Electric bills and direct debits

MickeyAB

We have all heard about switching to cheaper tariffs from a variety of sources.
It appears that if you are like me, and refuse to use the direct debit system, you will not find a cheaper deal anywhere.
I stopped using the DD system 10 years ago after my then provider had taken to much money and I was £900.00 in credit!
I only use electronic banking now to pay quarterly electricity bills.!

Bluebirdman_of_Alcathays

Not sure that one issue ten years ago would put me off using DD. There are plenty of safeguards in place, people have to inform you that your DD is going up - this has happened in 100% of instances for me (not just energy). The bank are also required to reverse any transaction that you deem incorrect, and investigate later.

MickeyAB

The main point I was trying to make ,was that it is difficult to get a good deal on energy bills if you refuse to use the DD system.

Mojisola

MickeyAB wrote: »

The main point I was trying to make ,was that it is difficult to get a good deal on energy bills if you refuse to use the DD system.

It's your choice not to use DD.

If you want the cheaper deals, give DDs another chance.

We keep an eye on our usage, our credit balance and the monthly payments so that everything runs smoothly.

When our credit balance has got too high in the past, we've asked for a refund and it has been paid back into our bank.

Bluebirdman_of_Alcathays

MickeyAB wrote: »

The main point I was trying to make ,was that it is difficult to get a good deal on energy bills if you refuse to use the DD system.

Ah. Well, without meaning to be rude, what do you expect? Paying a company 3 months in arrears as opposed to 1 month has a huge impact on working capital. They want to do everything they can to encourage people onto DD - what better way than to make DD cheaper.

Rubidium

MickeyAB wrote: »

The main point I was trying to make ,was that it is difficult to get a good deal on energy bills if you refuse to use the DD system.

And the point that Bluebirdman of Alcathays made was that there is no need to be so paranoid about not using DD's

I have never once had a problem and get cheaper bills due to using DD.

It's a no brainer!

matelodave

As said, it's your choice. use DDs or pay more. Why should the rest of us subsidise you because you are paranoid.

daveyjp

Pay by DD for cheapest tarriff, but be prepared to do some work every month to ensure no run away debt or credit.

Or pay more to have a quarterly bill, but benefit from only needing to read meters once the bill arrives and then having a few weeks to pay the bill.

molerat

Been billed today - as I do every month - my electric is £18 in debit and gas £63 in credit just as we go into winter and forecast (on my own spreadsheet) to be £0 at the end of Feb. No problems here. Those that generally have problems are the ones who do not actively manage their accounts which can also happen with quarterly billing if you do not submit readings.

badmemory

Most energy companys work their DDs much better than they did 10 years ago. If you do regular online meter readings you can request a change to your DD. Many trigger an automatic refund if you start being well overpaid. I have to say here that I have the opposite problem to most people. They keep trying to put my DD down & I keep cancelling the decrease.

footyguy

MickeyAB wrote: »

We have all heard about switching to cheaper tariffs from a variety of sources.
It appears that if you are like me, and refuse to use the direct debit system, you will not find a cheaper deal anywhere.
I stopped using the DD system 10 years ago after my then provider had taken to much money and I was £900.00 in credit!
I only use electronic banking now to pay quarterly electricity bills.!

Welcome to MSE :hello:

I'm not sure I follow you entirely.
It certainly is the case that those customers that pay by DD usually get the best rates.
But most people can still save some money if you don't want to pay by DD.

Consult a comparison site to find the best deal for you
(Many comparison sites allow you to filter the results to show only your preferred payment method)