Out fox the market 75% increase!!

Myfirsthome

Hi,

Last week I had an email from outfox the market advising of a price increases. My new estimated cost for the year was £402 (I'm a low user. I live on my own and only really sleep in my house as I'm out all day and most evenings). This is based on my usage for the past year. I currently pay £38.66 per month via direct debit.

Today I've had another email from them advising that they are changing their direct debit policy to cover higher winter usage and lower usage in the summer. My new direct debits will be a whopping £67.88 october-March. This is a 75% increase!! And down to £29 from April-September. They've also re-estimated my annual costs at over £570 which is a 43% increase from two days ago!

Has anyone else had these emails? It doesn't seem right?

innox

Yes.... and I am fuming. My bill is going from £78 per month to £136 per month. I assume I now have no choice but to switch, I cannot afford to pay £136 a month!!!:mad:

zaax

I have had this too (I think every one has) £55 to £98 a month. As their estimate it well over the top they will be owing me money at then end of the winter. Which means if they go tits up I loose it.

RS2OOO

I've had this too.

Increasing from £82 pcm to £144 pcm which will apparently give me peace of mind and avoid the risk of bill shock!

Well, this is the biggest bill shock I've ever had with a utility supplier. What's more, they quote:

"We have found that your current payment is not sufficient to cover your expected energy consumption"

Yet my account is in credit all year round, often by over £100.

Sent them an email requesting they take me off their new variable direct debit scheme and continue taking the same amount every month.

takman

innox wrote: »

Yes.... and I am fuming. My bill is going from £78 per month to £136 per month. I assume I now have no choice but to switch, I cannot afford to pay £136 a month!!!:mad:

Your bill won't be increasing by that much, that is just how much your direct debit will be increasing by which will mean you will build up a credit with the account.

zaax wrote: »

I have had this too (I think every one has) £55 to £98 a month. As their estimate it well over the top they will be owing me money at then end of the winter. Which means if they go tits up I loose it.

Your money is protected under Ofgem rules if they go bust.

brewerdave

Many of the small suppliers seem to be adopting this procedure; just switching to One Select and the initial quote was ~ £72 - they have just emailed to say that they will be taking over £90 for the first DD - "Because my usage will be 25% higher in the Winter!! Looking back at my historic usage for the last 10 years or so,this has never been the case.
I'm not bothered as I haven't got any credit built up and I know the credit will be protected if the worst happens but it does make budgeting harder

dprice8893

I'm on their Zapp! July tariff and have received similar emails regarding price increases and changes to DD policy.
They certainly operate a policy that means your account is always in credit and sometimes excessively so.
I've checked on price comparison sites to see if the tariff is still competitive, however, I've noticed that the unit cost isn't always updated on these sites or even shown. Cheap Energy Club for instance doesn't seem to correct the updated unit cost.
I shall monitor the situation in the coming months and switch if necessary.

elonii

Reading lots of accounts of people with balances of several hundred pounds in credit and Outfox the Market are refusing to refund them.


The money they wanted me to pay extra each month was £116 more than my actual winter electricity usage will be. How long might it take me to get that extra money back with all this going on and their customer service team overwhelmed? They are also refusing to consider reducing any of these completely made up amounts to cover off extra usage this winter. I actually managed to call them before too many people clogged up their lines yesterday and they wouldn't even contemplate altering their position.



I don't think so. Direct Debit cancelled and switched supplier last night. Best and least stressful way to deal.

Zozoo

Same here. From 62 to 87 a month, just before Xmas. I'm 87 pounds in credit, which will probably go up to 100 this month. It's actually really upset me because I was really happy with what I was paying, and will probably need to switch.

dprice8893

I've just had an email from them suggesting that if I wanted them to consider their new DD policy, that I should send them photographic evidence of my meter reading. I already religiously send them monthly readings and as a fairly light user I'm over £80 in credit. Lack of trust or what? I won't cut off my nose to spite my face but I will keep an eye on the situation.

daveyjp

Looks like a company which is desperate to increase cash flow. Time to start asking why that may be.