refunds I was told to keep it in credit, and a refund would take up to 2 weeks.
The only solution I found was to cancel the d/d and pay the bills as and when they drop through the door. That way I keep hold of my precious pennies and not them!

jon2432

I agree with Cally. Ring them up and ask to adjust your DD. The increase is done automatically when they change their rates etc.

I had the same thing and they reduced my monthly payments and even gave me back £200, although it was my own money!

sassyblue

Thanks cally, l'm going to do that but l know l got grief last time.

This is something Martin should take up if you ask me, cheeky g*ts. And of course with direct debits THEY get to be in control of what they take...

ETA: They were okay about sending me the refund until l asked about taking the DD down to £100 per month, l got the talk about the account falling into arrears but they did do it.

Terrylw1

Take a look at Standard Licence Condition (SLC) 27.14, 27.15 & 27.16.

These cover the calculation of the DD based on accurate information and when to refund a customer their credit or how they can refuse it. This should help you chase them up to reduce your DD and get any excess credit back.

Here is the link to Ofgem's site, use the supplier .PDF's.

http://www.ofgem.gov.uk/Licensing/Work/Pages/licence-conditions-consolidated.aspx

good_advice

Good morning Sassy Blue. If you are an online customer ask for a call back and talk over getting a cheque refund.

£144 DD is a high bill. more than double mine and 4 adults live here.
Times are getting hard and it is time to think of cutting down.
To cut down that bill you need to start unplugging and switching off items not in use. Plenty of advice on here.
Take care...

jalexa

sassyblue wrote: »

I've just paid our bill and we're £250 in credit so l'm asking for it back because l don't agree with them having my money....

....The last time l did this l got grief from them so l wondered apart from the obvious (it's my money!) what l can do or say.

There is no need to be up-tight about this. Study the procedure below line by line and demand your rights. Be aware that Scottish Power pay interest on excessive credit balances - but only at annual review - so it may be worth establishing the date of your annual review and delaying the refund.

http://www.scottishpower.co.uk/support-centre/payments/direct-debit-explained.aspx

Regarding "getting grief", if you are not 100% satisfied with a customer service outcome - including staff demeanor - you are entitled to formally complain in accordance with the complaints procedure.

Vic351

Don't ask tell or move to anouther suplier there are a lot out there.My bill is in credit & reduced both gas by 10% Electric by 90% so by April on last years bills will just be right for the summer with credits adding up for the winter.