DD increased after change of bank account?

sarah7610

Hi, Just recently I changed my bank account and so had to give the new details to all my DD recipients.
When I phoned Scottish Power to change my bank details they said it was no problem and done in seconds. Fine, until she informed me that my monthly payments would be going up by almost £30!
I haven't missed any payments and all I wanted to do was change my bank details but now I am forking out an extra £30. When I asked why the payments had gone up she said that she had to re-calculate my payments as they were starting from scratch with the new bank!!!!

Are they allowed to do this??

Thanks

JSR

It would've happened anyway when the 6 monthly review took place. Sounds like changing your bank details just caused the review to take place early. Just make sure you give monthly, accurate meter readings and you'll always be paying about the right amount. No surprises!

sarah7610

6 monthly review? That's a new one on me. Never had one of those before

JSR

Most suppliers automatically review your direct debit every six months to make sure the amount you're paying matches the amount of energy you're using and the current price of your tariff.

Trouble is they only read the meters themselves annually or in some cases every two years so it's very important to give regular meter readings. If you leave them to it the review will be based on estimates which can easily be over-estimates, meaning you pay too much, or under-estimates which means you have a surprise debt to pay off.

You didn't say whether you gave an up to date reading when you changed banks, but if you did, then you've probably been underpaying for quite some time and now have to pay back the debt. If not, the review will be based on an estimate and you may now be overpaying or you may even still be underpaying!