Outfox The Market Direct Debit changes

bye_bye_band_G

[QUOTE=RS2OOO;75210790

I know from many reviews I've read that it might be helpful to inform people to call OTM and make a lump sum debit card credit to your account which will allow you to cancel your inflated direct debit without fear of being in debit ahead of your final bill (assuming most people are wanting to leave but cannot afford 2 DDs from 2 companies in a single Month).
.[/QUOTE]

The advice on there is not to give debit card details to OTM, they are not trustworthy enough to have that info. Who knows what they might re-use those details for if they decide they'd like to help themselves to more of your money.
They are advising people to make a BACS payment to the OTM bank account instead, which gives them none of your own bank details. ie usually done by an internet transfer like you'd pay people you know a one off payment.
I will give you the OTM bank details, but obviously you can't trust me not to be giving you my own bank details :eek: so if you can't check out the Facebook group where numerous people have confirmed this is genuine, you should send a test payment of £1 only, wait till it appears on your OTM account as credited, then only when you're happy these are genuine details, send the rest of what YOU (and not OTM) wish to pay.
This is proving a very popular way of staying in control over on the Facebook group.

OTM account is 20-49-17, 30695092, reference OTM********* (the asterisks are your account number as given on the Hero Hub).

They will not give you these details themselves on the phone or chat (because they want to remain in control, which they are with a direct debit).

Barneybear1

@alittleowl one final thing to look at now is to login to oftm hero hub and select your energy usage and see if there is a big spike in usage in your last months etc. If not no worries if so then contact your new energy company in the new year and ask them what are the starting readings for your account. The shambles which are energy companies do not always use your final meter readings you sent them, but concoct a higher starting reading. Meaning you pay twice for your gas or electric or both
If the readings at the start are much higher than your actual request a meter reading from your new supplier.

219169

Another bad supplier after IRESA. Last month, I received number of emails for increasing the DD (£107, £89, £150 and £170). I had to wait 115mins two times and still was not able to contact as they dropped my call when I reached to 1 in waiting list. They never reply to your emails. The staff is not professional at all.
I decided to switch to Bristol energy but OFTM rejected the switch. Yesterday, I paid my balance and I have to call Bristol energy again to re-apply. Why is it so difficult to switch suppliers. It is giving me so much headache now.
I think moneysavingexpert.com should not advertise or propmote such cheap suppliers, who can cause pain to many people. Is there somebody looking into these culprit companies, whose CEOs are enjoying the sun and emptying our looting our pockets. I am sorry to say but OFGEM is useless.
I hope I can switch asap. Please don't stay with this OFTM !!!!

boliston

i might test those bacs payment details with a micro payment as i owe a few pounds which could give them an excuse to block my switch away - when you pay someone by bacs they can see the sort code and account number of that bacs - not all statements show it but the bank will tell you them on request

peterx

I switch over to the Peoples Energy on the 27th of December.My Direct Debit to OTM is on the 2nd January,I shall cancel the DD on the 27th December.They are having no more of my hard earned money.Just hoping they do not cancel the switch.I must say I do feel for people with all this anguish over the festive period.Thanks everybody for advice given.

Former_E.ON_Company_Representative:_Malc

alittleowl wrote: »

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.

Hello alittleowl and welcome back.

We'll send OTM the meter readings we open our account to. OTM need to use the same readings to close their account and issue your final bill. This makes sure you're only charged once for the same energy.

As with all changes of supplier, these readings go through an industry third party (Data Collector) who checks they're in line with past readings held for the property. Sometimes the Data Collector will make a change and both suppliers need to use the same readings to start/close their respective accounts. Again, this is to make sure charges aren't duplicated.

It can take up to 30 days for everything to go through.

Hope this is of interest alittleowl and thanks again for returning.

Malc

RS2OOO

bye_bye_band_G wrote: »

The advice on there is not to give debit card details to OTM, they are not trustworthy enough to have that info. Who knows what they might re-use those details for if they decide they'd like to help themselves to more of your money.
They are advising people to make a BACS payment to the OTM bank account instead, which gives them none of your own bank details. ie usually done by an internet transfer like you'd pay people you know a one off payment.
.

I should have also pointed out that when I made my Debit Card Payment I recorded the call, and also the OTM operator switched off call recording before I shared those details.

Whilst fraudulent debit card transactions are insured by your bank, I appreciate it is hassle having to sort them out, but in all honesty I think it highly unlikely anything untoward will happen.

On the other hand, a bank transfer is not so easy to reverse if you inadvertently send an incorrect amount or type the payee details incorrectly. Using a debit card avoids this risk.

What is more concerning is the fact that (according to my bank fraud department today) they can re-apply for Direct Debits as many times as they like, under whatever company name they wish to use, and the bank won't stop them, or even notify me that a new mandate has been set up. They told me it is for me to notify them after a fraudulent direct debit has been taken, after which they would reimburse.

editor1

@VoucherMan,

Its correct that we on the OFTM FB Consumer Group are indeed up to speed, this group has now elicited quite a bit of media interest and we are all assisting each other as best we can - we are on a 1000 plus members now i believe.

GreenMike

Along with many other people who have decided to leave OTM, I have not been able to get through to them by telephone and all my emails go unanswered.

I have already moved to another energy provider who has taken the first direct debit and is providing my energy but OTM has not informed me of my final bill.

I am reluctant to allow another direct debit to be taken as it will mean OTM will then owe me perhaps £100 or so and due to their complete lack of customer service, it is reasonable for me to expect that I will either be kept waiting for an unreasonable time for a refund or I may not even get a refund because they are ignoring my communication.

I therefore believe that in the current circumstances, if OTM pursued customers for £25 for canceling their direct debits, they would not be supported by the courts because it is an unfair Term & Condition due to their poor customer service. It is reasonable for customers to protect their money when the poor behaviour of a company indicates that they may not honour their obligations. This will not be the case if customers owe OTM an outstanding sum and have done so for a while as that is not reasonable.

I will therefore cancel my direct debit and on the same day email them to request the final bill along with their bank details so I can pay it. I may be in credit so I will also ask that they refund me by bank transfer as they obviously already have my bank details.

If OTM does pursue customers for £25 for canceling their direct debits then there will be some bottom dwelling lawyers out there who will act on their behalf but I would suggest we stand firm as these lawyers cannot guarantee a positive outcome for OTM. They get paid whether they win or lose and if OTM want to risk even more by being vindictive to customers who are only protecting themselves then they are fools.

I would also suggest that if OTM reinstate direct debits without obtaining customers permission, they may be committing criminal offences such as obtaining money by deception and/or false accounting.

False accounting is very easy to prove:

"False accounting is the dishonest altering, destroying, hiding, or fabricating of accounts records with a view to gain for oneself, or cause loss to another. It also includes providing misleading or deceptive documents, or omitting relevant documents when accounts information is requested."

The protection offered by a Limited Company status does not cover criminal acts so the OTM bosses would be liable and their personal assets in jeopardy. Obviously, getting the police to pursue the matter will need firm pressure but there appears to be a solid group of customers here who can draw together if necessary.

Obviously, these are just my opinions based on past experience so anyone thinking of doing the same as I intend to should make their own efforts to examine the issues and consequences before acting.

I hope that OTM have just made a huge mistake and that they will just do their best to ensure that all customers can move forward positively without unnecessary hassle or loss. If they do that then I wish them well.

martyp

Am I right in thinking they scrapped the 13th December price increase? I noticed the e-mail about price changes in January shows the rates from before the 13th December?

E-mail received on 13th November said:
"From 13 December 2018 your electricity unit rate will change from 0.1042p/kWh to 0.1130p/kWh Your gas unit rate will change from 0.0367p/kWh to 0.0394p/kWh"


E-mail on 28th November then said:
"From 1st January 2019 your electricity unit rate will change from £0.1042/kWh to £0.1265/kWh.
Your gas unit rate will change from £0.0366/kWh to £0.0441/kWh"


I wish they'd make their minds up, not to mention my proposed direct debit changing multiple times in e-mails and then they charge the same this month as previous months despite all the threats of increasing it (over 100% increase in January!)