Looking for variable monthly DD deal

maybird_2

We don't have a smart meter and don't want one til they sort themselves out. I currently submit monthly meter reading to BG and pay by DD exactly what is owed every month. This works for me as it focuses the mind on consumption in a way that fixed monthly DD does not. Plus I hate having big credits or debits on my account. The only reason I have stuck with BG so long is that I have not found it easy to find an alternative supplier who doesn't want to do fixed monthly DD.
Has anyone experience of paying variably in this way with suppliers other than BG? I would be grateful for any names. Octopus replied to an email saying they would do this but I'm a bit wary, given some of the feedback on these boards. Decent customer service is slightly more important to me than price.

rhcp

I use Ebico and pay the amount I use by quarterly DD.

The_Fat_Controller

EDF
I have just changed to monthly whole bill, albeit after having SMART meters fitted.
I am away from home a lot and now EDF pull the readings once a month.
They create a bill and on there they tell you the date the money will be taken by DD, it's about 14 days after the bill.
Now I'll never be in credit with them again.

wavelets

maybird wrote: »

We don't have a smart meter and don't want one til they sort themselves out. I currently submit monthly meter reading to BG and pay by DD exactly what is owed every month. This works for me as it focuses the mind on consumption in a way that fixed monthly DD does not. Plus I hate having big credits or debits on my account. The only reason I have stuck with BG so long is that I have not found it easy to find an alternative supplier who doesn't want to do fixed monthly DD.
Has anyone experience of paying variably in this way with suppliers other than BG? I would be grateful for any names. Octopus replied to an email saying they would do this but I'm a bit wary, given some of the feedback on these boards. Decent customer service is slightly more important to me than price.

There are not many suppliers that offer tariffs that will bill you monthly (which obviusly relies on you submitting monthly meter reads to achieve your aim) and then collect only that amount each month via DD

The ones that do will generally be quite expensive, as you are asking for quite a lot of work from the supplier.

If you don't wish to pay other than what you use, there are a range of suppliers that will bill you on the traditional quarterly basis, and you can then pay that either by cash/cheque etc, or indeed on a quarterly DD if you prefer to pay that way.

Please consulkt a comparison site to find the best deal for you. Hopefully you will find the comparison site allows you to filter results based on how you wish to pay. e.g. payment on receipt of bill, quarterly DD, etc.

If you really want to keep an eye on what you are using, and cost is not a major concern, then perhaps consider a PPM; some suppliers allow you to remotely top these up.

bondy01

The_Fat_Controller wrote: »

EDF
I have just changed to monthly whole bill, albeit after having SMART meters fitted.
I am away from home a lot and now EDF pull the readings once a month.
They create a bill and on there they tell you the date the money will be taken by DD, it's about 14 days after the bill.
Now I'll never be in credit with them again.

They have been ringing me from their Newcastle number to have a smart meter installed. I can see a benefit in having one when they do that and have enquired about moving to monthly variable DD.
They do seem incapable of dividing annual usage by 12 (they have gone metric) to work out a fixed DD. The other benefit is that the bigger bills are in winter when my council tax is already paid. I also agree with your last sentence which is why I'm thinking along those lines.

System

If you choose a supplier such as Octopus (in my opinion an excellent supplier and I say that as a dual fuel customer), they will bill you each time that you provide actual meter readings. Their online account will also allow you to set future DD payments. That said, most small suppliers now expect you to have enough credit in your account to pay for the next month's anticipated usage. Why - because all suppliers pay the wholesaler in advance of supply.

Big debit balances are unlikely to accrue if you provide meter readings. In the event that a credit balance does build up, it is now 100% protected by Ofgem in the event of a supplier failure.

maybird_2

I appreciate the replies. Some years ago we had a bad experience with ever inflating DD payments in spite of a large credit balance which the company (I can't even remember which of the Big 6 it was now) refused to lower. The difficulty getting our money back and the misery of what passes for 'customer services' has given me a mistrust of 'set' DD payments ever since. Maybe times have changed.

System

maybird wrote: »

I appreciate the replies. Some years ago we had a bad experience with ever inflating DD payments in spite of a large credit balance which the company (I can't even remember which of the Big 6 it was now) refused to lower. The difficulty getting our money back and the misery of what passes for 'customer services' has given me a mistrust of 'set' DD payments ever since. Maybe times have changed.

Sadly, times haven't changed and some of the new/small suppliers are struggling to manage their debt levels in a difficult wholesale market. Their answer is to hang on to as much consumer credit as they can. Octopus, which has a Which accolade, has backers with deep pockets. Octopus' CS response times have been a bit slow of late as they have been dealing with the influx of customers from 2 failed suppliers; that said, unlike another Big 6 supplier that I am currently dealing with over a Final Bill, they do actually read the e-mails that they are sent before sending out an answer.

ASavvyBuyer

Hengus wrote: »

Sadly, times haven't changed and some of the new/small suppliers are struggling to manage their debt levels in a difficult wholesale market. Their answer is to hang on to as much consumer credit as they can. Octopus, which has a Which accolade, has backers with deep pockets. Octopus' CS response times have been a bit slow of late as they have been dealing with the influx of customers from 2 failed suppliers; that said, unlike another Big 6 supplier that I am currently dealing with over a Final Bill, they do actually read the e-mails that they are sent before sending out an answer.

I agree, Octopus have been fine for us for the last year.

The recent comments about their customer service appear to be from some of the 90,000+ accounts they have been dealing with from companies that went bust.

The main complaint about them being more expensive than the cheap companies (that went bust) with virtually no customer service!