Yorkshire Energy blocked my switch

fromdusktilldawn

Following a comparison, I initiated a switch from my current supplier, Yorkshire Energy. Yesterday I received an email from them telling me that my switch was blocked and to give them a call if I wanted to discuss why.
Apparently my account is in too large a debit, of £274, against a regular direct debit of £72.50 which is completely up to date. I was informed that if I agree to a one off payment of £100, they will allow the switch. Obviously I will still have to pay the final bill before switching, which I will do in any case, as expected. The mechanism is that they will take an extra direct debit of £100 on 1st October and then allow the switch.
Am I right to be somewhat sceptical that they will 'remember' to allow the switch to go ahead after this additional payment ? Is there anyway that I can check this other than phoning again in October ?
Liz

Robin9

What figures did you use for comparison ? I hope you didn't use the monthly DD.


I think you are right to be sceptical.

EnergyRookie

Please see the reply I gave another user today in this thread

https://forums.moneysavingexpert.com/discussion/6052206/over-estimated-bill (post#2)

fromdusktilldawn

I switched based on kWh usage. I will just have to check what happens next week and be ready to complain, I guess.

dogshome

Don't understand this - Yorkshire E operate a monthly billing system, so a debt is obvious to a customer, together with the rate at which it's growing.


At £274, the size of the debt is such that any supplier will refuse a Switch, and I'm surprised YE will allow the Switch if it's reduced by only £100

Robin9

Agree with dogshome- this debt must have been building up for sometime and the DD probably have needed to be nearer £100.

I see that the OP says his switch is based on kwh and I presume he is expecting to get a lower DD than at the moment. I am not sure - could the OP post his actual annual kwh please.

Haarlem

dogshome wrote: »

Don't understand this - Yorkshire E operate a monthly billing system, so a debt is obvious to a customer, together with the rate at which it's growing.

I have been with Yorkshire Energy over twelve months. Over that period there billing periods have been variable. I moved in August 2018 and my first bill was not receive until January 2019.This led to my previous supplier not being able to finalise the closing bill for six months.

I realise this should have been via data flows but this did not happen and my previous supplier had to rely on me providing a copy of my first YE bill. Obviously the system does not always work as intended.

spiro

Can you please clarify something about your account with YE; do you receive a bill every month/3 months that you are expected to pay or are you on a fixed DD and therefore you only receive statements. There is a big difference.

If you pay by DD and you use more than expected, your account will have a debit (negative balance). That is NOT a debt and they cannot stop you from switching regardless of the size of the debit.

If you pay on receipt of a bill and you have failed to pay the bill within the agreed timescale, that then becomes a debt and they can object.

If they are refusing to let you switch because of a large debit balance write them a formal letter of complaint because they are not complying with the Standard Licence Condition in relation to objections.

Redboot

fromdusktilldawn wrote: »

Following a comparison, I initiated a switch from my current supplier, Yorkshire Energy. Yesterday I received an email from them telling me that my switch was blocked and to give them a call if I wanted to discuss why.
Apparently my account is in too large a debit, of £274, against a regular direct debit of £72.50 which is completely up to date. I was informed that if I agree to a one off payment of £100, they will allow the switch. Obviously I will still have to pay the final bill before switching, which I will do in any case, as expected. The mechanism is that they will take an extra direct debit of £100 on 1st October and then allow the switch.
Am I right to be somewhat sceptical that they will 'remember' to allow the switch to go ahead after this additional payment ? Is there anyway that I can check this other than phoning again in October ?
Liz

fromdusktilldawn wrote: »

I switched based on kWh usage. I will just have to check what happens next week and be ready to complain, I guess.

So have you switched or not?

In your OP you indicate you applied to switch but that was blocked.
If you were only advised you were blocked on Wednesday, have you paid the £100 demanded, and if so why??? :huh:

Whether you have or not, you will not be switched by anytime next week.

Redboot

Switching energy supplier if you’re in debt
This advice applies to England
Whether you can switch supplier if you’re in debt to your gas or electricity supplier depends on how long you’ve owed the money.

You've been in debt for 28 days or less
If you've owed the money to your supplier for 28 days or less, you can switch supplier. The debt will be added to your final bill from your old supplier.

You've been in debt for more than 28 days
If you've owed the money to your supplier for more than 28 days, you can't switch supplier until you've paid the money back.
If your supplier tells you they're raising their prices and you decide to switch, you'll have 30 days to pay off the debt before they can stop you.
You can't be stopped from switching if it's your supplier's fault that you're in debt - for example because they've estimated your bill wrong. If you do owe them money you'll still need to pay this when you get your old supplier's final bill.

If you have a prepayment meter
There are different rules for switching supplier if you pay in advance for your gas and electricity.
You can switch supplier unless you owe more than £500 for gas or £500 for electricity.
You’ll need to ask the new supplier to agree to transfer your debt along with your supply (this is called the ‘Debt Assignment Protocol’).

If your supplier doesn’t let you switch
Your supplier might try to stop you from switching, even if you're entitled to. If this happens, you should make a complaint.

Further help
If you’re having problems switching supplier, contact the Citizens Advice consumer helpline.

fromdusktilldawn

dogshome wrote: »

Don't understand this - Yorkshire E operate a monthly billing system, so a debt is obvious to a customer, together with the rate at which it's growing.


At £274, the size of the debt is such that any supplier will refuse a Switch, and I'm surprised YE will allow the Switch if it's reduced by only £100

I pay by monthly direct debit, and provide monthly meter readings. The debt amount has been reducing over the summer months.