Direct Debits increasing when payment date is moved

Nathaniel_Essex

Hey all,

I am a bit confused about something and here a couple scenarios I am currently in.

I pay £17 a month for a car servicing through Ford and for that you can X amount of services a year. Last month I had a service. It was originally supposed to happen on or after the 10th March but was brought forward a couple weeks because my tyres and breaks were noticeably not in good condition. Because it was brought forward I was told the direct debit will increase (it was by £1 or so) a month because I had it earlier. This did not make sense to me. I had it earlier but the number of services I am having has not increased so I see no reason why the DD has increased.

Another situation is my Sky bill which I pay on the 23rd of each month. I moved the payment date to the 28th of each month and was told that next months payment will be more because I am paying from the 23rd of last month to the 28th of the next month. Makes sense at first but again, if you tally up the payments over the year, I am paying more and not getting any more days of service for that.

A counter example would be my council tax bill. That is a fixed amount every month. If I move the payment date, I still pay the same amount. I am simply clearing the bill for that month.

I hope this all makes sense. Am I missing something and the whole thing is entirely fair?

grumbler

Nathaniel_Essex wrote: »

I pay £17 a month for a car servicing through Ford and for that you can X amount of services a year. Last month I had a service. It was originally supposed to happen on or after the 10th March but was brought forward a couple weeks because my tyres and breaks were noticeably not in good condition. Because it was brought forward I was told the direct debit will increase (it was by £1 or so) a month because I had it earlier. This did not make sense to me. I had it earlier but the number of services I am having has not increased so I see no reason why the DD has increased.

It can increase in a short run to reflect the temporary shorter interval between services (higher frequency). Then it has to get to normal (if the price remains the same).

Another situation is my Sky bill which I pay on the 23rd of each month. I moved the payment date to the 28th of each month and was told that next months payment will be more because I am paying from the 23rd of last month to the 28th of the next month. Makes sense at first but again, if you tally up the payments over the year, I am paying more and not getting any more days of service for that.

Stop thinking in terms of the year. You pay in advance for the next billing month. First billing month doesn't necessarily start on the first day of the year, and even if it did, this isn't the case any more after the change.

Shakin_Steve

With regards to sky, I also moved my payment date forward by a week or so and was charged more on the first occasion. You will only be charged a smaller payment if you choose to cancel at the end of your contract. The last payment should be five days less than the normal ones.
But, I guess, most people don't do Sky on a 12 monthly basis. My contact has been running for about 15 years.