Switching whilst in Debit

rxsx

Hi

I have made my final payment on a fixed tariff and the first payment outside of this isn’t due until April

Can I switch now or do I have to pay off what I’m in debit (<£200) to the account, even though it’s not due to be paid yet?

(I don’t consider a bill etc a ‘debt’ unless it’s due/past due payment - tell me if I’m wrong!)

matelodave

You should be able to initiate a switch and your existing supplier should issue you with a final bill which you'll have to pay. Sometimes you'll get an estimated final bill which might get followed with a corrected final bill when the readings are agreed with your new supplier.

However that said, some suppliers - mainly the smaller ones have been know to block or hold up switches if the account is in arrears.

spiro

Debit - were your account has a negative balance.
Debt - were you have been issued with a demand for payment (bill) and you have failed to pay with 28 days.
A switch can be blocked for the 2nd but not the 1st.

rxsx

Thank you!

If I switch to a fixed tariff with the same supplier, does the same debit amount continue to fluctuate or will I still have to pay that bill before they introduce the new fixed rate?

matelodave

Generally if you change tariff with the same supplier they will just carry the credit or debit over so you shouldn't have a problem.

It probably depends on how you pay your bills - if you pay on receipt of a bill, then they expect you to pay it. If you are on a DD scheme then they will probably review your payments depending on whether your debit amount is increasing or decreasing.

For most people the winter months will use more energy than the DD covers and the debit is likely to increase up to the end of March and then slowly decrease through the summer when you should be using less energy so the DD pays down the debit.

You need to examine your energy consumption profile to ensure that your fix does balance out at the end of the period. It's quite likely that your DD payments will increase if you start a new fix with a debit balance - especially if your tariff has increased as well. You need to work out your actual debit at the end of your present fix or start of the new one.

If it's actually £200 then you've been paying around £17 a month too little. If you increase your DD by £17 for 12 moths, you'll pay the outstanding £200 but still be £200 in debit this time next year, so you actually need to pay £34 a month extra to get it to zero by next year plus extra for any increase in tariff.

AndyPK

If you are switching with the same supplier you have nothing to worry about. Get on with it!

You can start the switch 49 days before the fix ends, though with prices going up there is no hurry!

If staying with the supplier, sometimes you can select a switch over date