Watch Martin Lewis's energy bills Q&A videos (Mon 25 July)

pochase

You are not losing any of your money, you are getting a gift of £400.

Also the government press release states that either the debit order for the six months will be reduced, or the £66/£67 will be refunded.

Any further credit that you have will be treated as I wrote above.

bh505

pochase said:

You are not losing any of your money, you are getting a gift of £400.

Also the government press release states that either the debit order for the six months will be reduced, or the £66/£67 will be refunded.

Any further credit that you have will be treated as I wrote above.

As it took nearly six months to finalise the switch from my previous supplier the chances of this working properly from the beginning seem highly unlikely to me - and then there is still the issue of inflation...

lisyloo

bh505 said:

pochase said:

You are not losing any of your money, you are getting a gift of £400.

Also the government press release states that either the debit order for the six months will be reduced, or the £66/£67 will be refunded.

Any further credit that you have will be treated as I wrote above.

As it took nearly six months to finalise the switch from my previous supplier the chances of this working properly from the beginning seem highly unlikely to me - and then there is still the issue of inflation...

Your supplier may allow you to reduce your fixed DD amount. Usually this is an option on line or in the app.
an alternative is to go variable DD.
that means your wills be be a lot higher in the winter, but no credit building up and no ridiculous estimates.
I am now paying variable after the liquidations and also 6 monthly bills.

If you can say which suppliers you are with then we might be able to advise.

but Personally I would go variable/exact DD
be careful using the word variable with Indian call centres. It’s a variable DD not a variable tarriff. EDf use the term exact, I’ve also heard “whole of bill”.

let us know the suppliers

QrizB

bh505 said:

I am on a fixed tariff for the next eleven months.  As I understand it the rebate (whatever you call it) will be applied as a monthly credit.  However as I am on a fixed tariff I am already paying what is needed to.

You're on a fixed tariff, not a fixed price. Octopus will periodically review your DD and adjust it up or down as required.
Also, if you log into your account at https://octopus.energy you should find that you can adjust your DD payment yourself, so long as your account remains in credit.

Prykee

Discount or credit, Is this a use it or lose it deal.

I use very little electricity compared to gas, As this is being called a discount rather than credit what happens if I don't even use £40 electricity a month does this carry over to the next month, I see refund being suggested however its not that clear to me and an important point that needs clarification.

I can easily use electric to heat my home and water if necessary but far less efficient than just using gas in the first place.

Like it or not this is no £400 gift, we will all pay for it though our Tax's one way or another and don't want any residue money going back to the energy providers pockets.