Outfox The Market Direct Debit changes

Dad_Deep_Pockets

Well, OFTM are the gift that keeps giving - which is especially nice over the festive period.

I switched from OFTM on the 7th of December as I couldn't do with their incompetence any longer and was not prepared to prop up a failing company with my money. This morning I received the below email :

Dear
xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx

We thought we’d send you a quick reminder to send us your latest meter readings. As you know, when possible, we like to avoid estimated bills. It means we can continue to bill you accurately and fairly and keep an eye on your energy consumption. Keeping you in control over your bills.
Whatever your reasons for switching your energy supplier, we’re delighted that you have and we look forward to a long and sustainable future supplying your energy.
Once again, thank you and welcome to Outfox the Market!

Apart from the outstanding awful grammar, which is about the level of Key Stage 3, I love the welcoming phrase in their closing line :rotfl:
No, OFTM, I will not be supplying a meter read as The People's Energy Company have already provided you with my terminal reads :T

martyp

Dad_Deep_Pockets wrote: »

Apart from the outstanding awful grammar, which is about the level of Key Stage 3, I love the welcoming phrase in their closing line :rotfl:
No, OFTM, I will not be supplying a meter read as The People's Energy Company have already provided you with my terminal reads :T

I had the same email welcoming me when I'm due to also switch to People's Energy on the 25th December in my case.
I really hope they don't drag out the pain after leaving, thankfully my credit balance is small and I'll likely be in debit with them by a small amount so hope to settle that up without hassle.
Within a few months they went from being the cheapest for me to one that now doesn't barely make it into the first or second page of comparison results. They may have even disappeared from them but got bored scrolling down to try and find their current tariffs.
Well my choice would be £83 to Outfox the Customer in January or £50 to People's...

RS2OOO

I understand that a debit on your account cannot be used as a reason to block a switch to a new supplier if your account has been in debit for less than 28 days, yet I am reading OTM reviews that imply switches are in fact being blocked due to debits (as low as £1.10 in one case) only accrued in the current billing cycle.

However, with OTM we pay in advance and the DD is taken the day after the current Month's bill, and therefore shows as a credit on the account. However, if the next bill is more than the credit amount will OTM then class you as having been in debit for more than 28 days?

RS2OOO

My next OTM Direct Debit is due on Monday and it's been 3 Weeks since I submitted a switch request to People's Energy, but sadly I've still not heard back from them so it looks likely that I'll have to swallow this hugely inflated (more than double my usage) direct debit payment of almost £200 to avoid cancelling it and falling in debit causing the switch to be blocked.

I therefore decided to try Live Chat one more time (have never been able to get through before) in the hope this DD could be reduced.

But this time I tried an experiment.

I opened 2 Live Chats on 2 different browsers using 2 different IP addresses. Both live chats were opened at exactly 17:57

I opened Live Chat 1 with this question:
My Direct Debit amount for December is not representative of my usage and I would like to discuss having this reduced.

I opened Live Chat 2 with this question:
I have a question about moving both my Electric and Gas supply over to you.

Live Chat 1 remained open and unanswered up until 19:17 when the status suddenly changed to "This Chat is Now Closed". That is 1 hour and 20 minutes wait with no response (although the status updated at 18:40 saying "Tyler has joined the chat", but Tyler never typed anything or responded).

Live Chat 2 was answered at 17:59 - Just 2 minutes after submitting the question.

That has annoyed the hell out of me.:(

Aaron3195

Aaron3195 wrote: »

Just got an email from a fischerenergy email address to say my DD will now be £32 per month. Very odd. I signed up at £55 a month in May '18, then last month it was increased to £77 or so as part of their DD changes, which I was okay with as I have a bit of disposable income.

Why the change to £32? This would build up debit gradually and may have to pay a larger bill at the end once its reviewed again.

So did no one else get a similar email?

A second email yesterday, official OTFM address:

A Direct Debit payment is due in respect of the above Direct Debit Instruction for £32.00 and will be collected on, or just after, the 3rd of January 2019. Further payments of £32.00 will then be collected on, or just after, the 3rd of each month until further notice.

alittleowl

My switch back from OFtM to Eon completed today - a fixed deal for one year with no exit charges which is now showing as the cheapest in the CEC. By my calculations I owe OFtM about £38 for the difference between my last bill date and today. My account is £70 in credit - I wonder how long it will take them to send me a final bill (I've taken photos of my meters in case they're awkward) and how long it will take to get my credit back. I think it's safe to assume I'm never getting a response to the five formal complaint emails I sent so in about three weeks it will be time to contact Ofgem.

Anyway, phew, it feels good to have got away from these jokers. Lessons learned:
1. Cheapest does not equal best (well, duh, I know).
2. Read customer reviews, check these forums and look at Companies House before agreeing to pay a company a large portion of my monthly income.
3. Read T&Cs thoroughly before signing up to anything, especially if paying by DD.
4. Check my bank account daily to make sure no-one has reinstated a DDI without permission. No other company has ever tried that but I am now very wary indeed.
5. If a company has a tacky cartoony bargain basement website that makes me think "really?" then step back and take a breath.

wavelets

Aaron3195 wrote: »

So did no one else get a similar email?

A second email yesterday, official OTFM address:

https://www.moneysavingexpert.com/utilities/lower-energy-direct-debits/

Whilst this article is primarily aimed at those who consider their monthly payments are too high, it's exactly the same process if you consider them to be too low.
- it's all about ensuring the level set is fair

cyka

email update from OFtM

Are you going bust?

To be blunt, no! It is no secret that the energy market is a difficult place, but we are a sustainable business with a long– term vision. We are proud that we have managed to help thousands of customers reduce their energy costs over the last 2 years and we look forward to doing so again.
Why have you objected to me leaving?

We will always do our best to make your switch away as smooth as possible. We will only object to you leaving if there is an outstanding debt on your account that is older than 28 days. If this is the case, we will just need you to clear the balance and your new supplier can reapply for the switch.
Are you charging exit fees?

No, exit fees for the Whack! fixed tariff have been waived.
Will you charge me for cancelling my Direct Debit?

We will not charge you £25 if your account has a credit balance sufficient to cover one month’s energy use. We would advise you to reinstate the Direct Debit ASAP to avoid your account going into debt.
We will not charge you if you have recently switched to another supplier and your account is in credit.
We will charge you £25 if, you are still supplied by OTM, have cancelled the Direct Debit and your account is in debt.
We will charge you £25 if, you have switched to another supplier, have cancelled the Direct Debit and your account is in debt.
Why do I keep getting different Direct Debit notifications?

We are sorry that there has been conflicting Direct Debit information emailed. Unfortunately, a change to the seasonal Direct Debit schedule was sent, followed by a further Direct Debit that includes the price increase in January. The last notification you received will be your payments until March.
Why has my Direct Debit been reinstated?

There can be a delay in the system picking up a cancellation of a Direct Debit and because we have sent a number of Direct Debit notices, the second notification is sent before we receive the cancellation notice. This evidently is not ideal, and whilst this is a genuine system error, we can appreciate it can be worrying and we apologise for this.
The latest Direct Debit email says my payment is until further notice?

This notification is a standardized template that we cannot change. Remember, your winter uplift payments will only continue until March and then the payments will reduce to match your summer consumption.
I have left OTM – when do I get my final statement?

Your new supplier will ask you to provide your meter readings and will send them on to the industry data collector to verify the readings. These are forwarded to us and we’ll raise your final statement. We will also return any credit due or ask you to settle any outstanding balance. This can take up to 8 weeks.

firsttimemover

Just an FYI for anyone in the same boat, I've just spoken with someone on chat following this email, in particular:
"We will charge you £25 if, you have switched to another supplier, have cancelled the Direct Debit and your account is in debt."

My new switch went through this week and I am currently a few pounds in debit, but my direct debit amount for January is 3x the original amount and at least double my winter consumption so to leave my direct debit active for the next 8 weeks while they generate a final bill would leave me hundreds of pounds in credit (I have less than a week worth of electric left to be billed) and they have just confirmed that I am free to cancel my direct debit and won't be charged any fees (they've put a note on my account so I won't be charged), so I'd urge anyone else in the same boat to do the same.

I've been emailed the transcript, so if they try and charge me, I have the evidence.

HelenWh

Same as the rest of you, joined in July with a £89pcm super cheap price, upped this in December to £157 and now a further hike in January to £167. Responded as quick as a i could by trying to switch to SSE, but in the same week received an email from OFTM saying they have put an objection on the switch as I have an aged debt on the account, I pay DD monthly so how can I have an aged debt? Last payment of £157 taken on 5th December this month, so I guess I owe them something but its not even a few weeks worth. Spoke to SSE and they have said nothing they can do, they will re apply to the switch but if it gets objected again nothing they can do.

SO....I ring the number, and guess what I cannot get through to try and pay them any outstanding monies SO WHAT DO I DO NOW? ANY help gratefully received, as my mother in law had joined the same time as me, thought i was doing her a favour, she cannot afford paying £125 pcm, for a pensioner on her own!