Energy company - when to cancel direct debit?

dirtyrottenscoundrel

I'm switching energy supplier this month, I have one question, on the day the new supplier takes over, can I safely inform my bank to cancel the direct debit to the old supplier. My account with the old supplier is £200 in credit enough to cover their final bill, & they will still owe me money. So, is it safe to cancel their direct debit?
please advise, right now I don't have much faith in how energy companies do business
 cheers!

tempus_fugit

Depends who you’re with. Some will insist that you keep the D/D going so that they can reimburse your credit after the final bill is created, although why a direct debit is needed to make a refund I don’t know. Others will happily refund you whether the direct debit is still active or not. 

bradders1983

You could probably cancel it right now then, but as above you may find it takes longer to get your credit balance back.

Robin9

Don't forget that your new supplier will take it's first DD almost as soon as the account is set up.

dirtyrottenscoundrel

thanks for the replies guys

welshmoneylover

I would keep it open, it’s easier to get a credit refund as they can pay it straight back into your account 

brewerdave

welshmoneylover said:

I would keep it open, it’s easier to get a credit refund as they can pay it straight back into your account 

For the past three years ,I've cancelled DDs as soon as I KNOW that the switch has happened by checking the distributors websites. It hasn't prevented refunds being paid into my account but has stopped the suppliers from taking DDs which would have left me much further in credit. I have even cancelled DDs when I know I will owe a small amount, settling by debit card when the final bill is produced.

bradders1983

brewerdave said:

welshmoneylover said:

I would keep it open, it’s easier to get a credit refund as they can pay it straight back into your account 

For the past three years ,I've cancelled DDs as soon as I KNOW that the switch has happened by checking the distributors websites. It hasn't prevented refunds being paid into my account but has stopped the suppliers from taking DDs which would have left me much further in credit. I have even cancelled DDs when I know I will owe a small amount, settling by debit card when the final bill is produced.

Not a bad idea given the conduct of some companies, like getting blood out of a stone when it comes to credit balances.

cruisetheworld

Checked with Octopus and I get no discount for paying by direct debit, so I cancelled and now pay it into a savings account with Chase earning 1.5% interest.  I now pay Octopus quarterly from my chase account and get 1% cashback.

MWT

tempus_fugit said:

... although why a direct debit is needed to make a refund I don’t know. Others will happily refund you whether the direct debit is still active or not. 

They should all refund you, but some will do it by cheque if you have cancelled the DD.

The reason is GDPR related, when you cancel the DD you end their right to store and process your bank account information, unless they have a provision in their contract allowing them to keep the details to process a refund.

Most seem not to have that provision...

pochase

MWT said:

tempus_fugit said:

... although why a direct debit is needed to make a refund I don’t know. Others will happily refund you whether the direct debit is still active or not. 

They should all refund you, but some will do it by cheque if you have cancelled the DD.

The reason is GDPR related, when you cancel the DD you end their right to store and process your bank account information, unless they have a provision in their contract allowing them to keep the details to process a refund.

Most seem not to have that provision...

I would hope this is resolved, the post is from 2020.

@cruisetheworld has revived a 2 year old thread