Outfox The Market Direct Debit changes

[Deleted User]

Hi Orangesnaps.
Complain about the increase and not being given the proper figures or a breakdown of your bill, which allows them to come to that decisions. Ask them for an up to date bill, either sent to you or put on to your account on the website, then, if they do so...you will CONSIDER paying your bill or re-instating the direct debit. If you keep using the direct debit, you could build up an enormous amount of credit with no guarantee that you will get it back if the company goes bust. You could also check whether the company puts your money into an ESCROW account so that the payment is only used for your payments for electricity and membership fees.
According to OFFGEM that is what companies are supposed to do...but, I could be wrong....
ATB
Dougie.

Topiary

"If you feel that your new Direct Debit amount does not match your expected usage during the winter, please email mr@outfoxthemarket.co.uk with a photo of an up-to-date meter reading and we will conduct a further review"


Has anyone yet managed to get OFTM DD proposed increase reduced after providing pictures of updated reads?

[Deleted User]

Dear Topiary,
Great...that's the spirit, just the sort of questions we need to get answered....Keep it up... I doubt if there will be. I should imagine that OFTM is getting rather busy, especially by tomorrow...and the busier the better...

ATB
Dougie.

VoucherMan

DouglasRankine wrote: »

Also, my advice is to get on to OFTM and ask them for an up to date statement, and then you will look to see if it is accurate and then you will CONSIDER renewing the DD.



Remember...no bill...no payment. How can one pay a bill for which there is no breakdown of the amount and price.

No point speaking to the bank. The DD will have gone through before the bank even opens. Besides, I can cancel online quite easily.
Anything I'm contemplating will be for the following month, just before Christmas when they intend to take the increased payment.
Of course a lot could change before then. Maybe they'll agree with the email I sent them highlighting that I am already heavily in credit and agree not to increase my payment, or even better, refund some of the credit.


From the number of comments on various threads here and on twitter, hopefully Martin will pick up on it. Not sure what he could do though. If Outfox are short of capital, putting the brakes on these money grabs is only likely to finish them off sooner.
Don't forget MSE is only one of many comparison sites, and not even on Ofgem's accredited list. I'm sure we're only seeing the tip of the iceberg as far as customers' money problems are concerned.

Topiary wrote: »

Has anyone yet managed to get OFTM DD proposed increase reduced after providing pictures of updated reads?

They'll be so inundated with emails it will probably take them a month to go through them, assuming they do actually "conduct a further review", and not just respond with a stock email. Maybe they should take on a few temps to help work through the backlog. Chances are most of them will sadly be out of a job soon anyway.

davidgmmafan

I've just been catching up on this thread and wanted to make a couple of points. The first is that this is similar to what Npower did when they changed their charging to go with a seasonally weighed allocation of kwh's for gas at the higher rate. They also went crazy with six month calculations when they went onto a SAP system.


When I worked there a director of some sort told us this change (to gas sculpting) bought something like 3-6 months in terms of delaying a price rise (I forget the exact timescale but it was something like that).


I was reading an article earlier today about some smaller supplies who hadn't paid some of their green energy obligations though I've not checked if outfox the market are one of them.


I thought this might be of interest, if you look at thefull accounts is shows they are in a hole of around £750,000 unless I'm reading it wrong.



https://beta.companieshouse.gov.uk/company/09689035/filing-history


Finally I would say that I don't see how they can insist on a direct debit. Yes it might be in their terms and conditions but the direct debit guarantee allows consumers to cancel a direct debit at any time.


PSI would argue they are breaching the contract by implementing this significant change. I cannot see any other reason why they would let people on a fixed price tariff leave without exit fees.


PPS I can't be the only one staggered at the terrible level of english contained within some of the outfox the market chat responses...

[Deleted User]

Dear Davidgmma,
Tx for the url. I had a look at the Annual Accounts of Foxglove for the previous year, (the parent company). I see that they changed their accounting year but haven't lodged their accounts for this year. Reasons for changing an accounting year can be quite innocuous.
I see too that they owe quite a lot of money and about three quarters of a million and are due to pay another £2.1 million for advance energy contracts. The Parent Company is in fact registered in Malta, presumably another one of those tax havens our country is so famous for.



The accounts aren't full accounts as such, they are allowed as a small company to only show certain criteria.


I don't know what is happening regarding the company on Twitter or Facebook, as I am not a member, but I daresay that one of our colleagues on here might know...

ATB
Dougie

martyp

Well I thought if they're going to charge me £612 over the next 12 months for what is predicted to be £569 usage then I might as well consider Peoples energy for £607 and pay a steady £51 through the winter instead of £71 as like others here I'm a firm believer that the point of paying monthly via direct debit is to budget easier by having the same amount more or less going out each month. Just hoping no other suppliers decide to have the same idea...
People have mentioned difficulty getting credit balances refunded so I could be paying £612 anyway unless they do a reassessment of the direct debit payments.

Doddie1

Massively frustrating that i just typed lots only for it to disappear into the ether.

Suffice to say (enter www)...

moneysavingexpert.com/utilities/lower-energy-direct-debits/

cf:
Under condition 27 of the Gas Supply Licence, suppliers must:

• Set fair direct debits. They must take reasonable steps to ensure customers' direct debit levels are based on the best available information, including the quantity of gas and electricity supplied.

Make of that what you you will, i've already made my position clear with OFTM regarding this, waiting to hear back.

Spidernick

I just checked my account and I am in credit by just shy of £180, so I have e-mailed them to say this should easily cover the extra likely to be used over the coming months and if they do take a higher amount then I will move elsewhere. Saying that, there is a big part of me that wonders if that is not what they want, as I am on a much lower price which was fixed for 18 months until next September, since when I think there have been two price increases,so perhaps they would rather get rid of me as (in their eyes) I am not 'paying my way'?

Either way, I will be switching sooner rather than later, as they seem to be a bunch of charlatans! :mad:

VoucherMan

davidgmmafan wrote: »

I thought this might be of interest, if you look at thefull accounts is shows they are in a hole of around £750,000 unless I'm reading it wrong.

https://beta.companieshouse.gov.uk/company/09689035/filing-history

Also interesting that they have (at least) two PLCs to hide behind. Bastian PLC, Fischer Energy plc.

No idea if this is just standard practice, but I can't help thinking it's purely to give them some get out clause to escape responsibility.

Spidernick wrote: »

ISaying that, there is a big part of me that wonders if that is not what they want, as I am on a much lower price which was fixed for 18 months until next September, since when I think there have been two price increases,so perhaps they would rather get rid of me as (in their eyes) I am not 'paying my way'?

Same for me, but I'm only a low user so I shouldn't be to much of an inconvenience to them. I have no intentions of leaving for now. After their behaviour I wouldn't want to give them the satisfaction.


I even hope to try and partake of their generosity. They've been screwing around with the electric pricing, which is where they find the fee, so I've cut right back on usage & switched to gas where I can. Hot water from the tap instead of boiling an electric kettle. Central heating instead of an electric fan heater. It'll cost me a bit more, but it'll probably hurt them more unless they can find a way to penalise me for it.