Why do they ask for more money when I'm in credit ?

MattMattMattUK

wrf12345 said:

If the govn cap comes in today then there will be no need for anyone's DD to increase over the coming months which will possibly send various systems into a tizzy.

They will likely still need to rise for many as a lot of people were not paying enough to cover the previous increases which will feed through to the £2,500/whatever the frozen cap actually ends up being. 

wrf12345 said:

The systems totally ignore people who drastically reduce their usage and carry on with silly estimates.

The estimates are not "silly", they are based on sound methodology which is previous year's usage with a small adjustment to account for either a mild or harsh winter. Someone may have "drastically" reduced their usage, but unfortunately over summer that means little as we are yet to reach the high usage months.

wrf12345 said:

Ar least with British Gas you can do it on chat and they will give in eventually if you can show lower usage and credit in the account, as per OP. Ovo are ignoring all the Ofgem rules on DD's and usage but Ofgem can;t be bothered to do anything about these things, other than the odd media outburst. Ovo know that the market is largely closed and it is difficult to transfer to another energy co (other than by phone if you are lucky). 

In general all suppliers will allow one do lower the Direct Debit with good reason, so long as there is a sound principal behind it rather than just "I want to pay less" which will likely lead them into debt. Up until two weeks ago it was relatively easy to transfer to EDF and Octopus, all it took was a phone call, BG were accepting transfers but it was a bit more difficult. Currently I do not think any are, but that is purely because everything is in flux, once Truss's magic money tree has fruited it is likely that all suppliers will start accepting new customers again at some point in October. 

armistice

Mstty said:

Despite being on a fixed DD with Eon Next since Symbio went boom-shack-a-lack so October 3rd 2021 we will be bang on nothing owed either way come October 3rd 2022.

That's because we know our usage, set ourselves limits and plan ahead.

Everyone should have a record of their usage and settings for their heating in my opinion and then nothing is a surprise (caveat a very cold winter)

If your on a fixed DD, in october you will need to be substantially in credit to cover the higher winter usage. Nothing owed either way means the fixed DD budget plan wasn't set high enough.

ProDave

[Deleted User] said:

wild666 said:

lynns24 said:

I'm an OVO customer and my dd has gone up approx £90 every other month. I'm currently paying £243 I'm £355 in credit and they want to increase my dd again, to £355. As advised on my online account page, I joined the online chat I was number 30 in the queue ! but I waited patiently, I finally I got to chat to a 'live agent' who promptly told me the chat isn't the place to discuss dd and account queries !! I was given a telephone number to call which I did, I was in a queue about 40 mins eventually I got to speak to someone who just talked over me constantly and said I had to increase my dd, I explained I couldn't increase it anymore and I have cut my usage dramatically already so how could they possibly know what I will use in the coming months, I'm in credit anyway, I was asked to hold, she came back and advised me to call Stepchange, they are a debt management company, but I told her I'm not in debt im in credit, she put me on hold again, when she returned she just repeated everything she said, so I did the same but this time I asked to speak to a manager, I was put on hold again and then after a few minutes the call was terminated !! I was furious so I've emailed them and told them I have cancelled my dd from October, September dd has just been paid. From now on I will pay what I've been paying, £243 pm by standing order, because I want to be in control of what leaves my bank, I will keep a check on my online account and if it does go into arrears, I will contact them, but right now I've had enough.
So my question is 
Is it ok to do this and if not what should I do ? I hope to hear from you soon 
Thank you 

What I would do is calculate the yearly usage divide by 12 and work out the DD at the new rates minus the £67 Oct/Nov payments plus one twelfth of the £355 then add £1 to the next four months. 
If they aren't calculating for the £67 or £66 monthly payments you will be £400 in credit give or take the Jan increase if it happens.
It seems that energy companies aren't taking into account the £400 when they calculate a DD, neither are they taking into account any credit the customer has when they work out a new DD. IMO all this should be taken into account even if they have to make an increaser to the DD in three months, energy companies seem to be predicting energy increases a year ahead  in some cases when they increase DD's.
Come October I expect my monthly bill to be £100 when just 4 years ago it was under £40 per month. With the £400 and £280 credit then I could decrease my monthly DD to around £10 per month for 6 months but I won't as I would rather have some credit in case I need to use more gas than expected this winter.

Most suppliers seem to say that if you are on fixed DD, the £400 will never touch your energy account and will just be pushed straight into your bank.

Octopus say they will reduce your DD for the months you are being credited with the government grant.  It pays to check how your particular supplier is handling this rather than making assumptions.

aoleks

ask them when you're meant to give them a monthly reading to be guaranteed it will reflect your bills. then do that and never pay a penny extra for the rest of your life.

[Deleted User]

aoleks said:

ask them when you're meant to give them a monthly reading to be guaranteed it will reflect your bills. then do that and never pay a penny extra for the rest of your life.

If the supplier offers variable direct debit or you don't mind missing out on the direct debit discount, and if you are happy to pay much bigger bills in winter than in summer.

dunstonh

 I'm currently paying £243 I'm £355 in credit and they want to increase my dd again,

That is not a lot of credit for someone paying £243pm.   You use about 80-90% of your annual energy in the cold months.   You probably want to be around three to four times your monthly payment by September.

k_man

ProDave said:

[Deleted User] said:

wild666 said:

lynns24 said:

I'm an OVO customer and my dd has gone up approx £90 every other month. I'm currently paying £243 I'm £355 in credit and they want to increase my dd again, to £355. As advised on my online account page, I joined the online chat I was number 30 in the queue ! but I waited patiently, I finally I got to chat to a 'live agent' who promptly told me the chat isn't the place to discuss dd and account queries !! I was given a telephone number to call which I did, I was in a queue about 40 mins eventually I got to speak to someone who just talked over me constantly and said I had to increase my dd, I explained I couldn't increase it anymore and I have cut my usage dramatically already so how could they possibly know what I will use in the coming months, I'm in credit anyway, I was asked to hold, she came back and advised me to call Stepchange, they are a debt management company, but I told her I'm not in debt im in credit, she put me on hold again, when she returned she just repeated everything she said, so I did the same but this time I asked to speak to a manager, I was put on hold again and then after a few minutes the call was terminated !! I was furious so I've emailed them and told them I have cancelled my dd from October, September dd has just been paid. From now on I will pay what I've been paying, £243 pm by standing order, because I want to be in control of what leaves my bank, I will keep a check on my online account and if it does go into arrears, I will contact them, but right now I've had enough.
So my question is 
Is it ok to do this and if not what should I do ? I hope to hear from you soon 
Thank you 

What I would do is calculate the yearly usage divide by 12 and work out the DD at the new rates minus the £67 Oct/Nov payments plus one twelfth of the £355 then add £1 to the next four months. 
If they aren't calculating for the £67 or £66 monthly payments you will be £400 in credit give or take the Jan increase if it happens.
It seems that energy companies aren't taking into account the £400 when they calculate a DD, neither are they taking into account any credit the customer has when they work out a new DD. IMO all this should be taken into account even if they have to make an increaser to the DD in three months, energy companies seem to be predicting energy increases a year ahead  in some cases when they increase DD's.
Come October I expect my monthly bill to be £100 when just 4 years ago it was under £40 per month. With the £400 and £280 credit then I could decrease my monthly DD to around £10 per month for 6 months but I won't as I would rather have some credit in case I need to use more gas than expected this winter.

Most suppliers seem to say that if you are on fixed DD, the £400 will never touch your energy account and will just be pushed straight into your bank.

Octopus say they will reduce your DD for the months you are being credited with the government grant.  It pays to check how your particular supplier is handling this rather than making assumptions.

Have Octopus confirmed this, as I have been waiting for confirmation?

CrispyChris

• Fixed Direct Debit customers will receive the money automatically as a deduction to their monthly Direct Debit.

Direct quote from Eon Next web site, not all suppliers are handling it the same way