winter fuel payment

racon

mgdavid wrote: »

I just decide what amount I want to pay monthly, and set up an SO for it. It's usually a bit too low so I end up paying a small lump sum to get back to zero once a year, but at least I'm not lending them my money. Had a big row with them a few years ago when they called and tried to get me to pay a huge monthly amount, I told them they had a wrong number, if they wanted to borrow money to finance their business they needed a bank. They've left me alone since then.

Hey. I don't know who supplies your fuel, but Scottish Power don't do Standing Orders only Direct Debits. That way they vary the amount they take. They set the level of payment not us. I have been down this road with them before but they will not agree a monthly figure that will not cover the whole 12 months usage. I have tried to control what they take by cancelling the Direct Debit at the bank, only to find that a month later they have set up another new one and gone for their figure, not mine. However so far their figure has not been too far out (about £150 or so in credit at the end of the year before I credit the account with the WFA). With ever increasing prices the credit on the account just seems to get swallowed up.

racon

zygurat789 wrote: »

For maximum effect you should enquire if there is a refund and request repayment in the October/November, then make out the DD/SO for the comong year. This way you will owe the supplier throughout the year rather than be lending it money, afterall they aren't a bank.

Hey. But the monthly account system is set up to create a credit in the summer months which is then used up in the winter months.

luvchocolate

I prefer to let my credit build up to see me through the winter without worrying..I pay £65 month and am in credit by £250, I then get my refund in April allowing it to build up through the summer.
Winter fuel all sits in my bank as an emergency fund.

zygurat789

racon wrote: »

Hey. But the monthly account system is set up to create a credit in the summer months which is then used up in the winter months.

But is your supplier a utilty or a bank?
If the former, then it supplies you THEN you pay; if the latter then you pay it and it supplies you.

Your scenario and mine both involve paying the supplier the same amount, I just pay later.

missile

racon wrote: »

... They set the level of payment not us. I have been down this road with them before but they will not agree a monthly figure that will not cover the whole 12 months usage. I have tried to control what they take .....

I am not surprised they don't accept your "logic"
If you can't agree a figure with your provider, you do not have to pay by DD.

Roger1

racon wrote: »

I have tried to control what they take by cancelling the Direct Debit at the bank, only to find that a month later they have set up another new one and gone for their figure, not mine.

Sounds like someone's being a bit naughty!

Only you can authorise a direct debit. Cancelling at the bank should be enough, but Scottish Power could be using an old instruction of yours to set up a new DD. If so, not nice.

If you want to do this again, best to cancel at the bank AND tell SP that the DD is cancelled.

racon

zygurat789 wrote: »

But is your supplier a utilty or a bank?
If the former, then it supplies you THEN you pay; if the latter then you pay it and it supplies you.

Your scenario and mine both involve paying the supplier the same amount, I just pay later.

Hey, now I am confused. Your logic means that you will always be owing the fuel company money? If, like most people are, on a monthly scheme whereby you pay 1/12 of the estimated annual cost each month, you should always have a situation from say April until September of the fuel company owing you money. Then from October until March that credit should have been wiped out. Unless you are talking about the old way of doing it and paying for the fuel on receipt of an invoice every 3 months. At the end of the day you will still pay the same over the 12 month period.
As an example;
I pay from April to September a total of £624, yet my fuel cost is only approx. £390. Then from October to March I pay another £624, but my fuel costs are £758. In addition I pay them another £200 being the Winter Fuel Payment which by the end of the year means that I am £300 in credit. Fuel costs go up in the following year, the cost of which is absorbed in part by the WFA from the previous year.
I honestly don't see the problem, you will always end up paying the same whichever system you use.

racon

Roger1 wrote: »

Sounds like someone's being a bit naughty!

Only you can authorise a direct debit. Cancelling at the bank should be enough, but Scottish Power could be using an old instruction of yours to set up a new DD. If so, not nice.

If you want to do this again, best to cancel at the bank AND tell SP that the DD is cancelled.

Hey, yes I thought that too, they were a bit cheeky. When I challenged SP they said that they had my authority. What really annoyed me was that the Direct Debits are variable. SP can take what they want. When they did this, they took £142 from the account being the amount that they originally said they wanted. Despite my objections about the massive increase and my cancelling the DD, they secretly issued a new DD and got their £142. They refused to refund any of it despite them later accepting that it was too much and agreeing that what I was paying before all of this happened should be the proper amount - £104 a month.

zygurat789

racon wrote: »

Hey, now I am confused. Your logic means that you will always be owing the fuel company money? If, like most people are, on a monthly scheme whereby you pay 1/12 of the estimated annual cost each month, you should always have a situation from say April until September of the fuel company owing you money. Then from October until March that credit should have been wiped out. Unless you are talking about the old way of doing it and paying for the fuel on receipt of an invoice every 3 months. At the end of the day you will still pay the same over the 12 month period.
As an example;
I pay from April to September a total of £624, yet my fuel cost is only approx. £390. Then from October to March I pay another £624, but my fuel costs are £758. In addition I pay them another £200 being the Winter Fuel Payment which by the end of the year means that I am £300 in credit. Fuel costs go up in the following year, the cost of which is absorbed in part by the WFA from the previous year.
I honestly don't see the problem, you will always end up paying the same whichever system you use.

Just keep reading the highlighted bit until the penny drops.

My money is my money until I spend it, not until someone takes it from me, and I will keep it myself.
Although we may pay the same amount to the utility I always have more in my pocket because I start my payments in October.

JB9302

JB9302 wrote: »

WFA still not received by MIL and she hasn't had the letter , so will ring up on Mon for her , looks like she slipped the net this time .

Missus phoned up for her today and they confirmed that payment had not been paid (we knew) and to expect the allowance to be received by end March .