Gas monthly direct debit went up no warning

momo0605

We received a letter from swalec our elec and gas supplier, that our elec monthly dd would be going down. Husband checked his bank statement and gas dd has went up from £60 a month to £90. We have never received any correspondence to let us know about this. Are they allowed to do this? Its rather frightening that they just went ahead and took money like everyone money is tight.

Bluebirdman_of_Alcathays

momo0605 wrote: »

We received a letter from swalec our elec and gas supplier, that our elec monthly dd would be going down. Husband checked his bank statement and gas dd has went up from £60 a month to £90. We have never received any correspondence to let us know about this. Are they allowed to do this? Its rather frightening that they just went ahead and took money like everyone money is tight.

Contact your bank. Invoke the terms of the direct debit guarantee http://www.directdebit.co.uk/DirectDebitExplained/Pages/DirectDebitGuarantee.aspx.

Write a letter to SWALEC (SSE in real terms), titled COMPLAINT. Don't waste your time or money calling, it's old fashioned snail mail complaints that get the greatest response.

Joyful

Check your last bill whether it is paper or online. This should tell you about any increase in your DD. If not,then you can invoke the DD guarantee with your bank. You should also be checking why they are putting it up. Do you have an outstanding balance or has your consumption increased?

MoominMama

Co-Op just did this to me, took an extra £67 out without any warning and made me go overdrawn, I've just rang them and ranted at them and they are putting my DD back down to what it was before.

Andy_WSM

MoominMama wrote: »

I've just rang them and ranted at them and they are putting my DD back down to what it was before.

So presumably, your next post will be "I'm in debt with Co-Op and they're threatening to fit a pre-payment meter"?

Nothing like ranting at call centre staff to get life's problems solved :mad:

matelodave

If your direct debit doesn't cover the amount that you are using then you'll get a big bill, so having it reduced will just mean that the bill gets bigger.

If you check your bills against the meter you'll know if you are paying enough and having a squeak because you haven't kept an eye on your bills won't help when the big one comes in.

As Andy says, will your next moan be about the big bill that you've just received because you still haven't made sure you are paying the right amount.

Bluebirdman_of_Alcathays

Andy_WSM wrote: »

So presumably, your next post will be "I'm in debt with Co-Op and they're threatening to fit a pre-payment meter"?

Nothing like ranting at call centre staff to get life's problems solved :mad:

It's astonishing the disgusting treatment meted out by some people towards call centre staff. I doubt most of them would talk that way in a "normal shop" to somebody's face.

In this instance, it would appear the DD was reset in line with the customer request. Did the call handler deserve the rant? Who knows, but my money is on "probably not".

Cardew

I really tend to be sceptical about all of these firms accused of increasing a DD without a warning.

These days the notification of a DD increase is often buried away at the bottom of the bill, after the 'small print' and easily missed; especially as many of us simply give the bill a cursory glance.

Given that these notifications are computer-generated it really is unlikely that there are so many malfunctions.

MoominMama

You don't know all the details so please don't jump to conclusions based on what little snippets I have given here, why do people on forums do that so much?

I could bore you with the 4 month long battle I've been having with the Co-Op and list the umpteen phone calls I have had with them.

I set up a DD with them that was discussed with them and was enough to cover my monthly bill and a bit extra so I could accumulate some credit for the winter. I told them I was on benefits and that I could not afford a penny more of what I had set with them and they were happy with that.

My first DD went out fine.

My 2nd didn't. I rang to ask why, got no proper answer was told it would all go through fine next month.

It didn't. I ask why, got no proper answer. I said I was worried I was going to be getting a big bill at some point as I was now 2 months behind, they assured me I wouldn't and that next month it would go through just fine.

It didn't. I ask why, got no proper answer, was assured once again I would not get a big bill and to not worry it will go through just fine.

I then get a £500 in the post a demand for immediate payment. After hours and I mean hours, on the phone to Co-Op and my bank trying to find out why my DD stopped working, after a lot of quite frankly unpleasant attitude from the Co-Op on the phone talking to me as if I was in the wrong, after they put me through endless stress it turns out THEY cancelled my DD for absolutely no reason whatsoever and it could not be reinstated by them, it had to be done by me, but as they kept telling me each month they had reinstated it I had no idea!!!

I have been in discussions with them for months about this, notes are plastered all over my account on their systems, I've complained higher up and lodged a complaint with the ombudsman, so when I ring up to ask why an extra £67 was taken out of my account without any warning at all and the woman on the phone gives ME attitude for being so far behind with my bill and talking to me like a naughty child for not paying my bill, yes, I ranted and believe me I was controlling myself.

As for being on a prepay meter, I am switching suppliers as I am moving house, the Co-Op can get stuffed.

And I treat everyone the same whether they are online of in a real shop, I'm not two faced. I won't put up with someone talking to me in a condescending tone when I haven't even done anything wrong. For 4 months I tried to give them my money and for 4 months they never took it and I'm somehow in the wrong?

MoominMama

matelodave wrote: »

If your direct debit doesn't cover the amount that you are using then you'll get a big bill, so having it reduced will just mean that the bill gets bigger.

If you check your bills against the meter you'll know if you are paying enough and having a squeak because you haven't kept an eye on your bills won't help when the big one comes in.

As Andy says, will your next moan be about the big bill that you've just received because you still haven't made sure you are paying the right amount.

Wrong, my DD covers what I use and a bit more, the extra money they took out was their sneaky way of getting me to pay off the £500 debt they rang up for me when I had already spent hours on the phone telling them I can't afford that and they accepted it.

Nada666

If you can't afford a £500 bill don't consume £500 of energy. If things are so tight on benefits you would have noticed payments not going out your account. You suggest you did know payments were not being made - as such you knew you would have to pay a lump sum or face an increase in your instalments.

The Co-op have messed up but you were not unaware that this was going on. If you did not want an increase then you were free to make one-off catch-up payments during any of your (apparently) many contacts.