Npower insisting on increasing direct debit

FarmerGilesUK

Hi all

Just had a right old argument with Npower this morning regarding my direct debit which they are insisting on increasing from £48pcm to £65pcm.

My account started off the year £62 in arrears due to them not taking their direct debit until 2 months after they started supply. Over the last 7 months this arrear had reduced to £60 which I today paid off. This shows that I must be using slightly less electricity than I'm paying for.

They now want to increase the monthly direct debit to a massive £65 which I cannot afford. They say this is a "mid term adjustment" to take into account anticipated increased electricity usage during the coming winter months.

This is where it all gets more annoying. I have tracked my electricity usage in a spreadsheet for the last four years and I know that my usage actually drops slightly in the winter months. This is because we have a lot of people staying with us in the summer in an annex which is all electric so our usage shoots up May - Sept. I explained this to them but they were having none of it.

I have today re-worked out my usage including standing charges and vat and it comes to just a few quid less than £600 per annum or £50 pcm.

I'm obviously not happy about them taking an extra £15 a month which is going to mean they are holding on to my money for electricity they haven't yet provided. This will leave my account in credit on 6 months time.

Is this legal? Can they just up my payment without my agreement?

Any advice, is there anything I can do?

And yes, I know this amount is small fry compared to what some households pay, but we are very energy conscious and the entire house is now fitted with LED lighting etc to keep the bills down.

Regards

Cardew

It is a Direct Debit Agreement, so both parties have to agree the amount.

This comes up lots of times on these boards and if you can present a reasoned argument - as you have provided - it is most unusual for them to insist on the increased monthly payment.

If they left it at £48 a month, they can always review again in a couple of months if you have got your figures wrong.

I would ask to speak to a supervisor, or send an email.

DragonQ

Why would electricity use increase in the winter unless your heating was electric anyway? Lightbulbs being on for an extra couple of hours a day will have no noticeable effect if they're energy efficient.

These companies.

wakeupalarm

In 7 months your arrears have reduced from £62 to £60. So your roughly paying for what you are using and not making much of a dent in the arrears. Energy companies expect you to be in credit during this time of year as they expect to balance out the account at the end of winter after most peoples usage has increased due to the cold.

Your situation is different in that you are aware that your usage during the winter will be lower than the summer. However, you have been with the energy companies for less than a year so they don't have records of their own to establish that your usage will drop therefore they use their standard model to guestimate your usage and these standard models will tell them that you need to increase the direct debit to £65 from your current £48.

You can try to negotiate with them but I don't think they will budge much until after the winter period has gone.