Standing Order instead of Direct Debit.

shezza2

Hi all, I have always had credit on my energy statements and at the moment it stands at just over £200. But EON are still wanting to take in excess of £150 direct debit per month. When I try to contact them they just totally ignore my emails. I know that they cannot stop me from cancelling my DD which I am thinking of doing, How would I go on about putting a standing order in place so that I can have control of what they get per month instead of them stealing excess money from me every month.  

The_Fat_Controller

Will you lose a preferential tariff by changing your payment method ?

You can cancel your DD but you also need to inform EON you are doing so.

Gerry1

If you cancel your DD your rates will increase so it'll be an own goal.

It's very unwise to accuse an energy company of 'stealing' simply because you don't like the amount of the DD: it could be seen as libellous.

If you don't like being in credit, switch to Variable Direct Debit so that you only pay for what you've used.  However, remember that this will mean small bills in summer and big bills in winter, but at least you'll be in control.

molerat

You cannot simply say that your DD should not be increased because you are in credit.  My daughter is in credit but her DD has increased, I am in debit and my DD has stayed the same, both are the correct outcomes according to my own forecasts of forward costs / usage.

Ultrasonic

As above, you need to consider your likely future usage and associated costs to know whether a DD amount may be reasonable or not. If you could provide details people here could see what they think if you'd like.

If you want to not have any credit balance your supplier may give you the option to pay for your exact usage each month but not you'll have much higher bills in winter than summer if you do this.

pochase

ioealshk said:

I found them to be quite responsive to messages, although I have the exact same problem. I was thinking of building up about £600 of credit, and if they don't reduce my DD then cancel it.

There is an option in the control panel of their web-site that allows you to make one off payments. As far as I see it - cancel DD, pay on demand, but there could be problems I haven't thought of.

Don't cancel your debit order. You will have higher unit rates if you do that!

If you want to pay every month what you have used go onto a variable direct debit order (or whatever your energy supplier calls is) and you will only pay what you used, but keep the cheaper direct debit rates.

pochase

Because there are different caps for different forms of payment - direct debit, prepaid and cash/cheque/standing order. The most expensive one is the last.

See below example from the EDF price list.



You receive a discount for paying by direct debit, so correctly it should be that direct debit is cheaper.

pochase

ioealshk said:

Why would it be higher though? I thought they can't charge me more than the kW cap is? Unfortunately E-on Next does not allow variable DD, because they are "doing things differently to ensure our customers are at the heart of everything we do."

Did they tell you that or did you just check the FAQ?

The FAQ only says you cannot pay by variable direct debit "quarterly". It does not say you cannot use variable direct debit at all.




If you check out the following 

https://assets.ctfassets.net/gmgnreshss7h/73aJWQiTaT96SpbScmbqGF/fba74e6de590b0093ae13c89a73b1d96/20201215_External_Comms_ManagingYourDirectDebit-v4.pdf

you will find 

MWT

ioealshk said:

There is an option in the control panel of their web-site that allows you to make one off payments. As far as I see it - cancel DD, pay on demand, but there could be problems I haven't thought of.

The usual problem is that most, but not all, suppliers have higher charges for non-DD payment methods, so do check that part before cancelling the DD.

Rollinghome

Perhaps try another tactic.

Back in September, I switched to a Sainsburys/E.on 2 yr Fix.  I calculated what I thought was an accurate estimate of our consumption, but somehow it turned out to be a substantial over-estimate. Despite being well in credit already, after two months they increased my DD by another 48%, with the result that I over-paid an average of £90 a month right through winter and expect that to go higher over the summer months. So every few months I'm due a refund.

But I've had a Santander 123 account, now Lite, for yonks that pays 2% cashback on energy DDs, so I get paid an additional £2ish per month cashback on the over-payments.  That seems quite a decent annual return for money that's only with them for a few weeks each time.

Though it gives me huge pleasure to think I'm scoring against an energy company, truth is,  I'm now a bit bored with the hassle of asking for my refunds, so may ask them to reduce the DD.  But it's a thought.

[Deleted User]

ioealshk said:

Why would it be higher though? I thought they can't charge me more than the kW cap is? Unfortunately E-on Next does not allow variable DD, because they are "doing things differently to ensure our customers are at the heart of everything we do."

If paying without DD is indeed more expensive then I suppose I could build up some credit and then re-enable the DD when it runs out. Mine seemed quite high at first, but after some calculations it looks like it will even out after the winter, but I still would like to keep an eye on it. Not used to be paying such eyewatering amounts throughout the summer though!

I currently pay Eon Next a variable DD amount each month and have done so since it was setup for April's bill generation.  Bill is raised on the 1st of each month and they take a DD amount some 16 days later or so to clear my account.  It was easy enough to setup and has worked well since I went over to this system of DD.  I spoke to them by phone and also had it confirmed in a subsequent Twitter chat.