White Rose energy ,changed my contract and say i must pay exit fees if i leave ?

BrianaSmith

Hi , I have been with White Rose Energy for some years , i use them because i have a variable monthly direct debit with them and i send meter readings in each month and pay for enegy used monthly, Thats why i chose the company  for my energy .  I have had communications with them and they say they are changing to quarterly billing which i do not want, but if i want monthly billings i have to go to a fixed £100 monthly direct debit which i also do not want .

Thay say that if i leave i would have to pay the £30 per fuel penalty for leaving early (due in Nov 2021). I think that their service to me has changed and a material change in terms of service i signed up for has been made by them and i should not have to pay the penalty for leaving early .

Who is right in your opinion ?

thanks

Neil_Jones

BrianaSmith said:

Hi , I have been with White Rose Energy for some years , i use them because i have a variable monthly direct debit with them and i send meter readings in each month and pay for enegy used monthly, Thats why i chose the company  for my energy .  I have had communications with them and they say they are changing to quarterly billing which i do not want, but if i want monthly billings i have to go to a fixed £100 monthly direct debit which i also do not want .

Thay say that if i leave i would have to pay the £30 per fuel penalty for leaving early (due in Nov 2021). I think that their service to me has changed and a material change in terms of service i signed up for has been made by them and i should not have to pay the penalty for leaving early .

Who is right in your opinion ?

thanks

The whole point of a fixed tariff is that your unit rates (kWh and standing charges) do not change.  Not your direct debit amount or frequency.  If the company wants to change the way they collect it that's up to them, you're still paying by direct debit.

Your £100 payment will be a contribution towards your bill, it will not be an "all you can eat" tariff.  So you pay three months, have a credit of £300 and say your next bill is £150 (for example).  That will come out of the credit and you have a balance of £150.  Three months later you have a balance of £450 and a quarterly bill of, say, £90 (pretend because it was a hot summer).  Your balance is now £360, and so on.

As to exit fees, that's what you agreed to when you joined, £30 per fuel if you leave before November 2021 unless its in the 49 day window.

TL;DR - they're right, you're wrong.  Simple as.  If they'd withdrawn direct debit payment altogether you may have a case.  But they haven't and you don't.

jbuchanangb

You may be able to negotiate on your monthly DD payment. Add up the last 12 monthly bills and divide by 12. Offer to pay that amount monthly rounded down to the nearest £5. Then your payment over the year should be quite close to your bills. Do the same exercise again in 6 months (adding or deducting any debit or credit balance) and ask them to adjust the monthly payment. You will stay in control of your bills this way. Continue to provide them with readings monthly.

daveyjp

Is this a decision personal to you and your circumstances as I am not aware of it being a wider company policy?