Energy Company Refuse Payment by Fixed DD!

Former_E.ON_Company_Representative:_Malc · 22 March 2016 at 5:03PM

sacsquacco wrote: »

The only thing which are fixed are the tariffs if you elect to go on a one or two year fixed deal. I remember Powergen/Eon doing a fixed monthly tariff a good few years ago. It was a subsidised tariff for OAPs and was in fact an all you can eat use as much as you like tariff .Eon quickly changed that when they took over Powergen, my mum used to get her moneys worth and leave the heating on 24/7 ,but since then I dont think any supplier would be stupid enough to market that again. All suppliers will start off at a tariff which reflects your annual consumption but will change it as meter readings come in throughout the year.

That was our old Staywarm product sacsquacco. It disappeared towards the end of 2014. It was generally for customers aged 60 and over. Once accepted on to the scheme, customers could use as much energy as they wanted for a fixed agreed monthly figure. Usage was still important though. Contracts ran for 12 months and renewals were based on usage during this time.

Malc

FOREVER21 · 22 March 2016 at 5:48PM

E.ON_Company_Representative:_Malc wrote: »

That was our old Staywarm product sacsquacco. It disappeared towards the end of 2014. It was generally for customers aged 60 and over. Once accepted on to the scheme, customers could use as much energy as they wanted for a fixed agreed monthly figure. Usage was still important though. Contracts ran for 12 months and renewals were based on usage during this time.

Malc

Yes I remember that tariff for the 60+ a friend of ours had it, every time we visited them the house was very hot. They only lasted a year on that deal as when their renewal came around they had used so much energy the previous year that their DD payments were to increase by nearly 50%.
They then changed suppliers, but certainly enjoyed it whilst it lasted.

Former_E.ON_Company_Representative:_Malc · 22 March 2016 at 6:27PM

I think that happened in quite a few cases FOREVER21.

Malc

Bigphil1474 · 23 March 2016 at 2:18PM

OP, why don't you work out what you think your usage will be (KwH), calculate your cost based on the tariff provided and then divide that by 12, and see what it comes to. If it's more than what the current DD is, then increase it - you'll get in credit which will gradually whittle down over the year. My DD is variable, but it hasn't changed in 2 years because my usage hasn't changed much and I've been on a fixed deal.

System · 23 March 2016 at 2:43PM

FWiW, some of the blame for frequently changing monthly DDs can be placed at Ofgem's door - under pressure from sites such as MSE. In days of yore, I was quite happy if any credit was carried forward year-on-year; equally, I accepted that a debit balance would be rolled over into the following year. Now that energy suppliers are required to repay credits at the end of a contract - even if a customer doesn't switch - then I suspect that the Balance Sheet doesn't look the same as was once the case. I raised the issue of flawed calculations underpinning an increase in my energy usage calculation with the supplier and then The EO. The response that I got back was that 'suppliers now have an over-arching licence obligation not to allow customers to get into debt'. Make of that what you will.