energy bill direect debits

bitstream_2

I remember it being the case that the  direct debit should even out the bill and be in neither debit nor credit at the end of a twelve month period. In other words, one was broadly in debit during the winter, but rising to about zero credit or debit in the late spring. Judging from my energy provider's nudges,(i.e. repeated attempts to increase my DD) they are trying never to be in a debit situation. This means they are forcing me to use them as a savings account. If they prefer this, surely I should be getting interest on the months I'm in credit?

[Deleted User]

You remember the old way.  They have been told to change to avoid customers being in large amounts of debt at any time.

They have also been told to avoid high DD and too much credit, so I'm not surprised things are confused..

[Deleted User]

bitstream_2 said:

one was broadly in debit during the winter, but rising to about zero credit or debit in the late spring.

Hi,

think it should be other way, build up a good credit over spring/summer and not worry about heat cost over winter.

victor2

bitstream_2 said:

I remember it being the case that the  direct debit should even out the bill and be in neither debit nor credit at the end of a twelve month period. In other words, one was broadly in debit during the winter, but rising to about zero credit or debit in the late spring. Judging from my energy provider's nudges,(i.e. repeated attempts to increase my DD) they are trying never to be in a debit situation. This means they are forcing me to use them as a savings account. If they prefer this, surely I should be getting interest on the months I'm in credit?

It also used to be that you paid in arrears, but many now take the DD up front. Most will let you adjust the DD amount. If you monitor your usage carefully and know your own actual annual usage of each fuel, you can adjust your DD to have a target of zero balance at the end of your contract (assuming it is a fixed contract), but with so many people on variable rates now, it is that much harder to do.

However, with the government effectively setting a cap for two years, it is feasible to work it out even on variable tariffs for the coming 12 months. Quite a bit of work though - perfect for a fairly simple spreadsheet, but not everyone can do that.

OVO Energy used to (may still do) offer interest on customer's credit, I used them for that several years ago. Was only pennies a month, but better as credit on my statement than in their account!