Bulb Energy customers will be moved to Octopus Energy.

[Deleted User]

sourpuss2021 said:

I’m with Bulb.  I have never paid by direct debit and I won’t unless I’m forced to!  Instead I pay each month’s bill using my bank card.  

I hope with Octopus it remains possible not to need a direct debit!

You have to be allowed to pay cash like you do, it’s a rule.

Alnat1

You can pay that way but will be charged more for doing so.

ariarnia

sourpuss2021 said:

I’m with Bulb.  I have never paid by direct debit and I won’t unless I’m forced to!  Instead I pay each month’s bill using my bank card.  

I hope with Octopus it remains possible not to need a direct debit!

ofgem says suppliers have to provide alternative methods that dont involve dd (for people who dont have a bank account) which include payment by card or by cash at a paypoint. so as long as you are happy that you are paying a premium of between 7-10% for your energy then paying by card shouldn't be a problem. 

sourpuss2021

ariarnia said:

sourpuss2021 said:

I’m with Bulb.  I have never paid by direct debit and I won’t unless I’m forced to!  Instead I pay each month’s bill using my bank card.  

I hope with Octopus it remains possible not to need a direct debit!

ofgem says suppliers have to provide alternative methods that dont involve dd (for people who dont have a bank account) which include payment by card or by cash at a paypoint. so as long as you are happy that you are paying a premium of between 7-10% for your energy then paying by card shouldn't be a problem. 

Ah then that doesn't sound so good.   I don't believe Bulb ever charged a premium. Perhaps they were unique in that regard?

MWT

sourpuss2021 said:

ariarnia said:

sourpuss2021 said:

I’m with Bulb.  I have never paid by direct debit and I won’t unless I’m forced to!  Instead I pay each month’s bill using my bank card.  

I hope with Octopus it remains possible not to need a direct debit!

ofgem says suppliers have to provide alternative methods that dont involve dd (for people who dont have a bank account) which include payment by card or by cash at a paypoint. so as long as you are happy that you are paying a premium of between 7-10% for your energy then paying by card shouldn't be a problem. 

Ah then that doesn't sound so good.   I don't believe Bulb ever charged a premium. Perhaps they were unique in that regard?

Up until now Octopus has not charged different rates for standard credit accounts either, even though that is how the Ofgem caps are set.

I'm not actually sure if they are charging a premium at the moment either, even though it looked likely that would have to happen due to the way the Government price support scheme has been implemented.

ariarnia

sourpuss2021 said:

ariarnia said:

sourpuss2021 said:

I’m with Bulb.  I have never paid by direct debit and I won’t unless I’m forced to!  Instead I pay each month’s bill using my bank card.  

I hope with Octopus it remains possible not to need a direct debit!

ofgem says suppliers have to provide alternative methods that dont involve dd (for people who dont have a bank account) which include payment by card or by cash at a paypoint. so as long as you are happy that you are paying a premium of between 7-10% for your energy then paying by card shouldn't be a problem. 

Ah then that doesn't sound so good.   I don't believe Bulb ever charged a premium. Perhaps they were unique in that regard?

i think thats not very likely. most suppliers charge more for payment not by dd because of the increased costs. even under the price cap its different for different payment methods. i dont know why you want to not have a dd set up but as you currently pay monthly for you usage are you aware theres something called a variable dd that some suppliers offer (not all). its like paying monthly but they take it automatically via dd versus you making a manual payment and you get the discount for paying by dd. its not a great option for a lot of people because it can mean very high bills in winter which can make it hard to budget versus spreading the cost over the year but might be an option for you. 

victor2

ariarnia said:

....are you aware theres something called a variable dd that some suppliers offer (not all). its like paying monthly but they take it automatically via dd versus you making a manual payment and you get the discount for paying by dd. its not a great option for a lot of people because it can mean very high bills in winter which can make it hard to budget versus spreading the cost over the year but might be an option for you. 

^^This^^

Let your account move over to Octopus and see what happens with it. If you don't already have a DD with Bulb, there won't be anything for them to transfer over, so it might just carry on as it is. Last September, I requested by email to Octopus that they switch an account over from fixed monthly DD to a variable amount. They responded within 10 minutes that it had been done, as it was!

I hear they're a bit slower replying these days, but that option is worth considering.

sourpuss2021

Thanks for your replies.  I'm on the Pay Monthly Variable tariff with Bulb.  

Funnily enough I do have quite a large credit balance because when I got worried about the winter energy apocalypse, I paid three or four month's of likely bills in advance.  

So we'll see what happens to that, I'd rather it was just ported over to Octopus giving me a credit balance on my new account there.

I understand that since Bulb don't have my direct debit details they wouldn't be able to refund the balance that way anyway.  But maybe they'll refund it to my card.  Well, we'll see.

Niv

This is quite handy, I am with bulb at the moment and getting solar installed soon so was wanting to switch to octopus - saved me a job! (I know I will still need to change the tariff though).

Can also confirm bulb do not charge a premium for not paying by DD.

[Deleted User]

Niv said:

Can also confirm bulb do not charge a premium for not paying by DD.

Bulb don't.  Octopus didn't and then changed their mind (although there has been one recent thread that might suggest they are going back to that approach).