Rising Direct Debits

Kevi

I switched energy supplier in December as they were offering a Direct Debit more than £10 per month lower than my old deal. Cheap Energy Club had enthusiastically pointed out to me I could save over £140 per year (it included a bit of cashback). The deal was based on true usage last year. Whaddaya know - the new guys suddenly feel they have to re-calculate my monthly DD. Upwards. Quite a lot. Smell a rat? Well, it's not gas!
I know, I know, the winter uses more - but they knew that, and should be prepared to wait for the usage to drop.
I know, I know, the rate isn't changing - but the budget is!



So, did they sucker me in with a cheap, shiny low quote only to screw me with the detail? Probably.
Do I trust the comparisons offered by the Cheap Energy Club? Hmm. Look long and hard at the teeth in that horse my friends!

matelodave

Your direct debit is not your bill - it's a payment towards it.

So the fact that you got offered a cheaper direct debit doesn't actually mean that the cost of your energy is cheaper, just that come the end of your contract you will have paid less towards it and so you may end up in arrears if it was set too low.

The cost of your energy is calculated on the price per kwh multiplied by the number of kwh that you use. If you use more than the estimate then you'll pay more and if it's less then you'll pay less.

Did you check the cost of energy per kwh rather than just letting someone else guess your consumption and pluck a figure out of the air for your DD amount or did you check the figures yourself.

You really need to make sure that you read your meters at least once a month (even if its a smart meter) and to check your bills or on line account to ensure that they are using actual readings (the letter A will be next to the meter reading) if it's an E, then it's estimated and you need to get it corrected.

It's not difficult to check whether your DD is sufficient to pay for the energy that you are using but you do have to check yourself to make sure.

If you are on target to balance the account at the end of your contract, then challenge the energy company and ask them to reverse the DD increase to avoid a large credit building up - but you need to be sure.

Benight

Kevi wrote: »

I switched energy supplier in December as they were offering a Direct Debit more than £10 per month lower than my old deal. Cheap Energy Club had enthusiastically pointed out to me I could save over £140 per year (it included a bit of cashback). The deal was based on true usage last year. Whaddaya know - the new guys suddenly feel they have to re-calculate my monthly DD. Upwards. Quite a lot. Smell a rat? Well, it's not gas!
I know, I know, the winter uses more - but they knew that, and should be prepared to wait for the usage to drop.
I know, I know, the rate isn't changing - but the budget is!



So, did they sucker me in with a cheap, shiny low quote only to screw me with the detail? Probably.
Do I trust the comparisons offered by the Cheap Energy Club? Hmm. Look long and hard at the teeth in that horse my friends!

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

nigelbb

matelodave wrote: »

Your direct debit is not your bill - it's a payment towards it.

So the fact that you got offered a cheaper direct debit doesn't actually mean that the cost of your energy is cheaper, just that come the end of your contract you will have paid less towards it and so you may end up in arrears if it was set too low.

The cost of your energy is calculated on the price per kwh multiplied by the number of kwh that you use. If you use more than the estimate then you'll pay more and if it's less then you'll pay less.

Far too many people don't read their meters, don't know how much their energy costs per kWh & seem to think that the fixed DD they pay the energy supplier every month is like paying for broadband or a mobile phone contract. We even had someone a few weeks ago complaining that they didn't mind paying the estimated bill but objected to bill based on an actual meter read as it was so much higher!

Thomas_Edison

There are many reasons for people not to like suppliers and the energy industry as well.

But for most people it's due to a lack of understanding and a sense of frustration. There really should be more education about this.

Benight

Thomas_Edison wrote: »

There are many reasons for people not to like suppliers and the energy industry as well.

But for most people it's due to a lack of understanding and a sense of frustration. There really should be more education about this.

Not sure what more the likes of MSE can do, if people are not bothering to read the informative articles they take the time, effort and money to produce and publish.

Neil_Jones

Benight wrote: »

Not sure what more the likes of MSE can do, if people are not bothering to read the informative articles they take the time, effort and money to produce and publish.

In all honesty humans are lazy and its far easier to just be told your DD will be £x a month, find out six months down the line it's so far below your actual usage and then complain about it, rather than taking the time to look into how the system works.

But of course if we all bothered to educate ourselves into how the system worked there wouldn't be a need for forums like this for people to pee and moan about stuff!

Benight

Neil_Jones wrote: »

In all honesty humans are lazy and its far easier to just be told your DD will be £x a month, find out six months down the line it's so far below your actual usage and then complain about it, rather than taking the time to look into how the system works.

But of course if we all bothered to educate ourselves into how the system worked there wouldn't be a need for forums like this for people to pee and moan about stuff!

Perhaps the forums could then return to concentrating on helping those who have tried to help themselves, but still need help to save money?

Like they generally were used to be when Martin started them, and before the trolls/timewasters/militants had not had banned, or otherwise totally discouraged, the numerous posters here who formally did offer such genuine and helpful advice to those seeking it.

JJ_Egan

Like Hengus etc.

Penelopa.Pitstop

All comparison sites are basing calculation on total cost per annum or average energy used for property size and number of people. If you want to check unit and standing charge, you have to click on more info for every company. I would like to see website where you can compare unit prices and based on it choose cheaper supplier. I don't want to waste my time and fill in how much energy I will use. I want to know who's the cheapest in my area.

Also a lot of websites is saying that you will save xxx money but it compares it to variable rate customer will go after the current deal ends. But I want to compare to my current tariff, not some imaginary one, which I will not fall to. So there's a lot of clicking to see actual info and unit prices.

Just went through comparison sites yesterday and got frustrated as always, by imaginary savings which were not real or relevant.

mac.d

Penelopa.Pitstop wrote: »

I would like to see website where you can compare unit prices and based on it choose cheaper supplier. I don't want to waste my time and fill in how much energy I will use. I want to know who's the cheapest in my area.

The problem with this is, as there are both unit prices and daily standing charge, seeing a list of unit prices doesn't necessarily mean it'll be the cheapest option. And you are not wasting your time filling in how much energy you use, this is the best way of seeing how much each supplier will cost you?!

Also a lot of websites is saying that you will save xxx money but it compares it to variable rate customer will go after the current deal ends. But I want to compare to my current tariff, not some imaginary one, which I will not fall to.

I'm not sure of all the comparison sites, but this is one good thing about using the Cheap Energy Club on here, as you can easily base your possible savings on the current cost of your energy, or on the cost at the end of your deal. You can also choose to include or exclude the cashback in your 'savings' so it appears to be pretty handy as far as I'm concerned. I use it alongside the citizens advice comparison tool and at least one other comparison site to check my options.