Cutting monthly payments

hugwal

In  March the excellent Octopus Energy increased my direct debit from around £120 to £280 per month. About £20 of this was because my account was in deficit and they said it would go back to around £250 in March 2023. A long time to wait! At the time purely out interest I clicked on the button saying something like "Financial difficulty in paying". I didn't follow it up but shortly afterwards I got an email saying they had credited my account with an unexpected £150 which was appreciated. Then the Chancellor announced the £400 payment (direct to the energy company I believe) for for almost every household. Then the winter fuel payment was increased by £300. All of this got me questioning "if all this extra money is coming in, why can't my direct debit be reduced now?". 

So I rang Octopus who immediately agreed an immediate reduction in the monthly DD to £230 - a saving of £50 per month. So it proves it's worth asking!

Full marks by the way to Octopus for answering their phones within a few rings (other companies please note) and dealing with my enquiry very quickly and professionally.

MattMattMattUK

hugwal said:

In  March the excellent Octopus Energy increased my direct debit from around £120 to £280 per month. About £20 of this was because my account was in deficit and they said it would go back to around £250 in March 2023. A long time to wait! At the time purely out interest I clicked on the button saying something like "Financial difficulty in paying". I didn't follow it up but shortly afterwards I got an email saying they had credited my account with an unexpected £150 which was appreciated. Then the Chancellor announced the £400 payment (direct to the energy company I believe) for for almost every household. Then the winter fuel payment was increased by £300. All of this got me questioning "if all this extra money is coming in, why can't my direct debit be reduced now?". 

So I rang Octopus who immediately agreed an immediate reduction in the monthly DD to £230 - a saving of £50 per month. So it proves it's worth asking!

Full marks by the way to Octopus for answering their phones within a few rings (other companies please note) and dealing with my enquiry very quickly and professionally.

The think to bear in mind is that only the £400 (6 x £66 is the most likely) will go direct to the energy account, the rest of the free money is paid via different means. With regard to the monthly Direct Debit there is no saving in reducing this, all you are doing is shifting the payment dates around as the money is either paid now, or at a later date when you are billed (as opposed to the monthly payments on account). I have to admit I would also guilty taking £150 from the fund for those in financial difficulty if I was not actually in that position.