Prepayment to DD

Marvel1

At present I'm paying by prepayment - paying what I use, not less or more.

Looking to moving to changing meter, unsure they will due to the way it's going.

The issue with DD that puts me off is overpaying, even if I submit readings weekly/monthly. |Let's say I overpay £30 a month say for Summer, as they use it for the Winter, but in Winter I'm overpaying by £15 - no idea if I'm right, I'm just guessing.

£30 overpayment over 6 months = £180
£15 overpayment over 6 months = £90
Annual overpayment = £270

How do I get this back? Do you have to request it? Or do they just hold on to it until you claim or change supplier (if they go bust well goodbye I guess).

Just for comparison, I suppose this cover winter months
My reading for Gas was 4984 on 01/10/21 and 5089 on 20/03/22 = 195
My reading for Electric was 31880 on 01/10/21 and 32546 on 20/03/22 = 666

QrizB

Marvel1 said:

The issue with DD that puts me off is overpaying, even if I submit readings weekly/monthly.

If you're on a "budget plan" DD with the same amount paid each month, depending on which month of the year you start you may never be in credit.

Also, your supplier will review your payments automatically every 6 months and adjust them up or down depending on whether they're trending into debit or credit.

(Some of the smaller suppliers didn't do this but most of those have now gone bust.)

If you want to avoid being in credit at all, choose a "pay monthly in full" DD. You'll get the benefit of paying a DD tariff but paying monthly in arrears, so you never have a credit balance (provided you keep giving meter readings in a timely fashion, or a smart meter gives them for you).

Chrysalis

Marvel1 said:

At present I'm paying by prepayment - paying what I use, not less or more.

Looking to moving to changing meter, unsure they will due to the way it's going.

The issue with DD that puts me off is overpaying, even if I submit readings weekly/monthly. |Let's say I overpay £30 a month say for Summer, as they use it for the Winter, but in Winter I'm overpaying by £15 - no idea if I'm right, I'm just guessing.

£30 overpayment over 6 months = £180
£15 overpayment over 6 months = £90
Annual overpayment = £270

How do I get this back? Do you have to request it? Or do they just hold on to it until you claim or change supplier (if they go bust well goodbye I guess).

Just for comparison, I suppose this cover winter months
My reading for Gas was 4984 on 01/10/21 and 5089 on 20/03/22 = 195
My reading for Electric was 31880 on 01/10/21 and 32546 on 20/03/22 = 666

Ask for variable direct debit, you pay for what you use in arrears, so like the prepayment meter but paying it later.   Also keeping direct debit discount.