It's getting tough out there. Feeling the pinch?

YoungBlueEyes

Yeah it's finding the happy medium.  A little over is fine, them doubling what you're using is not fine!

Van_Girl

linz said:

YoungBlueEyes said:

I remember reading on the energy board a while ago about paying by DD or paying as the bill came.  Someone pointed out that while the overpayments and slightly increased DDs are annoying, and the 'better in my pocket than theirs' thing is valid, remember that a bank balance in the black is what keeps these companies afloat.  It's only £2 to you, but it's lots of £2's to them, and keeps them from going under.  Then when they need bailing out (eg Bulb) the rescue package puts far more than £2 on everyone's bill.....

I'm seriously thinking about this. I think I read the post that you're quoting. The only thing putting me off is how much dearer it is to do compared to paying by DD. I do this already with my water bill as they wanted to charge me £28 a month whereas I only actually use about £18 !

I've recently done this with water, because it wasn't straightforward to adjust my DD, despite nearly 2 years of records showing my use considerably lower than DD, and a good sized credit balance which they rolled over after the last bill

My electric DD is a tiny bit higher than my usage at £75, and usage is pretty consistent all year, but I was planning to allow the £400 grant to sit in my account until 2024 when my fix ends. Since the energy firms have decided to reduce DD's/pay it back to us, I'll instead save it in an interest earning account. So they've done themselves out of it really 

GillyLucy

Wednesday2000 said:

We got an email saying we are now £218 in credit, but we haven't had any discount or refund yet. They just took out the usual amount, which is well over what we are using. This is OVO.

I read on MSE FB page yesterday that OVO are one of the suppliers who are crediting the monies to your bank account. I read elsewhere it will be after the DD has been claimed. My DD goes out to OVO on the 8th monthly so expecting a few days after.

GillyLucy

Here is link to MSE article regarding how each supplier is paying these monies:
How you'll receive the £400 energy bill discount from your supplier (moneysavingexpert.com)

dreaming

GillyLucy said:

Wednesday2000 said:

We got an email saying we are now £218 in credit, but we haven't had any discount or refund yet. They just took out the usual amount, which is well over what we are using. This is OVO.

I read on MSE FB page yesterday that OVO are one of the suppliers who are crediting the monies to your bank account. I read elsewhere it will be after the DD has been claimed. My DD goes out to OVO on the 8th monthly so expecting a few days after.

I am with OVO and have had the discount/refund applied to my account. My dd goes out on the 1st (3rd in October as weekend) and they still took the full amount but when I checked in the Billing History (then View Current Billing Period) there is a breakdown which shows the £66 refund although it isn't showing in my bank account yet. I will check over the next few days.

Wednesday2000

dreaming said:

GillyLucy said:

Wednesday2000 said:

We got an email saying we are now £218 in credit, but we haven't had any discount or refund yet. They just took out the usual amount, which is well over what we are using. This is OVO.

I read on MSE FB page yesterday that OVO are one of the suppliers who are crediting the monies to your bank account. I read elsewhere it will be after the DD has been claimed. My DD goes out to OVO on the 8th monthly so expecting a few days after.

I am with OVO and have had the discount/refund applied to my account. My dd goes out on the 1st (3rd in October as weekend) and they still took the full amount but when I checked in the Billing History (then View Current Billing Period) there is a breakdown which shows the £66 refund although it isn't showing in my bank account yet. I will check over the next few days.

Oh yes. I just checked mine and the £66 is showing up on there as a refund for the 6th October.

flamingo747

British Gas have added the money to my smart prepayment meter this morning

sammyjammy

YoungBlueEyes said:

I remember reading on the energy board a while ago about paying by DD or paying as the bill came.  Someone pointed out that while the overpayments and slightly increased DDs are annoying, and the 'better in my pocket than theirs' thing is valid, remember that a bank balance in the black is what keeps these companies afloat.  It's only £2 to you, but it's lots of £2's to them, and keeps them from going under.  Then when they need bailing out (eg Bulb) the rescue package puts far more than £2 on everyone's bill.....

But also remember that alot of that bail out is refunding those massive credits that the company took with them/gave out in bonuses with them when they went under!

freshmayres

dreaming said:

GillyLucy said:

Wednesday2000 said:

We got an email saying we are now £218 in credit, but we haven't had any discount or refund yet. They just took out the usual amount, which is well over what we are using. This is OVO.

I read on MSE FB page yesterday that OVO are one of the suppliers who are crediting the monies to your bank account. I read elsewhere it will be after the DD has been claimed. My DD goes out to OVO on the 8th monthly so expecting a few days after.

I am with OVO and have had the discount/refund applied to my account. My dd goes out on the 1st (3rd in October as weekend) and they still took the full amount but when I checked in the Billing History (then View Current Billing Period) there is a breakdown which shows the £66 refund although it isn't showing in my bank account yet. I will check over the next few days.

I am also with OVO yesterday it showed up in my balance in my energy account, today my energy account has been reduced by the £66 so I am expecting it to appear in my bank account within the next 10 days. Only for me to pay it back on as I figured that's winter taken care of with my regular DD

EssexHebridean

YoungBlueEyes said:

I remember reading on the energy board a while ago about paying by DD or paying as the bill came.  Someone pointed out that while the overpayments and slightly increased DDs are annoying, and the 'better in my pocket than theirs' thing is valid, remember that a bank balance in the black is what keeps these companies afloat.  It's only £2 to you, but it's lots of £2's to them, and keeps them from going under.  Then when they need bailing out (eg Bulb) the rescue package puts far more than £2 on everyone's bill.....

The other thing that is VERY valid though is that most energy suppliers charge a lower unit price for those paying via DD - and that holds whether you choose the "budget plan" style payments or the "Whole amount monthly" DD which means effectively you ARE clearing each bill as it arrives. The latter method completely avoids the issues that so many are unhappy with regarding DD amounts being inflated - and means you don't have to remember to make payment either, just give your meter readings in the usual way.  Most providers do it but there are a couple that don't I believe. (OVO might be one?)